Richard Skelskey had been driving for Lyft for only a short time, picking up passengers around Memphis to make extra money. On Oct. 30, 2022, the 80-year-old driver accepted what appeared to be a routine ride request. He had no way of knowing that his passenger, Joshua Gossett, had just fatally shot a woman inside her own home—and was now looking for a way to escape.
Background
Gossett, then 32 years old, used the Lyft app to travel to Shunish Baggett's residence on Wooddale Avenue in Memphis. Once there, prosecutors say he shot and killed Baggett inside her home. According to a GoFundMe page created for her family about ten days later, Baggett was found dead on the kitchen floor by her then-12-year-old daughter.
Rather than fleeing on foot, authorities say Gossett opened the Lyft app again and requested another ride from the same location. Skelskey accepted the request and drove to pick him up. What should have been an ordinary fare became a deadly encounter within minutes of the pickup.
"What we do know is only that he was shot in the back of the head, the wounds look horrific, it was probably an execution," Skelskey's sister, Carol Soto, told local Fox affiliate WHBQ. "His car is missing, his wallet is missing, his phone is turned off."
The Investigation and Charges
Shelby County prosecutors say surveillance footage, forensic analysis, and Gossett's digital footprint helped investigators establish his identity and link him to both killings. He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder along with related firearm charges.
A Shelby County jury convicted Gossett in April. On Wednesday, Judge George A. Hiller sentenced him to 150 years in prison—the maximum possible—after hearing victim impact statements from Baggett's family, according to the District Attorney's Office.
"This defendant showed a complete disregard for human life," prosecutors said in a statement following sentencing. "He used a rideshare app not just once, but twice—as a tool to carry out two murders."
Key Takeaways
- Joshua Gossett was sentenced to 150 years in prison after being convicted of killing Shunish Baggett and Richard Skelskey on Oct. 30, 2022
- The 80-year-old Lyft driver had recently started working for both Lyft and Uber to earn extra income
- Authorities say Gossett called his second rideshare from the same location where he had just killed Baggett
- Skelskey was shot in the back of the head; investigators described it as appearing "execution-style"
What's Next
Gossett will serve his sentence in Tennessee state prison with no possibility of parole. The case underscores both the vulnerability of rideshare drivers and how digital footprints can help solve violent crimes, authorities say.
Baggett's daughter, who discovered her mother's body, was not identified by prosecutors due to her age at the time of the killing.