Brad McGarry’s murder: A complete timeline of events

Season 15, episode 3 of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, Dangerous Secret, airs on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 8:00 pm, retracing the killing of Brad McGarry. McGarry, a 43-year-old openly gay coal miner, was found shot twice in the head in the basement of his Bellaire, Ohio, home on May 7, 2017.

Investigators immediately noted that high-value items were untouched, suggesting the apparent burglary had been staged, as per the Oxygen report dated October 20, 2018.

Within two days, Brad's cousin, Schuyler Strawser, told detectives McGarry expected a visit from “DJ,” best friend David Carl Kinney, shifting the focus of the probe, as per a May 19, 2017, The Intelligencer report. Kinney, who had discovered the body with his family, gave multiple conflicting accounts before admitting to the shooting.

Arrested on May 11 and indicted for aggravated murder, he faced trial in early 2018. A Belmont County jury convicted Kinney, and Judge Frank Fregiato imposed life imprisonment without parole plus three years for a firearm specification, as per a WTOV9 report dated February 15, 2018. Brad McGarry’s family continues to seek justice today.

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Brad McGarry timeline: From basement discovery to life-without-parole sentence

Brad McGarry was discovered shot twice in the back of the head in the basement of his Bellaire, Ohio, home on May 7, 2017. Investigators noted valuable items left untouched, leading Detective Ryan Allar to regard the burglary scene as staged. As per the Oxygen report dated October 20, 2018, Detective Allar spoke about the same.

“The more and more we get into this, the more and more it looks like this is a prop left for us, to throw us off the trail. This was the most staged crime scene I've ever seen in my life,” the detective said.

The same day, McGarry’s best friend, David Carl Kinney, entered the house with his wife and daughter, phoned 911, and was initially treated as a witness. Two days later, Kinney sat for a voluntary interview at the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office. Cell-phone data and cousin Schuyler Strawser’s statement that McGarry had planned to meet “DJ,” Kinney’s nickname, contradicted his timeline.

Faced with evidence, Kinney changed his story multiple times before claiming self-defense and admitting he fired the fatal shots. On May 11, 2017, Belmont County authorities arrested Kinney on a murder charge with a firearm specification, and a $1 million bond was set.

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Investigative breakthroughs and shifting narratives

The preliminary hearing on May 19, 2017, confirmed sufficient evidence to advance the case to a grand jury. Testimony showed Kinney’s accounts clashed with autopsy findings of two gunshots to the back of Brad McGarry’s head.

Detectives recovered .22-caliber ammunition from Kinney’s truck, though the suspected pistol was never located. Prosecutors argued that Kinney’s shifting accounts, ranging from an unidentified assailant to a struggle over a derringer, undermined his credibility.

During the eight-day trial, which began in early February 2018, jurors heard how Brad McGarry and Kinney had maintained a long-term romantic relationship that Kinney hid from his wife. Prosecutors contended McGarry wanted the affair made public, giving Kinney motive to silence him.

As per a WTOV9 report dated Feb. 15, 2018, Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry commented on the same.

“The jury unanimously found him guilty of aggravated murder, a pre-meditated execution-style murder, shooting his supposed friend in the back of the head twice,” Belmont County Prosecutor Dan Fry stated.

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Trial verdict, sentencing, and current status

On February 14, 2018, Judge Frank Fregiato imposed life imprisonment without parole plus three years for the gun specification after the aggravated-murder conviction. Kinney apologized to the McGarry family but offered no explanation.

He was admitted to Belmont Correctional Institution on February 16, 2018, where Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections records list him as Life Without Parole.

The episode Dangerous Secret, season 15, episode 3 of Dateline: Secrets Uncovered, airs Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 8:00 pm and revisits every step in Brad McGarry’s case.

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Stay tuned for more updates.

Edited by Meenakshi Ajith