In a Wednesday sentencing hearing in Marshall County Superior Court No.1 , Judge Robert O. Bowen sentenced 19-year-old Gauvin Monaghan to the maximum allowable sentence of 65 years for the October 2016 murder of 78-year-old Richard “Paul” Costello.
After the hearing, Marshall County Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman commented on the totality of the circumstances of the offense and the background of the defendant saying Gauvin Monaghan was a serial killer who fortunately got caught after his first murder.
According to information released by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, Monaghan read aloud from a letter, asking the victim’s family for forgiveness. Costello’s friends and family members filled the spectator section of the courtroom and intensely watched the proceedings.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman attempted to seek some kind of explanation from Monaghan of why he beat an elderly man to death, inquiring as to whether anger, money or revenge played a factor. Monaghan reportedly could only answer that he did not know why.
No other live testimony was provided by either side. Instead, the state of Indiana submitted numerous photographs depicting the viciousness of the crime and the extent of the victim’s injuries and relied upon the Victim Impact letters provided by family members and some of Paul’s friends. Additionally, Judge Bowen relied upon the lengthy pre-sentence investigation and written report completed by the Probation Department.
Before announcing the sentence, Bowen acknowledged the remorse in Monaghan’s letter and the fact that he avoided the necessity of a trial when he took responsibility by pleading guilty to the crime.
Bowen also considered other other mitigating factors such as Monaghan’s youth, since he was only 18 years of age at the time of the offense. Being so young made it impossible for Monaghan to have created an extensive adult criminal history prior to committing this offense and being caught. Bowen did note that Monaghan had a history of juvenile delinquency.
However, weighted against the mitigating factors, Bowen mentioned that the pre-sentence report indicated a high likelihood that Monaghan would re-offend. In addition, Monaghan had 12 incidences of disruptive behavior while in jail awaiting resolution of the case.
The press release states that the most disturbing factor to the Judge was the viciousness of the crime, the extent of the injuries and the fact the victim had been chained and his body was dragged and hidden.
Accordingly, the judge sentenced Monaghan to 65 years of imprisonment with no part of the sentence suspended. As required, Bowen informed Monaghan that with good time credit at 25 percent, he will have to serve 48.75 years before even being considered for release.
Monaghan was represented throughout the proceedings by local attorney Marc Morrison. In court today representing the state was Prosecutor Nelson Chipman and Deputy Prosecutor Tami Napier.
Monaghan’s co-defendant, Maeson Coffin, is scheduled for trial as first setting on January 30, 2018.
