CHESAPEAKE — She was affectionately known as “Mamma Kay.” After raising five children of her own, and taking in 15 foster kids after her own children had grown, “mamma” was an appropriate title for her.
And while Mary McNulty was beloved by her family, friends and community, in the end it was one of the many children she and her husband had taken in and given a home to during their 61-year-marriage who ended up taking her life.
McNulty was 82 when she was shot and killed inside her Chesapeake home three years ago. The gunman was Traivon McNulty, a then-20-year-old that McNulty and her husband, Hezekiah, had raised since he was 2 weeks old.
On Tuesday, Traivon McNulty pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, robbery, using a firearm to commit a felony, and another unrelated charge. In accordance with a plea agreement he’d reached with prosecutors, Circuit Judge Andrew D. Kubovcik then sentenced him to 35 years in prison.
According to a statement of facts entered into the case, Traivon McNulty was still living with his adoptive parents and paying them rent when the shooting occurred July 17, 2021.
That morning, he’d asked his father to take him to the bank. When Traivon McNulty didn’t withdraw the full amount he owed for rent, Hezekiah McNulty told him his mother would be upset, the statement said.
Traivon McNulty then called Mary McNulty an expletive and told Hezekiah McNulty, “I’m going to fix you (expletive) today,” the statement said.
After they pulled into the driveway, Traivon McNulty quickly exited the vehicle and went inside. Hezekiah McNulty was standing outside when he heard several gunshots, then ran in to find his wife had been shot.
Afterward, Traivon McNulty threw Hezekiah McNulty to the ground, punched him repeatedly, took his keys, and then fled in his minivan.
When police arrived, they found Mary McNulty’s body in a chair in the front room. She had been shot four times in her face. Traivon McNulty was arrested two days later in Delaware.
On Tuesday, three of Mary McNulty’s children, one of her granddaughters and two of her sons in law told the judge about what a loving and remarkable woman she was, and how her murder had devastated their family.
All of them struggled to understand why Traivon McNulty would want to kill her. But in the end, all but one said they’d forgiven him.
“Miss McNulty treated you as if she brought you into this world herself,” son-in-law Joseph Lymore said to Traivon McNulty during Tuesday’s hearing. “And then you turn around and for no reason, killed Mamma Kay … Your daddy still loves you. That’s the love they have. Despite all you’ve done.”
Hezekiah McNulty, now 87, didn’t come to the hearing. In a letter written by him that Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Michael Peterson read in court, Hezekiah McNulty said his life has been shattered.
Since that day, he said, he’s been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and has suffered from panic attacks, constant fear and a lost sense of security. He visits his wife’s grave every day as he continues to try to rebuild his life.
In explaining why he didn’t come to court Tuesday, Hezekiah McNulty wrote, “I don’t want to relive that moment. I don’t have the mental strength to relive that moment and I don’t want to see Traivon McNulty.”
When Traivon McNulty was asked by the judge if he had anything to say, he replied, “No.”
Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
