Episode 5 The Assassination of Thomas Gilbert Sr

In the afternoon of Sunday January 4th 2015, a woman dialled 911 from her stylish Manhattan apartment. She calmly gave the address, the cross streets, the apartment number and floor, and then when asked what the emergency was she replied, ‘My husband is, I think dead.’

Transcript

Her call is immediately transferred to an EMS operator who guides her to perform chest compressions. The woman repeats that she thinks her husband is dead and adds that he’s been shot. The 911 dispatch comes back on the line to ask if she said her husband had been shot. The woman answers ‘yes’. When asked by whom, the woman replied, quote, ‘My son – he’s nuts, but I didn’t know he was this nuts,’ end quote.

The woman who made this call was Shelley Gilbert, her husband was 70-year-old investment banker Thomas Gilbert Sr, and their only son was Thomas Gilbert Jr, then 30 years old. The Gilberts were well-off and well-known amongst Manhattan’s high society, who would soon be shocked by the murder of one of their own, by one of their own.

Welcome back to Turned Up Dead, I’m Fiona and the true crime story I’m going to tell you today is the murder of Thomas Gilbert Sr by his only son, Thomas Gilbert Jr.

Police soon hurry past the large colourfully decorated Christmas tree that was standing in the lobby of 20 Beekman Place and take the elevator up to the 8th floor. When they get to apartment 8D, Shelley Gilbert shows them to the bedroom where her husband lay dead on the bedroom floor. Thomas Gilbert Sr. was on his back between the bed and the wall with his right arm resting on his chest and a 40-caliber Glock pistol in his left hand. There were blood smears on the back of his left hand and on his face and a puddle of blood had formed from a single point blank gunshot wound to his head. To the untrained eye, or those who don’t listen to enough true crime podcasts, a brief glance of the scene, might make you think it was the result of suicide, however it was clear to police that the scene had been staged; victims of suicide don’t often hold on to the guns that kill them.

In contrast to the calm composure she had kept during the 911 call, Shelley Gilbert was now visibly distraught as she sat with police in another room. She had no doubts that her son had killed his father; he had been the other person in the apartment and just moments before she had returned home and discovered her husband’s body, he had sent her out of the house so he could ‘talk business’ with his father. Her day, which had begun like any other, had twisted into the nightmare she now had to face.

The New York Post reported that whilst Shelley Gilbert was with police at the apartment, she spoke to her son on the phone. As if nothing had happened Thomas Gilbert Jr., Tommy to his friends and family, suggested he and his mother ‘get a bite to eat.’ A photograph published by The Daily Mail shows Thomas Gilbert Sr’s body on a gurney outside of the building. The sky is completely dark in the photo and although it gets dark in New York early at that time of year, I don’t think it would have been that dark until after 6pm. There’s a good chance that Thomas Gilbert Sr’s body was still in the apartment at the time Gilbert Jr suggested he and his mother get a bite to eat.

Shelley Gilbert went with Detective Cirigliano to tell her daughter Clare of the shooting. There was some concern that Tommy Gilbert could harm his younger sister so police had taken her into a church. The detective recalled that Shelley Gilbert told Clare, quote, ‘Dad’s dead and Tommy shot him.’ It was reported that the cry Clare let out brought the church to silence.

By the time police from NYPD’s 17th Precinct got to Tommy Gilbert Jr’s Chelsea apartment, he had barricaded himself inside. Police reportedly broke down the door to enter and execute their search warrant. Inside, they found a manual for a 40-caliber Glock pistol, hollow-point bullets, a laser gunsight, handcuffs, and a credit card skimming device along with 21 blank credit cards. Two empty shell casings were recovered which when later tested proved to match the pistol found in Thomas Gilbert Sr’s hand. Around 10:30pm that night, Thomas Gilbert Jr was arrested and taken into custody.

Thomas Gilbert Sr had been born into a wealthy, high-achieving family. He graduated from Princeton and then Harvard, and went on to create Wainscott Capital hedge fund, which he still managed at the time of his death at age 70. Thomas Gilbert married a former debutante, Shelley, and as well as Thomas Gilbert Jr, they had a younger daughter, Clare. According to an episode of Snapped, the Gilberts were included in the New York social register, which is a semi-annual publication in the US that lists the country’s wealthiest and most well-connected families. Thomas Gilbert Sr and his wife had only recently moved to the 1-bedroom apartment at 20 Beekman Place, which with its views of the East River, full-time doorman, and $6,000 a month rent was quite luxurious, but quite a step down in size and prestige when compared to their previous residence; a brownstone townhouse on the Upper East Side. Nevertheless, the Gilberts still kept a summer house in the Hamptons and they were members of some of New York City’s most exclusive social clubs.

Like his father, the younger Tommy Gilbert had attended the best schools, graduated from Princeton, and had been handed nearly every advantage in life. So how and why had his life led to murder? As with most stories, that depends on who you ask.

Although Thomas Gilbert Jr graduated from Princeton, it took him 6 years to do so, and since he had graduated in 2009, he hadn’t been able to hold down a job. His father paid the rent for his $2,400 a month Chelsea apartment and gave him a generous weekly allowance. Thomas Gilbert Sr had also paid his son’s membership fees for the exclusive Maidstone country club in East Hampton until Thomas Gilbert Jr’s membership was revoked. Gilbert’s Jr had junior club privileges – I wasn;t able to find the cost for that by an annual full membership to the club is said to be over $10,000, so it can’t have been cheap. Whilst at the Maidstone in 2014, Thomas Gilbert Jr allegedly threatened an employee and was banned from returning.

In the months leading up to January 2015, Thomas Gilbert Sr had twice reduced his 30-year-old son’s allowance. There are conflicting reports as to the amount though it seems to have been first reduced from $1000 to $600, and then by a further $200. Per week.

