A man allegedly part of a campaign of drugging and robbery throughout New York City has been charged in the murder of fashion designer Katie Gallagher, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said Wednesday.
Gallagher, 35, known for dressing stars such as Lady Gaga, was discovered last July by her neighbor lifeless in her bed with no obvious signs of trauma. Her apartment’s front door had been left often with the keys still in the lock, leaving her death a mystery until a medical examiner found that “acute intoxication” from a fatal drug cocktail had killed her.
Wednesday’s indictment accuses Kenwood Allen, 33, of three murders, including Gallagher’s, in addition to two other killings he was already indicted for last year. Sometimes working alone, or with a crew, Allen allegedly committed a spree of robberies between March and December 2022 in which he drugged victims with fentanyl or other opioids to swipe their credit cards, watches, phones, and personal items. He allegedly would then drain their accounts at ATMs and rack up charges on their credit cards, according to the indictment.
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“These alleged pernicious drugging and robbery schemes have left far too many families mourning the loss of their loved ones,” district attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Allen also faces felony counts of attempted robbery, robbery, assault, grand larceny, criminal possession of a controlled substance, and conspiracy.
The specifics surrounding Gallagher’s death still remain unclear, according to the New York Post. In a tribute to the designer, Vogue described Gallagher as “a hands-on artisan” who was “fiercely independent and sure of her vision.” A Rhode Island School of Design graduate, she caught the eye of Lady Gaga’s stylist Nicola Formichetti while still in school.
Gallagher’s pieces have famously been worn by Chrissy Teigen, Kourtney Kardashian, Rita Ora, and many others. Gallagher’s work has been highly celebrated in publications such Vogue, The Cut, Elle, Glamour, and Refinery 29, her obituary stated. Under her own fashion line, she premiered 26 collections during New York and Paris Fashion Week in her lifetime.
Before her murder, she had planned to show her 27th collection in the fall, according to her obituary.
“She was unique, beautiful, smart, unabashed, and always wanting. She was hardworking and talented, with so many ideas and plans for future projects,” Gallagher’s obituary read. “We are so proud of who she was and all she achieved in her brief but full and beautiful life.”
