Murder victim’s roommate sentenced to probation

PHOENIX – A murder victim’s roommate was sentenced to probation Wednesday after pleading guilty in connection with the case. Both Shannon Young and her husband Cory Young were arrested in November 2023 following the murder of Jake Kelly in August.

The two were accused of hindering prosecution. A third person, Angel Mullooly, is the only one charged with Jake’s murder.

After all three were arrested in 2023, court documents revealed alleged messages and calls made the night Jake was attacked. The same documents also state that the Youngs allegedly carried Jake from the driveway of their home into a bathtub before leaving him on a couch, where he remained without medical attention for nearly 18 hours.

Cory is already a convicted felon and has been in prison for over a decade. ABC15 previously reported sources and experts who told our team that Cory’s social media publicly displays images of his chest covered in tattoos associated with white supremacy.

When ABC15 first spoke with Jake’s mother, Jan Kelly, she said her son was gay. She fears he may have been a target for this reason.

Jan moved to Arizona with the ultimate goal of getting justice for her son.

In October, Shannon pleaded guilty to first-degree hindering prosecution.

On December 4, Jake’s mother, Jan Kelly, described dozens of Cory’s friends and relatives in the courtroom for Shannon’s sentencing.

Jan showed the judge in court pictures of her son after the attack in August.

“Miss Higgins Young was very drunk that night and I’m not telling you that as an excuse,” said Shannon’s lawyer Katie Gibson-McLean. “I’m just trying to portray and explain the scene and Miss Higgins Young was not the only person who was very, very drunk that night from what I can tell from the evidence.”

Shannon also addressed the judge but did not apologize.

“There were decisions made that could have been different,” Shannon said. “And some things I couldn’t change. And things I could have done differently that I can’t change now.”

“If you had called 911, the outcome might have been the same,” the judge said. “The result may not be like that, we don’t know. But the fact is that someone who is supposed to be your friend didn’t get the help he needed from you when he needed it most. Given all this, a punishment is appropriate.”

The judge sentenced Shannon to three years of probation and 90 days of deferred jail time.

“Of course that’s not what I wanted, and I made that clear in court,” said Jan.

Cory, who pleaded guilty in November, is scheduled to be sentenced next month. Mullooly’s Dec. 4 court date appears to have been postponed along with the trial date. ABC15 is checking with court staff to see if the new date is set for February 2025.

“I don’t know what will happen if (Angel) goes to trial,” Jan said.

But Jan told ABC15 that while it’s difficult, she won’t stop being there for her son.

A GoFundMe has been set up to support Jan moving forward.