NKY father-of-four killed by teen he’d taken in, raised like a son, family says

“My brother lost his life over a damn cell phone.”
Published: Sep. 14, 2021 at 7:45 PM EDT
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

KENTON COUNTY, Ky. (WXIX) - A Latonia family is grieving the loss of a young father after he was shot to death over the weekend by an 18-year-old whom he’d taken in and raised as his own.

Covington police found Michael Bishop, 29, dead on Rosina Avenue in Latonia around 11 a.m. Sunday.

Bishop’s fiancee, 33-year-old Alicia Haywood, was found shot in the leg with him. She was hospitalized with serious injuries but had successful surgery on Monday. Family members say she is crushed over Bishop’s loss.

Bishop was a father of four.

Covington police arrested 18-year-old Keyshawn McCoy (below) on charges of murder and first-degree assault after the shooting.

He was booked into the Kenton County Detention Center early Sunday evening and will be held without bond until a preliminary hearing on Friday.

Bishop’s brothers, Daniel Helton and Gregory Gillie, say Bishop and Haywood had taken McCoy in when he was 14 and raised him as a son.

McCoy’s biological father confirms Haywood is his wife’s sister.

The same father says McCoy and Bishop had a close relationship but that McCoy had a history of “deep” mental health issues as well as a fascination with guns.

Officers say McCoy and Bishop argued before the shooting. The argument, they say, was over McCoy’s recent bad behavior.

“[Bishop] kicked him out and asked for the iPhone back that he bought the kid, and that’s what started the fight,” Helton said. “My brother lost his life over a damn cell phone.”

The brothers say they want to know how hard-working Bishop was. He managed his own painting business.

“He tried to prevent anything like this from happening to him,” Helton said. “He tried to stay out of the street life thing. That’s not what he was about”

Most importantly, they say they want people to know how much he loved his children.

“He was the best daddy in the world to his kids,” Helton said. “There wasn’t a better father out there to his kids.”

Keyshawn McCoy
Keyshawn McCoy(Kenton County Detention Center)

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2021 WXIX. All rights reserved.