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Community Corner

Slaying Victim Katie Gillihan was '02 Benicia High Grad

Neighbors at Military East townhomes are shaken after death discovered.

Neighbors talked Sunday about the shock of learning that a young neighbor had been found  just beyond a shared wall in a townhouse near the entrance to the Benicia Arsenal. 

Katherine "Katie" Gillihan was found dead in her home at 804 Military East, Benicia police said. She was 26 and was a 2002 graduate of Benicia High School.

Police arrested her boyfriend, Adam Wade Disa, 28, on suspicion of murder. Disa had been staying with her in the home.

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Police were notified by concerned co-workers after Gillihan did not show up for work at Rasputin’s Music in Vallejo, where she and Disa worked.

Disa was arrested at 10:12 p.m. Friday in the Taco Bell parking lot at 700 Military West. At the time of his arrest, he was on parole for a felony assault conviction in 2008. He was booked into the Solano County Jail in Fairfield.

“I’m very saddened,” said neighbor Brian Hathaway. “You could tell Katie was a very nice soul.”

Paul Metzker, another neighbor, said he frequently complained to police about noise and what he thought were arguments in the residence. But Benicia police Lt. Mike Daley said there were no records of domestic disturbance or domestic violence complaints involving the residence. Neither Hathaway nor Metzker could confirm whether Disa was living at the residence at the time of the murder. “I just noticed (Disa) being around in the last three or four weeks.” Metzker said.

Daley said several residents were interviewed after the body was discovered.

Gillihan lived in the quiet townhouse community for about seven years, according to neighbors.

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Hathaway said neighbors are friendly, but more or less keep to themselves and consider the area to be safe. The complex, which is governed by a homeowners association, is near the east end of Military East with signs that state “No Trespassing.” The sidewalks are clean and the grass is nicely maintained. The only indication that anything was amiss Sunday morning was a white candle burning beside a small bouquet of roses in front of Gillihan’s residence.

“I still feel safe,” Hathaway said, “but I still really don’t know what happened.”

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