Left: David Gipson mug shot. Right: Gipson after his arrest (Washington County Sheriff’s Office).
Florida authorities arrested a 40-year-old man after they say he beat a 74-year-old woman to death and kidnapped and raped another woman before he stuffed her in a large toolbox inside a shed.
The horrifying ordeal began around 10 p.m. on Sunday when the suspect, David Earl Gipson, knocked on the victims’ door, Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews said at a press conference. The surviving victim answered and Gipson allegedly told her that her husband and brother-in-law were “thieves” and owed him money, and he was coming to get it.
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Gipson, who has a “trust no b—” tattoo blazoned across his chest, then allegedly entered the home and started taking items. Crews said Gipson then started beating up the woman, striking her on and around her head before handcuffing her and stripping off her clothes. Gipson then allegedly turned his attention to the woman’s 74-year-old mother-in-law, Lettie Cooper Collins. He started punching her as well, cops allege.
According to the sheriff, the last time the victim saw her mother-in-law alive, her eyes were swollen shut and her face covered in blood.
Gipson allegedly kidnapped the younger victim, duct taped her mouth shut and threw her in Collins’ PT Cruiser before driving off. He then drove her to his house, where he sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her, police said. Following the alleged assault, the defendant took her to a shed in the back of his property and forced her inside a large toolbox. Gipson closed the box and put plywood and other debris on top to keep her inside, Crews said.
“She was naked,” Crews explained. “Still handcuffed and duct-taped around her mouth. He put a rope over her neck and tucked her legs up underneath her. 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.”
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Deputies believe she was trapped in the toolbox for most of Monday before she was able to get her feet under her and push it ajar.
“She got out of the shed and then ran for her life,” the sheriff said.
While still handcuffed, she used a tree to push down the duct tape from her mouth before running to a nearby road where she flagged down a motorist who helped her get into his car and gave her a blanket, per Crews. Deputies responded around 5:20 p.m. on Monday to Douglas Ferry Road, where they came to the aid of the woman.
She explained the terrifying experience and told them to check on her mother-in-law. When deputies arrived at the home, they found Collins dead.
“She was beaten to a pulp,” said Crews.
The medical examiner will determine an official cause and manner of death, he said. Deputies arrested Gipson shortly after 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
He stands accused of kidnapping, sexual assault and aggravated battery. It’s unclear if he’s been charged yet with Collins’ murder. He is at the Washington County Jail without bond. He’s next scheduled to appear in court on June 2.
