Legacy Of Slain Cuomo Aide Carey Gabay To Live On

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It's been nearly three years since the murder of Carey Gabay, the aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo who was killed by a stray bullet during the J'ouvert festivities before the West Indian Day Parade.

On Wednesday, pre-trial hearings begin for five men who will stand trial for his murder.

CBS2's Janelle Burrell sat down for an exclusive interview with Gabay's widow.

It was the romance that she had prayed for and its chapters had barely begun.

"He left home and never came back," said Trenelle Gabay.

Authorities said during a shootout between rival gangs in the overnight hours ahead of the West Indian Day Parade in 2015, Gabay ducked trying to avoid the spray of gunfire.

"And unfortunately, one of the bullets caught Carey," said Trenelle. "In the head."

"I was blank," she said. "I was numb. I just remember praying, 'Carey's alive. Lord God, keep him alive.'"

Carey fought for more than a week before doctors told Trenelle her 43-year-old husband would never regain consciousness.

"I shared with everyone -- I said, 'Carey and I walked down the aisle at 6 p.m. Tomorrow at 6 p.m., we're going to take him off of life support,'" she said. "And that's what we did. That's what we did."

Carey Gabay was born in the Bronx and raised at the Boston Secor Housing Project. The son of Jamaican immigrants, he worked hard, earning a spot at Harvard University where he'd become one of the first black presidents of Harvard's Undergraduate Council.

He later graduated from Harvard Law School but after two years as a corporate lawyer, he gave up his lucrative job to return to his passion -- serving communities in need.

For Carey, who lost his brother to gun violence, one of his biggest accomplishments was helping enact tougher gun laws in New York.

"That was his goal," his wife said. "'I am going to change this and it has to begin with me.'"

His death could have been the final page of his mission and their love story, but before she took Carey off life-support, Trenelle made the decision to fulfill a dream they had together.

Trenelle is now seven months pregnant with their son with Carey's sperm that doctors harvested in the hospital before he died.

"That is Carey's profile," she said looking at her ultrasound picture. "Definitely his mouth and his jaw line and it's just God's miracle."

She said she "didn't plan on being a single mom."

"But here I am and I just cant wait to meet this little guy," she said. His name will be Carey Gabay.

A block in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn where Carey once lived is now renamed in his honor.

"When you bring your son here, to see his name, his father's name up on that street?" asked Burrell.

"That's when it will be a proud moment," replied Trenelle Gabay.

Next week, she begins another chapter -- the trials of the five men charged in her husband's murder. She plans to face them in court. Seeing her carrying her unborn son, she hopes, will send a message.

"They took a life of a man who was giving back," she said. "I have, went over that in my head, over and over and over again. There's no answer to that question why."

Trenelle says Carey was fun and charismatic but it was his hard work and humility that she admired most, characteristics she hopes to pass onto their son.

She also plans to continue his mission and has started the Carey Gabay Foundation, which she hopes will create awareness about gun violence and help victims and their families.

The state has also created a scholarship in Carey's name. So far, several students have already been awarded full college tuition scholarships in his honor.

For more information, visit www.careygabayfoundation.org.