Jake Kelly murder: Suspect sentenced in Phoenix man's death
Cory Young (left) and Jake Kelly.
PHOENIX - The second suspect connected to the brutal murder of a Phoenix man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Tuesday.
Last November, Cory Young pleaded guilty to hindering prosecution in the murder of 49-year-old Jake Kelly, who was found badly beaten in the driveway of his home in 2023. Kelly later died at the hospital from his injuries.
"Trauma to his brain. He had three separate injuries to his brain. His face was crushed," Kelly's mother previously told FOX 10. "He went through eight hours of plastic surgery, and they couldn't even use his bones because they were pulverized."
Young was one of Kelly's roommates at the time of his death. He was arrested along with his wife, Shannon, and a man named Angel Mullooly in connection with Kelly's violent beating and subsequent death.
Shannon pleaded guilty to similar charges and was sentenced to probation and deferred jail time last month. Mullooly was scheduled to go on trial last month.
‘There’s no justice for that’
Young was led out of court in handcuffs, but not before his sentence was handed down.
"Mr. Young, I’m going to begin with the finding that probation is not appropriate in this case and that a prison term should be imposed," the judge told him.
He officially started his three-and-a-half-year prison sentence for what prosecutors say was his role in the beating death of Kelly.
Young's prison term began on Jan. 7, and he received a 184-day credit of pre-sentence incarceration. He will be supervised after his release.
His failure to comply could result in him going back to prison, and he also must submit to DNA testing.
"Is this justice? No. This is not justice. This is horrific," Jan Kelly, the victim's mother, said.
Outside the courtroom, Jan showed reporters photos of her son in the hospital with brain trauma and facial injuries so severe his bones were pulverized.
She demands a semblance of justice.
"These are things that I am not going to get over," she said. "There’s no justice for that."
Jan thinks it’s possible her son was targeted because of his sexual orientation. She also expressed frustration at what she felt were light charges for Young.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s office explained, "Whenever the State files a criminal charge, it has an ethical obligation to ensure that there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction on that charge. Our prosecutors determined that the evidence presented was not sufficient to reach a reasonable likelihood of conviction on the second-degree murder charge."
Jan vowed to be inside the courtroom each day of Mullooly's trial.