Jury Finds Shannon Gilday Guilty But Mentally Ill in Killing of Lawmaker’s Daughter

Jurors must now recommend a sentence after concluding the defendant should be convicted while the question of legal insanity remains contested.

Overview

A Shelbyville jury on Thursday found Shannon Gilday guilty but mentally ill on all counts in the February 2022 death of 32-year-old Jordan Morgan, daughter of former state representative C. Wesley Morgan.
Gilday was convicted on charges that included capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief.
Prosecutors said evidence showed planning and a violent home invasion — including climbing scaffolding to enter, firing through a door with an AR-15, fatally shooting Morgan and leaving 25 gunshot wounds — and cited escape and evidence-disposal efforts after the attack.
The defense acknowledged Gilday’s actions but argued he was in peak psychosis driven by delusions of impending nuclear war and searching for a so-called doomsday bunker, with court-appointed experts describing the case as classic insanity-defense material.
Next, jurors will deliberate a sentencing recommendation and judges will apply Kentucky’s legal test for insanity, which requires a defendant to be incapable of recognizing that their actions were wrong.