Toledo man sentenced to life without parole for shooting, killing young children

You can watch Thursday’s court proceedings, which includes victim impact statements, in full in the Action News Now report below.

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - A Lucas County judge announced a verdict Thursday in the bench trial of a man accused of shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend’s two children and hurting a third.

The judge found Kevin Moore guilty of aggravated murder charges and a felonious assault charge, as well as firearms specifications, in the deaths of Ahmir Phillips, 5, and Gabriel Phillips,1. The boys’ brother Ashtan suffered a gunshot wound to the head but survived. The judge sentenced Moore to life without parole.

Police say Moore shot the children at Byrneport Apartments in February 2021. Police arrested him at the scene. Moore’s lawyers don’t deny that he shot the boys but have argued that Moore should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. The judge said Thursday that doctors testified in the case that Moore had previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia on several occasions but the mental health episode Moore experienced during the attack did not prohibit him from understanding the wrongfulness of shooting the children.

Moore will be placed on a violent offender registry. Legal counsel asked that Moore be placed in a facility that can cater to his mental illnesses, calling him a “disturbed individual.”

Judge Eric Allen Marks said Moore should have never had access to a weapon.

“This is a combination of many things and I don’t want anyone to think there’s any responsibility born by them in any way shape or form -- it rests solely on Mr. Moore for his actions and the choices he made that day -- but as a society I hope that we look at this case and try to identify ways we can keep the firearms out of the hands of people with this type of mental disease and defect,” Judge Marks said in closing remarks Thursday. “Your history of record was one of violence, one of psychotic episodes and one that included you having weapons at your disposal on multiple occasions. The fact we couldn’t keep guns out of your hands is what led to the tragic events on Feb. 5. Hopefully as a society we can do more to reduce that number of instances where people suffering from mental defects like yours get access to guns.”

Action News Now Report from March 16, 2023

Kevin Moore was convicted on all charges for shooting three of his ex-girlfriend's young children, killing two of them at the Byrneport Apartments in Feb. 2021.

GRAPHIC: Police body cam footage shows officers arresting Kevin Moore

GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: Police bodycam footage of the arrest of Kevin Moore who is accused in the shooting deaths of two young children.

Breaking news report from Feb. 5, 2021

Breaking news report from Feb. 5, 2021

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