In the morning of January 4th 2015, Thomas Gilbert Sr played a game of doubles at The River Club – another social club with annual fees of around $10,000. On its website the club states itself as, ‘New York City’s premier family club.’ During his game he might have wondered and perhaps even worried about how his son would react to his recent decision regarding his financial support; that day, Thomas Gilbert Sr left a message to inform his son that from then on his allowance would be $300 a week and he would have to pay his own rent.

Having not spoken let alone visited his parents for weeks, that afternoon Tommy Gilbert made an unplanned visit to his parents’. He was captured on security cameras entering their apartment building – his face was covered by a hood but at 6 foot 3, about 190cm tall, he was easily identifiable. Once inside, he told his mother he wanted to ‘talk business’ with his father and asked her to go out and get him a sandwich and can of Coke, which she did. Within minutes of her leaving, Thomas Gilbert Jr went into the bedroom where his father was watching the first round of the NFL playoffs on the bed. He placed his glock pistol to his father’s head and fired. A man who lived on the floor below told WCBS 880 news that around 3:30pm he heard a sound he described as, quote, ‘Almost as if somebody had dropped something heavy like a glass on the floor from the apartment above us,’ end quote. Thomas Gilbert Jr was then captured on surveillance again, this time leaving the apartment about 15 minutes after he had arrived. His mother, whilst running the errand he’d sent her on, got a bad feeling and headed back to the apartment without the sandwich and Coke. Tommy was nowhere to be seen and her husband was dead on the floor. ABC News reported it as an ‘execution-style murder’ and said the gun had been held ‘tightly’ to Thomas Gilbert Sr’s head. Shelley Gilbert then called 911 and when asked replied that her son had shot her husband.

Following an autopsy, Thomas Gilbert Sr’s death was officially ruled as homicide from a gunshot wound.

This episode isn’t about whether or not Thomas Gilbert Jr shot and killed his father; no argument was pursued that it had been suicide, and none was made that it had been another shooter. His own mother had immediately named him as having shot and killed his father during her 911 call and there was overwhelming evidence of his guilt.

This story, as was the eventual trial, is about whether Thomas Gilbert Jr really was, to use his mother’s phrasing, that ‘nuts’, or if, as the prosecution claimed, he was a sociopath who, quote, ‘Threw the ultimate tantrum,’ end quote.

When he was arrested,Thomas Gilbert Jr had told detectives that he had been diagnosed with depression and OCD and when another search was done at his apartment, some medications were found but what they were for, and even if they had been prescribed to him, isn’t publicly known.

Despite being recently widowed, experiencing the horror of finding her husband shot dead in their home, and having no doubt that her son had killed him, Shelley Gilbert stood by her son’s side, paid his legal fees, and pleaded that the court show him leniency. From the beginning, Shelley Gilbert firmly believed that Thomas Gilbert Jr had killed his father not because of resentment and anger following his reduced allowance and withdrawal of rent, but because after years of suffering from mental illness, his mind wasn’t working logically enough to know what he was doing.

On Friday 9 January, Thomas Gilbert Jr appeared alongside his attorney Alex Spiro in Manhattan’s Criminal Court. He was indicted for murder in the second-degree, two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree, and one count of criminal possession of forgery devices. Thomas Gilbert Jr remained silent throughout and only responded to the judge by nodding his head. The New York Post reported that he had called his attorney Alex Spiro as soon as he returned to his apartment after the murder, and well before the police had arrived. As a former assistant district attorney, Spiro had prosecuted Rodney Alcala, and as a trial defense lawyer for prestigious criminal law firm Brafman and Associates, he represented high-profile clients such as Aaron Hernandez as well as some well-known celebrities.

On Wednesday 14 Jan 2015, Thomas Gilbert Sr’s will, of which Thomas Gilbert Jr was a major beneficiary, was filed in Manhattan Surrogate’s Court.

Whilst Thomas Gilbert Sr was still wealthy by most people’s standard, he hadn’t been as successful in business as he once was. In the months before his death, the family’s Hamptons summer house had been put up for sale and when he died he had around $1.6 million, a small amount in the circles he ran.

In a statement after Thomas Gilbert Jr’s arraignment on February 5, Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance announced to the public, quote, ‘As alleged in the indictment, the defendant intentionally shot and killed a member of his own family.’ End quote. He continued, quote ‘He also possessed a private cache of ammunition and firearm attachments that might have enabled him to do even more tragic harm. The presence of deadly weapons can escalate any situation involving domestic or family violence’, end quote. Thomas Gilbert Jr pleaded not guilty to murder. Although first rejected, Gilbert’s legal team would be allowed to use the insanity defense.

The insanity defense admits that the defendant committed the crime, but it argues that they are not legally guilty because at the time the crime was committed, they were legally insane. Therefore, when an insanity defense is used, it’s on the defense to prove the defendant lacked the ability to understand the nature and consequences of their actions or that what they did was wrong.

If the jury finds Thomas Gilbert Jr not guilty by reason of insanity, he could inherit his share of his father’s will.

On April 30 2015 the charge against him for criminal possession of forgery devices was dismissed. Before attending court, Thomas Gilbert Jr had written to the judge giving the reasons he believed he should be allowed bail. The judge denied his request so he had to continue awaiting his trial at Rikers Island. Rent free. His attorney said he would have further psychiatric evaluations.

This was to be the start of a lot of back and forth regarding Thomas Gilbert Jr’s competency to stand trial.

If a defendant is deemed incompetent to stand trial, they are not off the hook for their criminal charges; competency to stand trial concerns a defendant’s mental state at the time of the trial, not at the time an offence was committed. A person’s competency or incompetency to stand trial has nothing to do with their insanity defense and it can’t be used as evidence during their criminal trial.

