A woman and her best friend face manslaughter charges for allegedly running down her boyfriend in Harwinton last July following a tumultuous argument that led to her texting the friend and asking if he could beat up the boyfriend, saying she wanted him “hurt.”
Logan Diaz-Lopardo, 21, and Abbigale Whipple, 20, both of Torrington were arrested Monday in connection with the death of 24-year-old Kevin Gangell of Harwinton who was run down in the driveway of his home by a vehicle being driven by Diaz-Lopardo, according to Connecticut State Police. Whipple was a passenger in the car.
Diaz-Lopardo faces charges of first-degree manslaughter with intent to injure, first-degree manslaughter with grave risk of death and conspiracy to commit first-degree manslaughter. Whipple has been charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree manslaughter and accessory to first-degree manslaughter.
According to the warrant affidavit supporting the arrests, the series of events that led to Gangell’s death began on July 27, 2024, when he went to a car show instead of spending time with Whipple, she told detectives. Whipple said she had been in a relationship with him for over a year, while describing Diaz-Lopardo as her best friend for many years who is allegedly “obsessed” with her, the warrant affidavit said.
The next day, on July 28, Whipple told police she woke up and found that Gangell had blocked her phone number, so she contacted Diaz-Lopardo and asked him to pick her up from her home, the warrant affidavit said. At some point, she was able to contact Gangell through a FaceTime call, during which she told police she flipped her camera around to show Gangell that Diaz-Lopardo was parked in her driveway, according to the warrant affidavit. This reportedly angered Gangell.
State police found during their investigation that Diaz-Lopardo and Gangell allegedly had much hostility toward one another and that they had previously made threatening remarks to each other, according to the warrant affidavit. Whipple told police Gangell had allegedly once pulled a knife on Diaz-Lopardo because he thought Whipple had an affair with him, state police wrote.
After seeing that Diaz-Lopardo was with Whipple, Gangell allegedly told her to come to his home. The pair then got into Diaz-Lopardo’s 2008 Audi A4 and began driving there. In the warrant affidavit, state police wrote that Diaz-Lopardo initially passed the Clearview Avenue home while the horn was honked multiple times. Diaz-Lopardo and Whipple gave conflicting statements about who sounded the horn.
According to the warrant affidavit, Diaz-Lopardo then circled back and was heading south on Clearview Avenue when he allegedly turned into the driveway where Gangell was standing and struck him. Gangell, state police wrote, was thrown about 70 feet and was left lying on the ground.
The Audi struck a stone retaining wall before coming to rest.
An analysis of the crash conducted by the state police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Squad found that Diaz-Lopardo was reportedly going about somewhere between 32 to 38 mph, according to the warrant affidavit.
Whipple alleged that that Gangell left his home with a pipe in his hand and ran out in front of the vehicle, the warrant affidavit said. She later contradicted this and told police she was afraid because she thought he was holding a firearm, adding that he allegedly alluded to having firearms in the past.
Diaz-Lopardo also claimed that Gangell had run out in front of his vehicle and that he did not mean to strike him, the warrant affidavit said.
Emergency crews responded to the home at 11:53 a.m. on the report of a crash involving a pedestrian. Gangell was taken to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 12:38 p.m., state police wrote.
An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner found that Gangell died of blunt force trauma to his head, torso and extremities, the warrant affidavit said. His death was ruled a homicide.
Following the crash, Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo were both taken to Waterbury Hospital. Whipple suffered several abrasions and a broken jaw, while Diaz-Lopardo was treated for minor abrasions and a broken sternum, according to the warrant affidavit.
They both agreed to speak with detectives at the hospital, where state police told Whipple they would be seizing her phone and seeking a search warrant for it. In response, she told state police they might find her “being impulsive” and saying that Gangell “could die,” the warrant affidavit said. She also reportedly told police “I have threatened him, but I didn’t mean nothin (sic) I said.”
Investigators seized the cell phones of Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo and obtained search warrants allowing them to examine the devices. They also examined Gangell’s phone.
Investigators unearthed messages over Snapchat between Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo on the morning of the crash. According to the warrant affidavit, Whipple reportedly asked him if they could “beat his (expletive) pleas (sic)” and told him “I’m so done.”
“I want him too (sic) hurt,” she reportedly wrote. according to the warrant affidavit. “I wanna go there with you.”
“I want him hurt,” she continued. “I want it done.”
Messages exchanged between Whipple and Gangell on the morning of the crash reportedly showed that she threatened to go to his probation officer, saying she would be “reporting all the threats.”
“Ur (sic) going too (sic) jail,” she reportedly wrote, according to the warrant affidavit.
Whipple went on to tell Gangell “Ima (sic) ruin your life” and that “I warned u (sic),” the warrant affidavit said.
During an analysis of the phones, state police also reportedly found a “tumultuous” and “toxic” pattern of Whipple “spam texting” Gangell when he would block or not answer her, the warrant said. When this would happen, state police said Whipple would continue sending him messages and would sometimes express her desire for him to die.
Investigators also examined the Facebook profiles of Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo and allege that they were in an intimate relationship, the warrant affidavit said. Though Whipple only admitted that the two had previously kissed, state police said they found messages she sent to him the night before the crash in which she allegedly alluded to the two having an affair.
According to an obituary, Gangell was born in Bristol and graduated from Lewis S. Mills High School in Burlington in 2018.
“Kevin had a kind heart and was a dreamer,” the obituary said. “He loved to be outside hiking and exploring the great outdoors in Connecticut. Kevin loved all animals and cars (taking after his father). He was a very loving son and will be missed immensely by his parents.”
Diaz-Lopardo was being held on a $500,000 bond, and Whipple was held on a $250,000 bond. They were both expected to be arraigned on Tuesday in Torrington Superior Court.
