Greenville County, SC: Murder-Suicide Leaves 2 Dead, Teen Injured

Couple Had History Of Domestic Disputes

Myra Ruiz, WYFF News 4 Reporter
POSTED: 5:16 am EDT June 1, 2010
UPDATED: 7:49 am EDT June 2, 2010
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. -- Greenville County deputies said a shooting left two people dead and a teenage wounded early Tuesday.
Deputies said they received several calls reporting the shooting just after midnight.
When they arrived at the home in the Cherokee Forest subdivision on Cherokee Drive off Wade Hampton Boulevard in Greenville, deputies found a 14-year-old girl on the front porch who had been wounded in the shoulder. She told them her mother and her mother’s boyfriend were in the house and both were shot.
Deputies found a man and woman dead in the hallway of the home. The coroner identified them as Dennis Gibbs, 39, and his girlfriend Jessica Anderson, 36.
The coroner said Gibbs shot Anderson in the chest before shooting himself in the head.
The teenager was taken to Greenville Memorial Hospital were she underwent surgery, deputies said. She was listed in critical condition Tuesday morning.
A 7-year-old was found asleep on a couch in the back of the home without any injuries. The child was turned over to a family member.
A 14-year-old, who was visiting, was also inside the home at the time.
Both teenagers said they heard a verbal argument prior to the gun shots, investigators say.
"Our key piece of evidence is going to be the 14-year-old who is currently being treated at Greenville Memorial Hosptial," Deputy Matt Armstrong told WYFF. "We hope that she'll be able to shed some light on the subject of what happened."
Deputies said the shooting appeared to be an isolated incident and the couple had a history of domestic problems.
Jaime Sibert said Anderson worked for him at Showcase Automotive.
"It's kind of like losing a sister,” he said. “It really is."
Sibert said she was a hard worker who was raising her two children along with a son of Gibbs.
"We knew some things were going on," Sibert said. "She's really like family to me," He said.
Now, Sibert worries about what will happen to Anderson’s children.
He said, "Her biggest thing in life was to make sure the children had guidance and the opportunity to do better than she did."