Former KY lawmaker files wrongful death suit against man charged with killing his daughter

The father of a Kentucky lawyer who was killed in a deadly home invasion at a Central Kentucky mansion is suing the alleged killer, according to court documents.

In addition to several criminal charges for allegedly killing a woman while breaking into a home in Madison County, 24-year-old Shannon Gilday now faces a wrongful death lawsuit filed by former Kentucky lawmaker and businessman C. Wesley Morgan.

Court records indicate the lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court Monday for wrongful death and personal injury. In addition to Gilday, Morgan is also suing a relative of Gilday and 10 “Jane Doe” defendants. A copy of the lawsuit was not immediately available in online court records.

Gilday has been jailed at the Madison County Detention Center since Feb. 28, 2022 for allegedly killing Jordan Morgan, a Kentucky attorney, while she was asleep at her family’s home.

He was indicted on one count of capital murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count of first-degree assault, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of first-degree criminal mischief, according to court documents.

The shooting occurred on Feb. 22, 2022, when Gilday allegedly broke into Wesley Morgan’s multi-million dollar home on Willis Branch Road and shot Jordan Morgan while she was asleep in her bed, according to court records and statements from Wesley Morgan. Gilday also exchanged shots with Wesley Morgan, who fired back at Gilday. Morgan was injured and sent to the hospital.

During a preliminary hearing a few weeks later, Kentucky State Police detective Cameron Allen said Gilday admitted to the crime, stating he was determined to get access to a bunker underneath the home and was willing to kill everyone inside.

Gilday’s attorney attempted to have Gilday plead guilty but mentally ill in May to the charges against him, but the effort was denied by the court. According to Gilday’s attorney, Tom Griffiths, Commonwealth’s Attorney Jennifer Smith expressed opposition to the plea.

In January, Griffiths filed a motion asking for the case to be dismissed or for Gilday to be released from jail due to constitutional violations as it pertained to Gilday’s incarceration, according to court documents.

Griffiths alleged that Gilday has exhibited signs of serious mental illness due to consistent isolation at the jail, such as believing that he’s talking to a bot when speaking to his mother over the phone.

Judge Cole Adams Maier denied Griffiths’ motions due to a lack of evidence, according to WLEX18. Maier also ordered Gilday to go through a mental evaluation.

Wesley Morgan has previously given a firsthand account of the shooting to media. At a candlelight vigil for Jordan Morgan days after the shooting, Wesley Morgan said Gilday climbed scaffolding on the exterior of his house and kicked a door open, which got him into Jordan Morgan’s bedroom, where she was asleep around 3:45 a.m. that morning.

Gilday “shot her probably six, seven, eight times with an AR-15,” Wesley Morgan said.

Morgan said he woke up when the shooting happened and confronted Gilday, who he sawy with an AR-15 wearing army fatigues. Gilday opened fire on Morgan, who said he was shot three times. Morgan’s wife and 14-year-old daughter were home at the time.

After the alleged shooting, Gilday took off in his 2016 Toyota Corolla and drove all the way to Florida, according to court records. The same Corolla was spotted on surveillance footage at the Morgans’ home, according to court records. Gilday put a Georgia license plate on his car while he was out of state, but his vehicle broke down near Atlanta.

He abandoned the vehicle and eventually wound up back in Kentucky, where a sheriff’s deputy found him walking in Madison County on Feb. 28, according to court records.

According to court documents, Gilday wanted to gain access to an underground bunker at Wesley Morgan’s home and had done extensive research on the bunker. Gilday had written notes about the bunker, the family’s sleep schedules and directions from his apartment in northern Kentucky down to the mansion.

“He wanted the security of the bunker,” Allen said during the preliminary hearing while describing what Gilday told him during their interview.

“He stated that his beliefs at the time, given the current political environment in our country as well in the world at this time, and the events that had taken place throughout the world, that he wanted to access this bunker and secure it for himself and his family and friends.”

Gilday’s next court appearance is scheduled for March. He also faces separate criminal cases on charges of burglary and assault on a corrections officer, according to court records.