I understand stuff like this more easily when I apply it to things I’m familiar with, such as Disney. So, let’s say Sleeping Beauty committed a crime before she bit into the poisoned apple; she shot the old witch and stole all her apples. Her fingerprints were everywhere and there were seven witnesses, but now she’s asleep, so she’s incompetent to stand trial. The fact that she’s currently asleep, or incompetent to stand trial now, has nothing to do with the crime she committed before she bit into the poisoned apple and fell asleep. When the Prince kisses her and she wakes up, she’d be competent to stand trial. The Prince might have some questions to answer regarding consent, but that’s another story.

Back to the real world, when a defendant is deemed mentally incompetent to stand trail, they will be hospitalised and treated. This could be in a hospital for the mentally ill but defendants may also receive treatment in a facility that’s part of a prison. Ideally, treatment would improve their mental condition enough so that they are then deemed mentally competent and their trial would proceed.

In August 2015 Thomas Gilbert Jr was evaluated and was deemed incompetent to stand trial by two psychiatrists. However this was challenged by the DA who wanted Gilbert reexamined. This led to a 9-day hearing in the winter of 2015 to decide whether Gilbert Jr was fit to stand trial. A motion for a hearing to determine a defendant’s mental competency can be made by the defendant or the prosecution at any time during a criminal prosecution and several were made concerning Thomas Gilbert Jr.

When the hearing started in November 2015, forensic psychologist Dr. Stuart Kirschner testified that he found no evidence of psychosis after he had interviewed Gilbert Jr. NY Daily News reported that in footage played to the court, Thomas Gilbert Jr gave coherent, intelligent answers to Dr Kirschner’s questions. Dr Kirschner told the court quote, ‘My opinion is he’s competent to stand trial,’ end quote.

Tommy Gilbert’s defense argued that Dr. Stuart Kirschner had ignored years of mental health struggles and reports of psychosis. Medical records were shown to the court that showed Tommy Gilbert had at a time believed that he was being ‘mocked’ by the sketches on Saturday Night Live and that his phone and computer had been hacked. Another example given was that during his time at Princeton, Tommy Gilbert believed university police were ‘pushing him toward China’. The doctor agreed that some of the examples of Gilbert’s behaviour from his records did, quote, ‘sound really delusional,’ end quote. However, he also said, quote, ‘Although there are indications in the record that Mr. Gilbert has a psychiatric history, I saw absolutely no symptom of a mental disorder that would impact on his ability to proceed to trial,’ end quote.

Tommy Gilbert’s defense suggested that he had hidden his symptoms of mental illness as he had done before, so that he was able to appear well during his 30-minute interview with Dr Kirschner. In an episode of Snapped, Shelley Gilbert spoke about Tommy Gilbert’s mental health and told of how, quote, ‘Tommy had made a huge point in the very beginning that we were to tell nobody except immediate family.’ The doctor responded that anyone who was attempting to fake wellness to stand trial would be unable to fool an examiner.

The court also heard that Tommy Gilbert’s paternal grandmother suffered from mental illness as did his maternal grandfather, who had been hospitalized but had committed suicide by jumping from a fifth-floor window.

Thomas Gilbert Jr, reportedly upset that matters he’d rather be kept private were being brought into evidence, refused to return to court for the afternoon session.

During this hearing, the court also learned of Thomas Gilbert Jr’s use of illegal drugs. A few months before he should have graduated in 2007, Gilbert was arrested for possession of cocaine and magic mushrooms and 3rd degree aggravated assault. Whilst high, Thomas Gilbert Jr head-butted a nurse who was treating him. Gilbert was offered the opportunity to avoid prosecution by entering New Jersey’s Pretrial Intervention Program. The New Jersey Courts website says its The Pretrial Intervention Program, quote, ‘seeks to render early rehabilitative services when such services can reasonably be expected to deter future criminal behavior,’ end quote. Tommy Gilbert entered the program and as part of it, agreed to counselling. When he completed it in September 2008, the assault charge against him was dismissed.

Thomas Gilbert Jr reportedly also used marijuana and LSD and the Daily Mail reported that when his apartment was searched more thoroughly shortly after his arrest in January 2015, syringes and what was reported as ‘some clear liquid medication’ were discovered. I couldn’t find anything else about this nor could I find any mention of him having a medical condition that would explain him having syringes and medication.

After hearing the conflicting opinions of Gilbert Jr’s mental capability, judge Jackson ruled him fit to stand trial.

Four months later, in April 2016, Thomas Gilbert Jr was back in front of Judge Jackson. Spiro said his client showed signs of mental incompetence and was unable to communicate with him. Spiro described a recent incident at Rikers Island which made him believe Tommy Gilbert was suffering ‘acute psychosis.’ In an alleged suicide attempt, which had failed but led him to believe he was radioactive, Tommy Gilbert had swallowed a battery.

Back in court in June 2016, Ortner, prosecuting, agreed that Thomas Gilbert Jr had in fact swallowed a battery, which could be interpreted as a suicide attempt, but the assistant DA objected to it meaning Gilbert Jr was mentally incompetent.

Gilbert’s lawyer gave further examples of his recent behaviour. Spiro told of Tommy Gilbert’s repeated attempts to contact the president of a cable television company to get them to give him phone records. Spiro had the records but Gilbert Jr refused to take them from him. Spiro then told the judge, quote, ‘In addition, he has asked me to tell the court that there is a witness he needs to speak to and therefore wants the court to issue a subpoena to the Iraqi Consulate,’ end quote.

The judge reminded Gilbert’s defense that the issue was Thomas Gilbert Jr’s competence to stand trial, not his mental health, but after hearing from both sides and reviewing the results of the psychiatric evaluation, she noted, quote, ‘The court is compelled to exercise caution,’ end quote, but ordered another round of psychiatric tests. When given several dates on which to return to court, Spiro chose August 17 – the last available date.

