One son was shot to death. Now her teenage son is accused of killing her husband.

“I feel like I lost everything that I’ve ever worked for in life within 10 months,” McKibben-Gay told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday.

Her husband, David Gay, was her rock, McKibben-Gay said. He wasn’t the biological father of her three children, but he treated them as his own, his wife said.

When McKibben-Gaycame home after picking up her 14-year-old daughter from cheerleading practice, she found her husband’s body and called police, she said.

At about 6:15 p.m., deputies received the call to Avery Drive in Covington. Gay, 41, was dead inside his home.

Investigators believe Jayden shot his stepfather and then drove away in David Gay’s 2016 Cadillac Escalade. The Escalade was located about 7 miles away at Denny Dobbs Park. But Jayden has not been found.

Anyone with information on Jayden is asked to call 911.

McKibben-Gay says she has no idea where her son is and his phone has been turned off.

Credit: Courtesy Kennethia McKibben-Gay

Credit: Courtesy Kennethia McKibben-Gay

But she is hopeful he will surrender.

“I want Jayden to turn himself in and do the right thing,” she said. “It’s only right. If you’re going to do adult things, you’re going to have to have adult consequences.”

McKibben-Gay says she has been going through old text messages and emails, looking for any clues to Jayden’s whereabouts.

Credit: Courtesy Kennethia McKibben-Gay

Credit: Courtesy Kennethia McKibben-Gay

Her oldest son, Kendarrius Spear, had made her proud, working hard to earn both academic and athletic college scholarships to Stillman College in Alabama. “KD” was also an adored big brother and a 2023 graduate of Alcovy High School.

Spear had completed his freshman year of college and the family had just returned from a June vacation to the Dominican Republic. But then Spear went out and never returned home, his mother said.

McKibben-Gay would soon find out her son had been shot to death at a DeKalb County apartment complex, according to investigators.

“Kendarrius was always so perfect to me,” his mother said. “He never got in trouble in school, he made good grades, he stayed focused. This was a total shock for our family.”

Within days, a teen that had been one of KD’s friends, 18-year-old Jaylen Bailey, was arrested and charged with Spears’ murder, according to DeKalb County police. Three others — Denzel Collins, 15, Samuel Ponder, 24, and Jordan Finnissee, 20 — were soon also accused in the killing, and all four suspects were indicted on murder, aggravated assault and armed robbery charges in January, court records show. Finnissee is not yet in custody.

Bailey, Collins and Ponder have entered not guilty pleas, according to court records.

While the criminal case is still pending, McKibben-Gay said she needed a way to keep KD’s legacy alive. On Nov. 16, on what would have been his 20th birthday, the KD Strong Foundation was created.

“I never wanted another family to go through the loss of a child,” McKibben-Gay said.

The foundation’s mission is to help young people to succeed and avoid violence, according to the group’s Facebook page. Days before Gay was killed, the foundation held a successful community event called “Kicks for a Cause” that provided shoes for those in need, along with other activities.

Now, McKibben-Gay must plan a funeral for her husband, rather than an event to honor her late son.

“I’m scared, to be honest. I don’t know what’s next,” McKibben-Gay said. “When it happened to KD, I felt like maybe God had a purpose. Then it happens again, and I feel like now I’m being punished.”