Man confesses to killing woman 17 years later because of Walmart texts

Status
Not open for further replies.
V

Vyer

Member
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/23/matthew-gibson-walmart-texts_n_5870372.html

A man drove across the country to confess to a 1997 killing because he misinterpreted messages about a prescription medicine as a veiled reference to the stranger he bludgeoned, a detective says.

Matthew Gibson, 55, was sentenced last week to 10 years in prison for the death of Barbara Leone Brown in Bullhead City, Arizona. Authorities “didn’t even know he existed” before Gibson drove from North Carolina to Arizona this summer to confess that he beat the 38-year-old woman with a flashlight and ditched her body in the Colorado River on the night they met.

His lawyer, Ron Gilleo, said Gibson came clean because “he just wanted it off his chest." An investigator, however, contends that Gibson spoke up because he thought someone was onto him.

Detective Alicia Marquez of the Winslow Police Department in Arizona told the Charlotte Observer that Gibson had begun receiving voicemails and text messages from Walmart saying that “Anita Townshed’s” prescription was ready. Because Gibson didn’t know the name of the woman he killed, he worried that Townshed was the victim and that someone found out what he did to her.

He then received an envelope with no return address that contained an ad from Walmart and started fearing that there was "a contract on his head."

Marquez told the Observer that Gibson had deleted the texts and voicemails, but that Gibson told her if he had never received them, he never would have come forward.

Last week, Gilleo told the Washington Post that if Gibson, who had no prior criminal record, had never turned himself in, Brown's death “would still be an unsolved crime.”
Click to expand...
 
M

Madness

Member
Wonder what the exact details of the crime were. At least now that woman's family, if they're still around will get some type of closure. Pretty crazy to think that the guy was living all these years and no one knew he was a murderer.

As for jail time, doesn't seem like it would do much, but you still need that element of punishment. You can't just beat and kill someone and dump their body and expect to live happily ever after as long as you don't kill anyone else.
 
M

Mariolee

Member
SocksAndShoes said:
17 years of legit shook-ocity.
Click to expand...

image.php
 
R

riotous

Banned
Mr.Swag said:
Why only a ten year sentence?
Click to expand...

Aside from his age, the fact he confessed and plead guilty, had no other criminal history.. I believe his confession technically was to beating her and then disposing of her body, not intending to kill her. So it's 10 years for pleading guilty to manslaughter.
 
M

marvelharvey

Member
Very off topic, but this reminds me of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sending anonymous telegrams to a number of acquaintances saying simply "We have been discovered; flee at once", and one of the recipients did indeed disappear, never to be seen again.
 
B

BreezyLimbo

Banned
Man, this is something out of the Twilight Zone.

The Protagonist keeps getting messages, he knows he's done bad...but these messages just follow him. He has a break down and says 'I DID IT, I DID IT!', and at the end, we see a wal mart employee go 'Oh, that's the wrong address'.
 
M

Madness

Member
Valnen said:
He's getting a slap on the wrist for killing an innocent person. That's never a good thing.
Click to expand...

But what would jail time necessarily achieve for someone who has largely been crime free supposedly since the murder? It's just a waste of taxpayer money. I'm not saying punitive time isn't needed, but ten years plus all the restrictions is still quite a bit for someone who confessed to a crime no one cares about anymore.

Reminds me of that story from a while back when some guy who committed armed robbery and assault was able to avoid jail because they forgot about him. In that time he started a family, integrated into the community, and avoided any further criminal acts. I think a judge recently said he didn't need to go to jail.

Then again we don't know he's been a model citizen in the years since. All it says is no one was looking for him and it'd been 17 years. He could've been a violent person all this time, how many other people hurt etc.
 
R

riotous

Banned
http://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/01103.htm

13-1103. Manslaughter; classification

A. A person commits manslaughter by:

1. Recklessly causing the death of another person; or

2. Committing second degree murder as prescribed in section 13-1104, subsection A upon a sudden quarrel or heat of passion resulting from adequate provocation by the victim;
Click to expand...

Sounds like this is what he essentially admitted to. He claims that she annoyed him so he beat her with a flashlight. They have no other evidence or any statements from anyone and he's pleading guilty so he gets the normal "recommended sentence."

https://www.russlawaz.com/arizona-criminal-law/arizona-criminal-penalties/arizona-manslaughter/

If you look on this AZ lawyers page, and elsewhere, you'll see it suggested that someone with 0 priors and a class 2 violent felony like manslaughter would get minimum 7, average about 10, could be as high as 21.

10 years for a 55 year old with an allegedly clean record doesn't seem that bad; although in America these do seem like low sentencing guidelines.
 
davepoobond

davepoobond

you can't put a price on sparks
what in the hell.

are they sure he even did it or are they just going off his confession? i wouldn't take a confession from someone like that unless he was specific about some part of the crime

hodayathink said:
A ten year prison sentence is not a slap on the wrist.
Click to expand...

death is a slap on the wrist
 
P

PogiJones

Banned
Hey guys, I think it's time to let that GAFfer who thinks no one knows about his murderous past know that we know.

You. You know who you are. I know. We all know. Turn yourself in. It's time to rid yourself of this secret burden you've been carrying. Be free, be good. Do what's right.
 
M

MoonsaultSlayer

Member
PogiJones said:
Hey guys, I think it's time to let that GAFfer who thinks no one knows about his murderous past know that we know.

You. You know who you are. I know. We all know. Turn yourself in. It's time to rid yourself of this secret burden you've been carrying. Be free, be good. Do what's right.
Click to expand...
Send me free PSN and PS+ cards with the wrong name and I'll think about it.
 
V

Ventara

Member
Whoah, this is a pretty crazy story! He must've been super paranoid. And yeah, I hope they verified his claim like someone mentioned. He could just be a wacko (well, he is one either way) who made up the story. Glad the victim's family will find closure, even if 17 years late.
 
Escape Goat

Escape Goat

Member
Valnen said:
He's getting a slap on the wrist for killing an innocent person. That's never a good thing.
Click to expand...

If he hadn't turned himself in the crime would have gone unsolved. The person's family wouldn't ever have any closure. Just she got killed and her body got dumped in the river. Now at least they have some satisfaction that hes in jail for 10 years.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

These bugs come out at nighttime, and attacking victims, they silently kill or leave them with a lifelong infection
33
4K
Happosai replied
[UK] Nicola Bulley, missing woman in strange circumstances (Up: Body found, positive ID)
2
69
8K
Jezbollah replied
Joe Exotic resentenced to 21 years in prison for murder for hire plot against Carole Baskin
2
50
6K
Winter John replied
The "I survived development hell" club (7 years+) of games.
2
68
11K
Perrott replied
Woman kills her husband with eye drops
30
3K
Constant Flux replied
Top Bottom