On August 17 2016, Thomas Gilbert Jr was again declared fit to stand trial.

To prove guilt in a criminal trial, two things need to be proved; that the defendant on trial committed the crime and that during the crime they were aware of their actions and knew what they were doing was wrong. This is based on the precedent that you can’t punish someone for a crime for which they are not morally culpable. When an insanity defense is mounted, doctor-patient privilege is waived, and in order for an insanity defense to proceed, the defendant must submit to a medical examination by the prosecution’s expert; any statements made during this examination can be used as evidence against the defendant. Thomas Gilbert Jr had so far refused to meet with the prosecution’s expert.

In April 2017, armed with a sworn statement from an inmate at Rikers Island that said Tommy Gilbert was refusing to meet the prosecution’s doctors because he believed they were imposters, Gilbert’s lawyer made another request for mental competency testing. This was denied and the defense was given another blow when the judge gave Gilbert Jr his last chance to meet with the prosecution’s expert or forfeit his insanity defense. Justice Jackson told him, quote, ‘I’m willing to give you another chance to do the interview so I want you to think carefully. You’re a very intelligent man and you should be aware of the risks and consequences. So do you want me to give you another chance?’ end quote. As he had previously, Tommy Gilbert remained silent and nodded his head in response. The judge acknowledged his affirmation and said his case would proceed to trial.

However it would be another two years before Thomas Gilbert Jr would stand trial. In the meantime there were court hearings regarding what evidence would be allowed, the attempt at staging the murder as suicide, and whether homicide was a rushed judgement.

In October 2017, assistant District Attorney Craig Ortner offered Thomas Gilbert Jr a plea deal of a maximum of 25 years in prison in exchange for pleading guilty to first-degree manslaughter. Gilbert Jr rejected this. At this time, Spiro was still his lawyer but by December 2018 Shelley Gilbert had retained the services of attorney Arnold J. Levine to defend her son in his murder trial.

In January 2019, another mental competency hearing was ordered.

Tommy Gilbert spent Valentine’s Day of 2019 speaking to the psychiatrist his new defense lawyer had hired. However, the doctor reported that he found Gilbert was, quote ‘For the most part, cooperative’ end quote and decided Gilbert Jr fit for trial. Just. ‘Gilbert squeaks by as fit, competent,’ he said.

Because Shelley Gilbert was paying for the defense of the person accused of murdering her husband and was expected to be called by the prosecution and defense, the issue of conflict of interest could potentially be raised. Wanting to avoid this, which would result in further delay, Justice Jackson asked Gilbert Jr, quote, ‘Now that you have been found fit I want to ask if you waive any perceived conflict of interest?’ end quote. Once again, he nodded his response.

In a statement given outside the courtroom Shelley Gilbert said, quote, ‘I think the bar of fitness for trial in New York State is so low that we have people in the courtroom that are not fit for trial,’ end quote.

The next month, 4.5 years after he killed his father, Thomas Gilbert Jr’s trial for his father’s murder finally began. The jury selection started on May 13 2019; the duty of the men and women selected was to decide if Thomas Gilbert Jr was worthy of blame, and was therefore subject to being punished.

Justice Jackson, who is a great granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt, and who had been the judge for many of Gilbert’s previous court appearances, presided over his murder trial.

The lead prosecutor was Assistant District Attorney Craig Otner. In his statement, Otner described Thomas Gilbert Jr as a ‘sociopath’ who resented his father for reducing his allowance and told the jury how he had bought the gun used in the murder online and had paid in cash. He said, quote, ‘He wanted his father dead and so he devised a plan to murder him,’ end quote.

A key witness for the prosecution was Shelley Gilbert, which put her in the unusual position of testifying against the person whose defense she’s paying for. After being subpoenaed by the prosecution, Shelley Gilbert told the New York Post, quote, ‘There was no one else around. Most trials you have to prove who did it. That’s not true of this one. What’s cruel is I have to relive it on the stand,’ end quote.

In their opening statement, the defense said that Tommy Gilbert had a long history of mental illness and had killed his father due to a psychotic break. They also called Shelley Gilbert as a witness.

The prosecution played Shelley Gilbert’s 911 call, and so the jury heard her tell the emergency dispatcher that her son had shot Thomas Gilbert Sr in her own words.

On the stand, Shelley Gilbert spoke of her family and described how they had previously been close. She told the court, quote, ‘We were a very happy family. Very low-key, very happy, very busy. We did have a good relationship through the years,’ end quote. On her second day on the stand, she described how things started to change when Tommy Gilbert began to show signs of mental illness.

Ortner had a difficult time with Shelley Gilbert. His reluctant star witness, as she was described in the press, was unable to recall some of the things she had said in the testimony she had given in 2015.

Thomas Gilbert Jr frequently interrupted his mother’s testimony by shouting ‘objection’ and making nonsensical comments full of legal terminology. On the second day, fed up with his continued shouts of ‘objection,’ justice Jackson warned him that if his behaviour continued, she would have him removed from the court. Gilbert Jr’s lawyer told the judge, quote, ‘He’s affirmatively undermining and sabotaging my ability to defend him,’ end quote. He said Tommy Gilbert had been refusing to meet with him and said his behaviour in court showed his mental incompetence to stand trial.

On Monday 3 June 2019, Thomas Gilbert Jr was thrown out of the court after further outbursts. On one occasion, Gilbert Jr had looked directly at the jurors and said, quote, ‘I’d like to ask to suppress the evidence,’ end quote. His application was denied. The New York Times reported that he, quote, ‘For about 10 minutes cited random court statues and aired grievances, including his dissatisfaction with his lawyer. Then he apologized, saying, “The defendant expresses remorse,”’ end quote. As he was dragged out of the courtroom, Thomas Gilbert Jr allegedly shouted, ‘constitutional court misconduct’ and ‘prosecutorial misconduct.’

