A Florida man described as a “habitual offender” with 33 prior felony charges now faces charges related to the brutal beating of a 74-year-old woman and the assault and rape of her daughter in law.
David Earl Gipson was most recently released from jail just last month, WJHG reported.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said it was called late Monday afternoon after a passerby located a victim who reported she had escaped after Gipson, 40, had assaulted her and ultimately put her in an “oversized tool box” in a shed in his back yard.
The woman said Gipson visited her home on Sunday and then “became irate” aand attacked her.
“Gipson then bound and gagged the victim and continued to beat her and threatened to kill her,” the sheriff’s office said. “The victim also stated that Gipson sexually battered and beat her threatening her with a handgun and beating her with a blunt object.”
Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews said the woman told deputies that Gipson attacked her mother-in-law, beating her face and head before dragging her out to his vehicle and duct taping her mouth. He allegedly took her back to his home, where the abuse continued.
The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment while deputies launched a search for Gipson.
After the victim’s escape, deputies went back to the initial home and found her mother-in-law, Lettie Cooper Collins, dead.
“She was beat to a pulp,” Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews said.
Gipson was found and arrested on Tuesday after an exhaustive manhunt by multiple agencies.
“The dog teams didn’t give up, and [Gipson] didn’t give up,” Crews said, according to WMBB. “He kept running and kept running. At one point, we came to a place where he got down in a mud hole and tried to cover himself in mud, you see, and all he’s doing is trying to throw the scent of the dog off. He was just trying to avoid capture, but it didn’t work, and we got him.”
He was initially charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon, sexual assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping. Crews said murder charges would likely follow.
