Prosecutor, defense agree Gibson killed his wife, but disagree on charges
By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Salinas Bureau
Posted: 11/16/2010 01:31:19 AM PST
Updated: 11/16/2010 01:31:25 AM PST
A former prison counselor murdered his wife, prosecutors said Monday, because he was worried she was leaving him to return to the Philippines.
The defense argued instead that Dan Mark Gibson killed Maria Christina "Cherry" Gibson in an enraged daze brought on by the accumulated stress of work, finances and their rocky relationship.
While both sides agreed in opening arguments that Gibson, 61, killed his wife, the prosecution is seeking a premeditated murder conviction that could result in a life sentence. The defense is arguing for voluntary manslaughter, which would carry a far lighter sentence.
Gibson is accused of strangling his 53-year-old wife before stabbing her, submerging her in the bathtub and breaking her neck in October 2008. Then, apparently contemplating suicide, he slipped and fell from the third-floor balcony of their Seaside condominium, sustaining serious injuries.
Prosecutor Angela McNulty told jurors that Gibson was concerned his wife was questioning their marriage, presumably because of his relationship with an old girlfriend, and that she planned to return to the Philippines and stay there if he didn't go with her.
McNulty said Gibson choked his wife as she fought him, biting and scratching. He then stabbed her multiple times before dragging her to the tub and submerging her in water "to make sure there were no bubbles."
Gibson also attempted to break his wife's neck "to make sure she was dead," McNulty said.
An autopsy determined
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Cherry Gibson's chest had been caved in and she died of asphyxiation.
McNulty said Gibson, after taking a nap, thought about what he had done. He decided he wanted to kill himself and walked out onto the balcony a few times, contemplating his next move. On his final trip onto the balcony, McNulty said, Gibson slipped and plummeted to the ground below.
But defense attorney Miguel Hernandez said Gibson was much more than an enraged husband, noting his college-educated client's lack of a prior criminal record and military service that included three tours in Vietnam. Hernandez described Gibson as an "average male doing everything right."
That is, Hernandez said, until Gibson was caught in "a massive perfect storm" of stress brought on by pressure at work — where he counseled Salinas Valley prison inmates with severe behavioral problems — his wife's family issues, his marriage and their financial struggles. He was unable to eat, sleep or work out. It got so bad that Gibson's supervisor at work told him to take time off to "re-evaluate" his life.
"This was a man in turmoil," Hernandez said.
Hernandez said that on the night of Oct. 30, 2008, before their trip to the Philippines, Gibson awoke "in a panic" that he wouldn't be able to do everything he needed to before they left. His wife, who was working on a laptop, told him she had just transferred all their money to an overseas account. Though it wasn't true, Hernandez said, Gibson snapped.
"All of a sudden, everything crashed, his blood boiled to the point where he lost control," Hernandez said, arguing that his client wasn't aware of what he was doing. "He had an out-of-body experience."
Hernandez acknowledged that Gibson strangled and stabbed his wife, put her in the tub, broke a vertebrae in her upper spine, then covered her crumpled body with a comforter.
When he realized what he'd done, Hernandez said, Gibson thought about jumping off the balcony but decided to face the consequences — then he slipped and fell to the ground below.
Hernandez said Gibson suffered a broken pelvis, multiple rib and vertebrae fractures, and was bleeding internally when he was discovered lying unconscious by neighbors.
After he had been given a sedative and pain medication, he was flown to Regional Medical Center in San Jose. As his injuries were being treated, police read him his Miranda rights and began asking him questions, Hernandez said.
Hernandez said police "reconstructed" Gibson's statement from "bits and pieces" of information his client allegedly told them over three hours.
Earlier in the trial, McNulty said Gibson made incriminating statements to an air ambulance nurse, an emergency room doctor and the police.
Hernandez argued that his client was incapable of making a knowing and voluntary statement because of his injuries, a lack of oxygen due to the loss of blood, and the effects of pain medication.
During morning testimony, CalStar flight nurse Robert Rothwell testified that Gibson said "I killed my wife" when asked if he was in pain after he was loaded into the helicopter at the airport. Gibson added that they had been in a fight and she had bitten him on the chest, Rothwell said.
Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or jjohnson@montereyherald.com.
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