After nearly four years of turmoil, the family of Gabbi Doolin now has some measure of closure.
Timothy Madden, who admitted to brutally killing seven-year-old Gabbi Doolin, was sentenced on Wednesday following an emotional day of testimony and a courtroom outburst.
Amy Doolin described her only daughter Gabbi as her heart and soul, and sobbed her way through a victim impactment statement that she waited to make since November 14, 2015. That’s when Gabbi’s body was found behind Allen County-Scottsville High School only minutes after she went missing from her brother’s football game.
"I let her go to the bathroom and concession stand with friends," Amy Doolin told the court. "I made the mistake of feeling that my kids were safe in a place we knew so well, but evil was lurking."
Doolin said the family had drawn strength from their faith for the past four years and quoted biblical scripture.
"The only comfort we could find was that Gabbi was in Heaven and we'd see her again one day," said Doolin. "There will be justice on earth, and when you close your eyes in death, that will be the ultimate justice."
Doolin recalled the emotional toll the case had taken on the family, including divorce. Her statement was interrupted when Gabbi’s father, Brian Doolin, yelled and charged toward Madden and his attorney. Doolin was angered when Madden and his attorney began whispering to each other during Amy Doolin's victim impactment statement. Brian Doolin had to be restrained by court security.
Madden pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to kidnapping and murder while entering Alford pleas to the charges of rape and sodomy. He had already accepted a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole as part of the plea bargain, but the chief prosecutor in the case, Commonwealth's Attorney Corey Morgan, wanted the evidence against Madden made public. The court heard testimony from Kentucky State Police detectives who worked on the case, as well as a KSP forensic scientist who matched Madden's DNA to evidence collected from the crime scene, and from Doolin's body.
Morgan said he had no doubt that if the case has gone to trial, there would have been a conviction.
"There would have been the death penalty given," Morgan told reporters Wednesday. "I have no question, but at the same time, you have years and years of appeals. The family understood that, and the family, at this juncture, is looking for closure."
Allen Circuit Judge Janet Crocker accepted the plea deal and sentenced Madden to life in prison with no chance of parole.
"The only closure the Doolins can take is that they won't have to sit in a room any longer with their child's killer," said Crocker. "Today, it is over."
Madden didn’t address the court, and instead had his attorney read a statement in which he suggested that the evidence against him had been planted by law enforcement and that justice wouldn’t be served until the right person was behind bars. Judge Crocker responded that Madden had shown "great cowardice" by maintaining his innocence.
Gabbi’s parents left the courthouse without talking to the media. Her cousin, Lori Doolin Wilson, spoke briefly after the sentencing.
"Today we saw justice for Gabbi," she said, through tears. "Fourteen-hundred and 39 days. That's what it took."
