[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A Florida man is accused of kidnapping a woman and brutally beating her mother-in-law to death. Thankfully the victim was able to get free!
The awful incident came to a head on Monday evening when a passerby called 911 after finding a victim of what cops later described as a “brutal attack” in a rural area near Caryville, Florida. When deputies showed up on the scene, they found a woman who was completely naked, in distress, and very badly injured.
She was scooped up by paramedics and taken to the hospital. But before she was whisked away, she told cops that she’d been attacked by a man named David Earl Gipson (pictured above, in his mugshot). According to the cops, he showed up at her house the day before and told her that her husband and brother-in-law “are thieves and owe me money, and I’m here to take it.” Scary…
Related: He Predicted His Own Death & Even Named A Suspect… Hours Before Brutal Murder
He didn’t just take money, though. According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, he also attacked the woman, handcuffed her, and stripped her naked. And then, while she was left helpless and terrified on the floor, he went after her mother-in-law, a 74-year-old woman who cops identified as Lettie Cooper Collins. Sadly, police say she was beaten so badly that she died… and right in front of her daughter-in-law, no less.
OMG…
After that brutal beating, Gipson allegedly dragged the younger woman out to his car, covered her mouth with duct tape, put a gun to her head, and forced her to have sex with him — while threatening to kill her if she didn’t. Then, according to Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews, Gipson reportedly drove the woman to his house, dragged her out to a shed, and “put her in an oversized tool box.” According to the sheriff, he then put a rope around the woman’s neck and “tucked her legs up underneath her” while keeping her handcuffed the whole way through. Sheriff Crews said:
“If you can picture what a hog tie looks like, that’s what he did to her. She stated she got very hot and thought she was going to suffocate and die.”
What. The. F**k.
Nearly a full day later, the woman finally managed to kick her legs free and escape the box. She was still handcuffed, and still naked, but she was able to get out of the shed. She then used a tree trunk to scrape the duct tape off her mouth. And then, as the sheriff recount, she ran for her life. That was when someone finally saw her at the edge of a road in Caryville and called the cops.
When deputies showed up, the woman told them everything that happened. They rushed to her home nearby. Sadly, it was far too late to save Collins’ life, as Sheriff Crews recalled:
“She was beat to a pulp.”
A day later, on Tuesday, Gipson was apprehended. He was taken to Washington County Jail, where he was charged with sexual assault, false imprisonment, homicide, abuse of a corpse, and two counts of aggravated battery. Sheriff Crews said Gipson has been charged with felonies 33 (!!!) prior times dating all the way back to 1999, and has served at least eight different prison stints during his adult life. Holy smokes… Why was he still free to terrorize his neighbors??
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Sheriff Crews lamented the entire situation in a statement released to the media on Thursday morning (below):
“On behalf of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office we are all so sorry that this horrific event has happened to this family. May all our prayers be with this family at this time as we continue to work through this investigation for a successful prosecution.”
Per the WCSO, Gipson continues to be held in jail without bond while awaiting future court dates.
Such a horrible ordeal for this poor woman.
[Image via Washington County Sheriff’s Office]
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