Family of Santa Cruz murder victim speaking out about suspect hearing

Dozens of family and friends of McKenzie Gilbert gathered in court today for her suspect’s preliminary hearing.

Gilbert was struck and killed by a driver in July of 2018 when she was walking home near West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz, just blocks from her house when she was hit.

The suspect, Kelsey Knoll, is not only facing murder charges, but the district attorney’s office is also seeking attempted murder from a traffic collision that happened just three days before she’s suspected of killing Gilbert.

July 17th, Knoll was driving near Stoney Creek when she’s suspected of hitting a bicyclist. In today’s hearing Police who responded to the scene say she was traveling in the Northbound lanes and the cyclist Southbound when Knoll crossed lanes of traffic for unknown reasons and hit the bicyclist.

Three days later, she hit and killed Gilbert in a strikingly similar way. Family members of Gilbert said after watching police video at the hearing, “it was like just mirroring exactly what happened three days later, it was like she was trying it out, just testing the theory, and seeing what and how people responded, it was horrible and to think this could have not happened.”

Gilbert’s aunt Nicole Sandkulla says learning about Knoll’s troubling past made it hard to believe she was still allowed to walk free, saying it highlights a big issue with our justice system. “She clearly had past history with drugs had been in and out of the jail land rehab system and it just became very permissive in allowing her back out all the time.”

Often times in traffic collisions the driver will face manslaughter charges, but assistant district attorney Johanna Scholfield says it quickly became clear this was murder, “when questioned by the police as to how her car ended up hitting her, she told the police she had to kill her. So it became very clear these were intentional acts which is why she was charged with murder vs manslaughter.”

Knoll and Gilbert had no relation, her family says she was targeted simply because she was walking there at the time and it could have been anyone.

Gilbert’s family all dressed in white at the hearing today, they say it symbolizes strength and the purity of McKenzie’s heart, “It’s really important that everybody sees that we’re here for McKenzie that we get the best for her, justice for her.”

Knoll is scheduled to be back in court to continue the preliminary hearing to see if the case will go to trial.