Gabbi Doolin was abd*ucted, ra*ped, and stran*gled to de*ath on November 14, 2015, at the Allen County High School football stadium in Scottsville, Kentucky. She had come to watch her brother, Alec, play.
During the game, Gabbi, dressed in a cute pink dress, played hide-and-seek with friends near the bleachers. Gabbi’s friend asked Amy, Gabbi’s mother, if she had seen the girl because she couldn’t find her. Amy then frantically searched for her daughter and notified authorities.
Gabbi Found
Police found the 7-year-old girl’s body 25-minutes after she disappeared from the game. She was face down in a creek.
Police cordoned off the area and asked everyone who was at the game that night if they saw the girl with anyone or noticed anything unusual. They were quickly led to the home of Timothy Madden, 40.
Madden went to the game that night to see his son play. His clothes and boots were stained with blood, and an officer who visited his home stated that he appeared to have blood around his genital area. When asked if they noticed anything unusual that evening, many people mentioned his name to police.
DNA Matches Blood From Madden’s Clothing
On November 20, 2015, DNA from Gabbi’s body was found to match the blood found on Madden’s clothing.
He was arrested and initially denied any involvement in Gabbi’s m*urder. When police knocked on Madden’s door, he told them, “You guys are at the wrong place,” according to transcripts of the initial police interview. He told reporters that he was innocent and that anyone who knew him could confirm this.
Amy told investigators that Gabbi was on Madden’s cheerleading squad and would have trusted him enough to go off with him. The families were acquainted.
Madden had a relatively clean criminal record prior to the mu*rder, with only a few misdemeanor non-violent criminal offenses on his record.
Emotions Run High During Sentencing
During Madden’s 2019 sentencing, emotions ran high. Madden, who faced the de*ath penalty, pleaded guilty to the mu*rders.
“What motivated you to do it?” “There’s no reason to give, Gabbi was an innocent little girl at her brother’s football game,” Amy sobbed as she delivered her victim impact statement.
As she spoke, Timothy Madden’s attention was drawn elsewhere, prompting Gabbi’s father, Bryan, to speak up and address Madden and his attorney, saying,
“That is the most disrespectful thing I have ever seen, Sir…We’ve been waiting four years; you can let him hear what she has to say. “Do you get what I’m saying?”
Bryan became overcome with emotion and appeared to lurch forward toward his daughter’s mur*derer, yelling,
“Thirty seconds! That is all we have requested. You have three minutes to listen to her! I’m tired of it. He must listen to what she has to say!”
After a scuffle between the Madden and Doolin families, the judge briefly cleared the courtroom. Amy finished her statement after a brief break, and a member of Madden’s family spoke on his behalf, stating that he was a loving person.
Judge Says he Would Have Sentenced Madden to De*ath
The d*eath penalty was dropped after an agreement with the Doolin family, and Madden was sentenced to life in prison. The judge stated that if the family had not agreed to the plea deal that sentenced Madden to life in prison, he would have likely sentenced him to de*ath.
Timothy Madden deserved to be executed. I’m glad the judge allowed Gabbi’s parents to speak up, so that justice (for what it’s worth) is served for their peace of mind.
Gabbi, you will be missed.
