Man accused of 2nd-degree murder may have had help from victim's roommates, records show

A north Phoenix man was charged in connection with the August murder of Jake Kelly, as indicated by court documents.

Angel Mullooly, 34, has been charged with second-degree murder of 39-year-old Jake Kelly in north Phoenix in late August. While court records do not provide clear details about the relationship between Mullooly and Kelly, they do indicate that Mullooly and Kelly's two roommates knew one another.

Kelly's two roommates initially told Phoenix police they, including Kelly, arrived to their north Phoenix home on Aug. 28 after a party, court records show. They said after going to bed, they heard a bang outside and found Kelly sitting on the ground injured and nonverbal. The roommates initially told police that they did not know what happened to Kelly.

But after coming across a text message and photograph sent around by Mullooly, that appeared to be untrue, according to court records.

Roommates initially say they don't know what happened

Around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 28, officers responded to the Banner Thunderbird Medical Center near 59th Avenue and Thunderbird Road and learned Kelly was assaulted the day prior and that his two roommates had just dropped him off at the hospital.

Kelly sustained multiple blunt force injuries, including skull, face, rib, and sternal fractures and other internal injuries, court records show. He underwent multiple surgeries and was placed on life support. He was later taken off life support and pronounced dead on Sept. 8.

Phoenix police's initial investigation found that Kelly had sustained his injuries in the driveway of his residence near John Cabot and Cave Creek roads. Items of bloody clothing and a damaged empty cell phone case were collected by police, according to court records. Kelly's cell phone and a t-shirt that he was wearing when he was assaulted were missing.

She went missing a year ago. Her family hopes for answers but finds 'only more questions'

The day after the assault, investigators spoke with Kelly's two roommates and were told that the three of them had all gone to a party on Aug. 28. When they got back home between 6 and 7 p.m., the roommates told the investigators that they were very intoxicated. They said that Kelly and one of the roommates, a female, went inside their house while the other roommate, a male, went to a friend's house in the neighborhood, which was Mullooly, court records show.

The male roommate told police that he got back home at an unknown time and went to sleep, court records show. Around 10 p.m., the roommates said that they heard a loud bang, which they believed to be at their garage door.

The female roommate said she went to investigate what happened and found Kelly injured on the ground in their driveway, according to court records. The two told police they then helped bring Kelly inside, who appeared semi-conscious and nonverbal. They placed him into a bathtub and started to wet him down in an effort to help wake him up. Then they said that they took him to a sofa after changing his clothes.

Both roommates told police they did not know what happened to Kelly, and there was no one else present when they found him lying in their driveway, court records state.

But after investigators talked to a few others who knew Mullooly, the roommates and Kelly, that appeared to be untrue, according to court records.

Nogales rancher murder case: Arizona appeals court sides with prosecutors

Roommates accused of being in on Kelly's assault

Police talked to a friend of one of the roommates and Kelly, who said she received texts, phone calls, and a photo of Kelly bleeding in the bathtub from the female roommate, court records show. She called her to ask what happened to Kelly and was told that the male roommate and Mullooly beat Kelly up.

After obtaining search warrants for the cell phones of Mullooly and the roommates, they learned that communication took place between the three the night of Kelly's assault.

According to court records, just before 10:15 p.m. on Aug. 27, Mullooly sent a text message to the number, later identified as belonging to his former girlfriend who he lived with at the time of the incident. It stated that he had beat up Kelly and subsequently sent a photo of Kelly sitting on the ground, bleeding in front of a garage door.

The photo also included the male roommate crouched down next to Kelly, holding his head. Court records stated that an "unknown possible female" possibly the female roommate, was standing to the right of the male roommate in the photo.

Police spoke to Mullooly's former girlfriend, who told them that she was the one who received the text message and photograph of Kelly. She told police that she knew Kelly was assaulted and died, but denied any knowledge as to how he sustained his injuries, according to court documents.

Police circled back to the female roommate and showed her the text message and photograph sent from Mullooly's phone. Police asked her if she had knowledge of those items and she denied that she did, court records show. She told police that she and the male roommate, along with Kelly, were in that photograph but refused to answer as to whether Mullooly took the photo.

Mullooly's former girlfriend met again with police, stating she wanted to clarify her earlier statements. According to court records, she told police, after she received the messages from Mullooly on Aug. 27, she drove from her residence to Kelly's and picked Mullooly up. She told police that both of them were intoxicated but that Mullooly had told her that Kelly was injured, but he did not elaborate on any details.

Upon returning to their home, located near 28th and Libby streets, court records state that Mullooly told the person accompanying him that he had forgotten something at Kelly's house. He briefly went back to Kelly's house and then returned to his own house, as mentioned in the court records.

The former girlfriend told police again that she was unaware of what happened and never went into Kelly's house on the night of the incident. She said that she had visited Kelly the next day and saw him on the sofa, injured and nonverbal. She said the female roommate was there but they did not provide details as to what happened to Kelly. The roommate told the former girlfriend that Mullooly had changed his phone number, court records show.

After Mullooly was arrested, he asked for an attorney and made no statements regarding the incident.

Kelly's two roommates were also arrested and booked for hindering the investigation in connection with the murder.

Also in Phoenix: City defends firing officer Sean Peña, who was acquitted of sexual assault charges

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Man accused of murder may have had help from victim's roommates