For the following two days, Thomas Gilbert Jr refused to attend his own trial.

On one of these days, the jury heard the testimony of Anna Rothschild, a woman who had dated Gilbert in early 2014. For those wondering, this Anna Rothschild is of no relation to the well known and incredibly wealthy Rothschild’s. Anna Rothschild was questioned about the behaviour she witnessed during her relationship with Gilbert and whether it appeared normal. She testified that Gilbert’s father wasn’t ever happy with him and that nothing he did was good enough. Without having access to a transcript, I don’t know if this was something she had come to believe because of witnessing it firsthand or if it was what Gilbert had told her. She later told Snapped, quote, ‘The only person responsible for this is him. no one else is responsible for it his mother’s not responsible his father’s not responsible he made this action on his own and solely on his own,’ end quote.

By May 2014 Thomas Gilbert’s relationship with Anna Rothschild was over and he had begun to date Briana Swanson. Briana is a chef who had been a contestant in Season 10 of Gordan Ramsey’s TV show, Hell’s Kitchen. Although Briana had moved in with him very early in their relationship, Thomas Gilbert Jr became paranoid that she was ‘messing’ with him and had been in contact with his old friends behind his back. Gilbert Jr, who she said was often late paying rent, would accuse her of flirting with other men and read her text messages. However, it was him who had been infatuated with someone else.

In an article titled Gilded Rage, Vanity Fair reported that in July 2014, Thomas Gilbert Jr was thrown out of a bar for assaulting two of his friends. That evening, Gilbert Jr was at Stephen Talkhouse bar, in Amagansett, a beach town on the East End of Long Island. Whilst the band was playing, a fight had broken out involving Gilbert Jr and two of his peers. The bar’s security pulled Thomas Gilbert Jr away from one of the men, who Gilbert Jr had been trying to choke. He was thrown out of the bar but went back inside and attacked the men again. Vanity Fair didn’t report the details but said that the issue had been a woman named Lizzy Fraser.

Lizzy Fraser was a young socialite who the NY gossip blog Gawker described as, quote, ‘The ghost of Edie Sedgwick reincarnate: model, Columbia undergrad, Warholophile and photographer favoring self-portraits of herself surrounded by a minimum of four mirrors in varying sizes and shapes,’ end quote. Lizzy Fraser and Thomas Gilbert Jr had dated but at the time of the Stephen Talkhouse bar attack, they had already split up and he was in a relationship with Briana Swanson. Although that relationship wasn’t to last either.

Briana said that at the end of their relationship, Gilbert Jr was scared and upset that his parents’ plans would stop supporting him financially. She ended their relationship in October 2014 when she saw messages between him and a woman he had been cheating on her with. After the breakup, Briana left New York and went to great lengths to make sure that Thomas Gilbert Jr wouldn’t turn up on her doorstep. Before she left New York, Briana told him that she was going south. She drove over 700 miles south and stopped to take some photos in South Carolina. She uploaded the photos to Facebook from South Carolina and then unfriended Gilbert Jr. Briana then travelled more than 1000 miles northwest to her final destination; Iowa, whis is nowhere near the south.

Something else that might have contributed to Briana’s decision to break up with Gilbert Jr was that a month before she ended the relationship, he very nearly involved her in another serious crime of which he was the main suspect. Like the attack in the bar, this incident involved someone who was once his friend and his paranoia about Lizzy Fraser.

On the night of Saturday September 13 2014, Thomas Gilbert Jr and Briana Swanson arrived in the Hamptons (squatting in parent’s house?). On Sunday morning, Gilbert Jr suggested they go out for lunch, but when they got in the car he drove Briana to the train station and told her to go back to New York city.

In the early hours of Monday morning, the security system of a 350-year-old, multi-million dollar mansion was set off by a ground floor window being smashed. Within ten minutes, flames were tearing through the building. Upon arrival, firefighters were unable to enter the house and fought the fire from outside. After three hours, the fire was out but the entire south side of the mansion had burned to the ground. The north side remained standing but had extensive fire and smoke damage. Investigating officers recovered a gas can and some gas-soaked rags from the cemetery across the street. They had been searching there because a resident of a neighboring house told them he had seen a man in the cemetery watching the house burn.

The mansion belonged to the family of Peter Smith Jr, an old friend and housemate of Thomas Gilbert Jr. Vanity Fair reported that at the time of the fire, Peter Smith Jr would usually have been sleeping in the house. The man seen in the cemetery is believed to have been Gilbert.

In the summer of 2012, Tommy Gilbert had become friends with Peter Smith. Peter Smith’s family also had a home in the Hamptons, which was where the young men had developed their friendship. When others they knew said Thomas Gilbert Jr was strange, Peter Smith defended him. But when he testified at Thomas Gilbert Jr’s murder trial, Peter Smith said Thomas Gilbert Jr, quote, ‘tried to kill me on several occasions’, end quote.

Their friendship began to crumble while Tommy Gilbert was living in Peter’s apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Peter Smith had begun a relationship which had grown to become more serious. Dan’s Papers reported that Tommy Gilbert didn’t like that his friend was now spending more time with his girlfriend. When Peter Smith was asked during the murder trial if the relationship, quote, ‘in many ways, displaced the spot the defendant had occupied, right?,’ end quote, Peter Smith answered, yes. Unlike his relationship with Tommy, Peter’s relationship with his girlfriend was going well and he wanted her to live with him. When she moved in, Thomas Gilbert Jr refused to move out. Gilbert Jr accused Peter of hacking his computer and of ‘messing with him.’ This was also the start of Thomas Gilbert Jr’s paranoia about Lizzy Fraser. Gilbert Jr was dating Lizzy Fraser at the time and he accused Peter of trying to steal her from him.

