Shannon Gilday attempts to change plea to guilty but mentally ill

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) – The 23-year-old accused of killing a young lawyer in Madison County asked to change his plea Thursday.

Shannon Gilday is charged with killing Jordan Morgan in her father’s home on Feb. 22, 2022.

He attempted to enter a guilty but mentally ill plea in the Madison Circuit Court on Thursday, but the judge rejected the plea.

Gilday initially told investigators he was trying to get into the home’s underground bunker, and his mother had released a statement before his arrest indicating the same interest.

“My son Shannon Gilday, who I love so dearly, has not been of sound mind the last couple of weeks, distraught with the certainty a nuclear war is imminent. He spoke of building a bunker and the CIA following him.,” Kathleen Gilday wrote on Facebook.

In an unrelated court appearance on May 4, for the alleged assault of a deputy jailer, Gilday’s attorney blamed mental health for the charges Gilday faces.

“What happened today is caused by the same thing that caused the murder charges, and that is that Shannon is profoundly mentally ill,” Tom Griffiths said.

Gilday will return to court Monday morning.