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Phoenix suspect pleads guilty in deadly beating case
PHOENIX - One of the three people arrested in connection with the death of a Phoenix man in 2023 pleaded guilty in court on Thursday, Nov. 14.
In August 2023, Jake Kelly, 49, was found badly beaten in the driveway of his home and later died from his injuries. His mother says his roommate found him lying outside and rushed him to the hospital.
His face was unrecognizable.
"Trauma to his brain. He had three separate injuries to his brain. His face was crushed. He went through eight hours of plastic surgery, and they couldn't even use his bones because they were pulverized," his mother, Jan Turner, previously said to FOX 10.
She flew in to see her son after it happened, but his health continued to decline. He had broken ribs, his colon had to be removed, and his kidney started to fail.
"Pretty soon, there was no hope," Turner said. "So, I had to make the decision."
She says no family should go through what she has the past 15 months, and considers her fight for justice for her beloved son her swan song in life.
"I wish he was going to jail today, 'cause why should he be out?" Turner said.
She watched as one of the three people facing charges in the beating of her son walked out of a courtroom after pleading guilty to hindering the investigation into Kelly's murder.
Jake Kelly
"Do you understand, sir, that a class three felony carries a presumptive sentence of three and a half years?" A judge said.
"Yes, sir," the suspect, Cory Young, said.
Young was one of Kelly's roommates at the time of his death in August 2023. He was arrested along with his wife Shannon and a man named Angel Mullooly in connection with Kelly's violent beating and subsequent death at the hospital.
"They took a picture of him outside. I've never seen it. I don't want to see it. They took a picture with Cory holding his head up, so Angel could take the pictures," Turner alleged.
Cory Young
"Mr. Cory Scott Young, with the intent to hinder the prosecution of Angel Mullooly for felony homicide, did render assistance to him by concealing his full identity and address to law enforcement," Young's attorney said.
The conditions of Young's plea deal allow him to return home until his sentencing date in January, giving him the opportunity to experience the holidays with loved ones, as Kelly's family never can.
"We won't ever have another Christmas, or Thanksgiving, or Fourth of July, or May 17, which was his birthday," Turner said.
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(Previous report) Mom searches for justice after son was killed
A mother s wanting answers, after a brutal attack left a North Phoenix man dead. The attack happened in August, and police have yet to identify a suspect. FOX 10's Lindsey Ragas reports.
She says she's not sure if her son was targeted due to the fact that he was gay, but she does think it's possible due to what she's learned about Young since the crime.
"I know that he was having a lot of problems to do with how he was being treated, and I talked to him the weekend before, and he said he was going to have a new place to live within the next week," Turner said. "Of course, he didn't get the opportunity."
Turner says her motivation now is to fight for a long sentence.
"I'm just going to go over how horrendous this was and how I feel that he should be in prison for the rest of his life and that's all I can do. That's my job from now until it's over," she said.
Young's wife, Shannon, who already pleaded guilty to the same felony charge, has yet to be sentenced.
The third suspect in this case, Mullooly, has a trial scheduled for December.