Thomas Gilbert Jr eventually moved out but as reported by Vanity Fair, he developed a quote, ‘obsessive vendetta against Smith,’ end quote. In October 2013, his vendetta against Peter Smith erupted in violence.

Peter Smith had been invited to the premier of his friend’s film. Tommy Gilbert had been an extra in the film, and had also been invited. According to Dan’s Papers, on the day of the premiere, Tommy Gilbert had called Smith repeatedly. When Peter Smith walked out of the building of his Williamsburg apartment, Thomas Gilbert Jr, who had been waiting outside, ambushed him. The article quoted Smith as saying, quote, ‘He swung at me but missed. He grabbed the back of my head with both hands, he kneed me in the face about 18 to 20 times.’ Other papers reported that Thomas Gilbert Jr slammed Peter Smith’s head on the pavement giving him a broken nose and concussion.

A friend of both Gilbert Jr and Smith who spoke with Gilbert Jr after the attack told Vanity Fair, quote, ‘Tommy was creating this insane idea in his head that Peter was out to get him. Everyone knew this was out of nowhere. It just definitely seemed like some sort of mental event was going on that was scary,’ end quote. Someone else who spoke to him that night told Vanity Fair, quote, ‘When I was talking to Tommy on the phone, the thing that made me think, This guy’s not on this earth and possibly dangerous, was the flag thing,’ end quote.

The flag thing had happened earlier that year. During the poker party he was hosting, Peter Smith’s dog knocked over and broke glass. Peter Smith grabbed his dog by the scruff of the neck and lifted it away from the mess. Tommy Gilbert accused Smith of animal cruelty because how he had lifted the animal. When Peter Smith responded, he called Tommy Gilbert a loser in front of everyone present.
The next day Gilbert Jr stole a flag and flagpole from the Smith family house. The day after that, he returned to the house and threw the flagpole through the kitchen window. Gilbert Jr then called Peter Smith Jr and threatened that he was ‘coming for him.’ Dan’s Papers reported that the police weren’t involved because Peter Smith Sr didn’t want to ruin Tommy Gilbert’s life. Not long after, Peter Smith started getting visits from the SPCA; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The Smith family later received a cheque of an undisclosed amount from the Gilbert family.

Vanity Fair’s source described Thomas Gilbert Jr’s retelling of this as, quote, ‘aggressively manic’, end quote. His speech was repetitive, full of contradictions, and spilt raw anger.

For ambushing his former friend, Thomas Gilbert Jr was charged with assault as a misdemeanor and Peter Smith Jr was granted a protection order. The charges were dropped when Thomas Gilbert Jr completed an anger management program.

Those who knew him at the time recall that Thomas Gilbert Jr didn’t seem to understand the seriousness of his actions.

Just under a year later, in October 2014, Thomas Gilbert Jr violated the protection order when he approached Peter Smith at a party on a beach close to the Smith’s house. An unnamed partygoer told Vanity Fair that Gilbert Jr, quote, ‘literally came out of the darkness,’ end quote. Tommy Gilbert tried to get Peter to walk down the beach with him and told Peter that it was his last chance to reconcile their friendship and rescind the protection order. Peter Smith didn’t do any of what Tommy Gilbert had asked, and although, or perhaps because he was said to be terrified of him, he didn’t tell police that Gilbert Jr had violated the protection order. Two weeks later, Thomas Gilbert Jr was the prime suspect for the fire that destroyed the Smith family’s mansion.

After the fire, Peter Smith told police about the violation of the protection order and Thomas Gilbert Jr was arrested for this on 18 September 2014.

Briana Swanson, who would wait another month before making her escape from Thomas Gilbert Jr, didn’t see him until a few days after he had been arrested. Back in New York city, he told her that he’d been arrested but he said nothing about the fire. Briana learned of the fire from a friend.

When she spoke with police about the suspected arson, she told them that the rags they had found nearby looked to be from a set of purple bed sheets Gilbert Jr recently bought. Despite this, no charges were brought against him regarding the fire.

When Thomas Gilbert Jr shot his father, a criminal case for violating the protection order charge was still pending.

Thomas Gilbert Jr’s uncle, and the brother of Thomas Gilbert Sr, was called to testify by the prosecution. George Gilbert had paid for Gilbert Jr’s Princeton tuition but he testified that since then his nephew hadn’t appeared concerned with making his own way in life. Thomas Gilbert Jr had asked his uncle to recommend him for membership of the Devon Yacht Club, an upscale social club in the Hamptons.

George Gilbert had spoken with his brother about Thomas Gilbert Jr and said he needed to get a job. Referring to his and his brother’s upbringing, George Gilbert said, quote, ‘We always worked summers after we were 16. And we were expected to get a job when we got out of school,’ end quote. When asked if he knew of any reason his nephew couldn’t get a job, George Gilbert answered, quote, ‘No, I’m not aware of any reason why he couldn’t get a job at the time,’ end quote.

On Monday 17 June 2019 Oct 2014, the jury were shown between Thomas Gilbert Jr and his parents. In these, Gilbert Jr made requests for money to pay for things such as his gym membership, new clothes and tickets to social events. Once his parents had given him money, he’d want no contact with them. The jury saw an email from Gilbert Jr to Gilbert Sr that said, quote, ‘Again, I requested no emails,’ end quote. The only thing his parents had reportedly done was ask him to attend a social event. Gilbert Jr’s reply continued, quote, ‘Please stop, so I don’t have to change my email address. This is a form of harassment,’ end quote.

On the same day in court, the jury was shown evidence that Thomas Gilbert Jr searched online for ‘Hitman Services’ and ‘Murder For Hire.’

The defense’s argument was that Tommy Gilbert killed his father whilst in a psychiatric episodic which came after years of escalating mental illness and was therefore not-guilty of murder. In addition to having OCD and depression, which Gilbert had told police upon his arrest, he had also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and had been taking medication for at least one of his mental illnesses while he was at Princeton.

