John Jefferson
Background: The scene in Harwinton, Conn., where Kevin Gangell was struck by a car and killed (WFSB). Inset left: Abbigale Whipple (Connecticut State Police). Inset right: Logan Diaz-Lopardo (Connecticut State Police).
A love triangle in Connecticut that culminated in a fatal car crash has now led to manslaughter charges after threatening texts were discovered.
Connecticut State Police announced the arrests of Abbigale Whipple, 20, and Logan Diaz-Lopardo, 21, months after the July 28 car crash that took the life of Kevin Gangell, 24. Whipple and Gangell had hit a rocky part of their relationship, which had lasted about a year leading up to the incident. In their arrest warrant, police said that the couple had become “tumultuous and toxic,” and minutes before a confrontation between Whipple, Gangell, and her friend Diaz-Lopardo, Whipple had told her boyfriend, “I warned you.”
Police said that on the night before the crash, Whipple and Gangell clashed in a series of phone messages over his desire to go to a car show with his father and a family friend. Whipple then bombarded Gangell with messages until he would block her, at which point she would use a different app to send more messages. According to the warrant, the messages included hopes that he would die, via a drug overdose or other means. The warrant also said that Gangell had told Whipple that he still wanted to see her the next day. On the morning of July 28, Whipple realized that Gangell had blocked her number from his phone.
That action reportedly had Whipple turning to her longtime friend, Diaz-Lopardo. The warrant described their relationship as platonic, but that Diaz-Lopardo had romantic feelings for Whipple. Snapchat messages sent by Whipple to Diaz-Lopardo indicated that she wanted to confront Gangell and cause him physical harm. She said, “Can we beat his ass pleas[e]” and “I want him too [sic] hurt.”
Diaz-Lopardo allegedly responded by saying, “come to me I’ll hold u down.”
Diaz-Lopardo drove Whipple to Gangell’s home in Harwinton, about 25 miles west of Hartford, while Whipple sent more messages to him, including a threat to call his parole officer, saying, “ur going to jail,” “Ima ruin ur life,” and, in her final message to him, “I warned you.”
Minutes later, Gangell was struck by the car being driven by Diaz-Lopardo with Whipple in the passenger seat. According to police, Gangell was thrown 70 feet and landed on the side of the road. He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The medical examiner listed the cause of dead as blunt force trauma to the head, torso, and extremities. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
The arrest warrant stated that Diaz-Lopardo said he did not mean to hit Gangell with his car. He also denied having a romantic relationship with Whipple. In the arrest warrant for Whipple, she told police that when it came to defending her against Gangell, Diaz-Lopardo would “do anything for me.”
Whipple and Diaz-Lopardo were both arrested on Jan. 13 and charged with conspiracy to commit manslaughter in the first degree. Diaz-Lopardo was charged with two counts of manslaughter in the first degree, while Whipple was charged as an accessory.
Both were taken into custody at Troop L in Litchfield. Diaz-Lopardo is being held on $500,000 bond, Whipple on $250,000.
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