A man and a woman were arrested in Connecticut this week for the death of another man, who was struck by a car over the summer.
A tragic incident unfolded in Harwinton when Kevin Gangell, 24, was struck by a vehicle driven by Logan Diaz-Lopardo, 21, in the front yard of his residence. Gangell’s girlfriend, Abbigale Whipple, 20, was present in the car at the time of the event.
Connecticut State Police Sgt. Luke Davis revealed, “It became evident quite quickly that this was not a mere accident, but a deliberate act.” This statement was provided to WVIT during the investigation.
According to court records, Whipple informed authorities that Gangell had abruptly ended their relationship the night prior to the incident on July 28, triggering her fury. She proceeded to deluge him with messages, resorting to various platforms when blocked. In total, detectives disclosed that approximately 1,600 messages were sent by Whipple in her relentless pursuit of communication.
The messages she sent included hopes that he would die, Law&Crime reported. By the morning of July 28, Whipple found that Gangell had blocked her phone number, so she called up Diaz-Lopardo, who reportedly had romantic feelings for her but was in a platonic relationship.
Snapchat messages between the two indicated she wanted to confront Gangell and cause him physical harm. “Can we beat his ass pleas[e]” and “I want him too [sic] hurt,” she reportedly told her friend.
Diaz-Lopardo drove Whipple to Gangell’s home, as she sent him more messages, including “ur going to jail,” “ima ruin ur life,” and a threat to call his parole officer. A final message said simply, “I warned you.”
Minutes later, Diaz-Lopardo hit Gangell with his car, sending him sailing about 70 feet. The medical examiner said he died from blunt force trauma all over his body and that the manner of death was homicide.
Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo were arrested on Monday. He was charged with manslaughter, and she was charged as an accessory. Both were charged with conspiracy to commit manslaughter.
“This was more or less a planned event in causing harm to this individual,” Davis said, “and I think it was more than they bargained for, considering that this young man actually ended up losing his life as a result of it.”
Bonds were set for both defendants at $500,000 each. If they’re released, they’ll be put on house arrest, according to WVIT. Their next court date is in February.