Shelley Gilbert told of how, while boarding at Deerfield Academy, Tommy developed the belief that things and people could become contaminated – Tommy feared contaminated things and people because he believed they were ‘almost radioactive.’ Whilst at boarding school, Tommy believed that his roommate had become contaminated. Shelley Gilbert testified that they were lowering Tommy Gilbert’s allowance in an effort to encourage him to get psychiatric help, not simply out of ‘tough love’ as the prosecution had claimed.

The first witness for the defense had been a doctor who had diagnosed Tommy Gilbert with severe compulsive disorder, depressive disorder, paranoid disorder and psychosis. The doctor had an Ivy-league education and had treated Tommy Gilbert for years.

In his closing argument for the prosecution, Ortner said Thomas Gilbert Jr was responsible for his actions and that he had murdered his father because his free ride was coming to an end. He told the jury, quote, ‘This defendant didn’t want to grow up and be an adult. When his father tried to push him along in that direction and cut his allowance, he threw the ultimate tantrum,’ end quote.

After hearing days of, at times, reluctant testimony and seeing the evidence which included photographs of the crime scene and of Thomas Gilbert Sr’s body, the jury entered their deliberations. After the first day, the 12 jurors were split nearly equally. Juror number 5 might have been one of the jurors who was on the not-guilty side. After the trial she said, quote, ‘At first I believed he wasn’t responsible because of his mental illness,’ end quote. However, on the second day, the scales began to tip in favour of guilt. Juror number 5 continued, quote, ‘After reading through all the manuscripts it hit me: that one line about the Coke showed that he was conscious of his actions at the time,’ end quote.

On Friday June 28 2019, after the second day of deliberation, the jury returned their verdict. The jurors had decided that Gilbert knew what he was doing when he killed his father because of the can of coke; Gilbert knew his parents didn’t keep soda in their home and had asked her for it to get her out of the house. They reasoned a person who is legally insane wouldn’t do that. The New York Supreme Court jury found Thomas Gilbert Jr guilty of Murder in the Second Degree for the patricide of Thomas Gilbert Sr on January 4 2015 and guilty of the two counts of Criminal Possession of a Weapon.

After the verdict, the Manhattan DA issued a press release which read, quote, “In spite of all his love and generosity, this defendant shot his father at close range in his own apartment in an unconscionable and brutal crime. I thank my office’s prosecutors for their years of dedication to this case and for ensuring a just outcome,’ end quote.

Before sentencing, Shelley Gilbert asked the judge to be lenient and give her family the chance of being happy again by committing Tommy to a psychiatric hospital close to home. Her victim impact statement read, quote, ‘We need Tommy to be given as light a sentence as possible. I ask that you give him a chance and give him hope for his future, not just for him, but for us as well. I know if my husband was speaking from heaven, he would be saying the same thing as well,’ end quote.

Thomas Gilbert Jr rambled as he had throughout his trial and referred to himself as ‘the defendant.’ His attorney requested the minimum sentence of 15 years to life.

Breaking the silence of the Manhattan courtroom, Justice Jackson handed Thomas Gilbert Jr the maximum sentence of 30 years to life for the murder of his father with an additional five years for the weapons possession charges.

In a press release after the sentencing, the DA said, quote, ’Thomas Gilbert, Sr. was a beloved member of his family and business community when his own son murdered him in a cold-blooded killing. But now, thanks to my office’s prosecutors, the defendant has finally been held accountable and he will serve a life sentence for this unconscionable crime. While nothing can undo the tragedy of Mr. Gilbert’s death, I hope that the resolution of this case helps his loved ones as they continue to heal from this devastating loss,’ end quote.

As of the time of recording, Thomas Gilbert Jr hasn’t made any appeals. This is likely due to the pandemic.
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So, what do I think? A quick reminder; I have no background in law or law enforcement, these are just my personal thoughts and opinions based on everything I’ve read about this case.

So, did the jury get it right? I think they did. Like the jury, I don’t believe Thomas Gilbert Jr was insane when he killed his father, legally at least, but I do think it’s clear that he had some mental illnesses.

In 2017 the police detective that had gone with Shelley Gilbert to find and inform Clare Gilbert that her brother had killed their father, testified that in the car Clare questioned her mother about Gilbert Jr. He said, quote, ‘Claire keeps saying, she said several times, ‘I thought he was getting better? You said he was getting better. You said he was on medication,’ end quote.

A childhood friend of Thomas Gilbert Jr who spoke to Vanity Fair said of him, quote, ‘He’s a sweet, high-achieving guy who was taken down by chemicals in his brain,’ end quote.

Two of his ex-girlfriends, Anna Rothschild and Briana Swanson, said that he had confided in them that he had taken medication and had undergone psychotherapy to manage his mental health and I’d like to think his doctor was honest in his testimony.

Gilbert Jr had reportedly seen a psychiatrist as recently as December 2014 but he wasn’t on medication when he committed patricide.

One sentence which I’m sure Gilbert Jr’s lawyer never would have expected to say in court about a client was, quote, ‘He is telling me that he can’t think because he is radioactive,’ end quote. This was during the hearing when the defense’s request for mental competency testing was denied. Ortner had objected saying, quote, ‘I think a little bit of perspective is in order, or we will find ourselves in an endless cycle of exams and possibly hearings,’ end quote. I agree with that but I believe the many mental competency hearings were legit; I don’t see any use of faking it for Gilbert Jr or his trial. If you know of any reasons why Thomas Gilbert Jr might have faked incompetence to stand trial, please let me know.

When Thomas Gilbert Jr appeared at it murder trial in 2019, it was the first time he had been pictured since his arrest and much was made of his deteriorated appearance. Nearly five years at Rikers Island probably would’t do anyone’s appearance any favors but Gilbert Jr really didn’t look well during his murder trial. If he was faking that, the man deserves an Oscar.

The prosecution painted Thomas Gilbert Jr as a sociopath, which he may well have been, but even if he was a sociopath, I still think his mental health problems played a part in him murdering his father – perhaps by causing him to perceive things incorrectly, or react inappropriately.

The British Medical Journal reported that research has shown that mental health problems such as depression and anxiety are more common in people with a personality disorder such as sociopathy, now more widely known as antisocial personality disorder, and that they are more difficult to treat and have worse outcomes.

Personally, I still don’t believe he was suffering from ill mental health to the extent that his actions were excusable by law when he sent his mother out for a coke and made her a widow, but he definitely wasn’t a mentally healthy man.
Whatever mental illnesses and/or disorders Gilbert had or has, Briana Swanson experienced enough of him to make her take a 700 mile detour when she ended their relationship.

During Thomas Gilbert Jr’s murder trial, the lead prosecutor quoted Gilbert’s own words from a session with a psychiatrist. He said, quote, ‘Money means power, stature, beautiful women, and philanthropy,’ end quote. According to the prosecution, Thomas Gilbert Jr S desire for money and his anger due to it being taken away was his motive for murder but I think money and wealth played a role much earlier than that.

Gilbert Jr had had a number of run-ins with police for some pretty serious incidents and I’m certain that his wealth, or that of his parents, was a big factor in him getting away lightly or not having any repercussions at all. Even if he were still a friend of his son’s, I don’t think Peter Smith Sr would have been so quick to not press charges after the flag incident had Gilbert Jr been from a working class or poor family. I don’t know if the money the Gilberts sent the Smiths afterwards was unexpected or if it had been agreed upon in exchange for resolving the matter without involving the police.

A childhood friend of Gilbert Jr’s told Vanity Fair, quote, ‘There was a tendency, when Tommy would do something extreme, for them to underplay it,’ end quote. As an example, he recalled the 13-birthday of a friend of his and Gilbert’s. The just turned teenaged Thomas Gilbert Jr had brought fireworks to the party which got him and his friends into trouble when they set them off. When told that Thomas Gilbert Jr had brought the fireworks to the party, his parents refused to believe it. Vanity’s Fair’s source recalled that they had responded, quote, ‘No. We asked him—he said no. We don’t think it happened,’ end quote.

Another source told Vanity Fair that when people tried to speak to Thomas Gilbert Sr about his son’s behaviour, Gilbert Sr would brush it off and say things such as, quote, ‘Tommy’s Tommy—what are you going to do? Hahaha’ end quote. However they commented, quote, ‘But I think in private he really gave it to Tommy.’

If that is true, I’d say the Gilbert’s were fairly concerned with their outward appearance, which might have made it more difficult for Thomas Gilbert Jr to face any mental illness he had and might even have made his parents reluctant to acknowledge it or seek help. However this would contrast Shelley Gilbert’s statements about them having tried to get him help.

In the Snapped episode, Shelley Gilbert speaks about the difficulties her family had in just keeping informed of their son’s mental health after he turned 18. She told the show, quote, ‘When somebody gets sicker and sicker they don’t get sick in a straight line the trend line is down but there are ups and downs and if you see them when they’re on their ups you have no idea what’s really happening,’ end quote.

Shelley Gilbert now campaigns to raise awareness and remove the stigma of mental illness. I respect her greatly for that, although I don’t think her son’s case is the best example to use. I think what it can do is show the difficulties of getting mental health care for adults, even when finances aren’t a problem.

The press made a lot out of Thomas Gilbert Jr’s privileged life. The word ‘entitled’ was frequently used and the tabloids ran stories with headlines such as ‘Playboy who ‘refused to grow up killed his dad after his allowance was cut off’ (Mirror) and ‘Ivy League ‘dad killer’ kicked out of his own trial’ (NY Post). They were predictably quick in their judgements.

A former NYPD homicide detective said that he’s not a psychologist so he really couldn’t talk on that but then continued, quote, ‘but I always look at that as a way for someone to not face the music for something they did so they’re always looking for something else to try to uh say this is why I did something. In my personal opinion I don’t think he was any psychological problems. I think he’s a spoiled, entitled kid that his parents cut him off or were cutting him off and he took homage to it,’ end quote. In this case he was right, but given his position, I think he should have been a little more open minded.

Given what we know about him, Thomas Gilbert Jr definitely isn’t an easy person to like, and I believe he knew exactly what he was doing when he shot his father, but I do think Gilbert Jr was judged more harshly before his trial because of his privileged life. Which isn’t fair. I certainly found it difficult to sympathise with the mental illness Thomas Gilbert Jr suffered while researching and writing this episode – I’d like to think I would have kept an open mind had I read about this case before the trial but I think it would have been hard.

In his statement after the verdict, the Manhattan DA said of Thomas Gilbert Sr, ‘A brilliant businessman, passionate tennis player, and beloved family man, Thomas Gilbert, Sr. meant a great deal to all who knew him.’
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Thank you for listening to this episode of Turned Up Dead.
Remember, if you listen carefully, even the words of liars will tell you the truth.

<span style=”font-weight: 400;”>In the afternoon of Monday January 4th 2015, a woman dialled 911 from her stylish Manhattan apartment. She calmly gave the address, the cross streets, the apartment number and floor, and then when asked what the emergency was she replied, quote, ‘My husband is, I think dead,’ end quote. </span>

The woman who made this call was Shelley Gilbert, her husband was 70-year-old investment banker Thomas Gilbert Sr., and their only son was Thomas Gilbert Jr., then 30 years old. The Gilberts were well-off and well-known amongst Manhattan’s high society, who would soon be shocked by the murder of one of their own, by one of their own.