Body Hunter (18 page)

Shephard was assigned to the Detective Division of the Wichita Falls Police Department in December 1984, when he was dispatched to a Bell Avenue address.

“The house appeared to be ransacked,” Shephard said. He described blood found in the bedroom, the bloody Kleenex on the coffee table, a nude body found on the floor of the bathroom.

“There was blood on the floor and walls of the bathroom. The body was lying naked, hands tied behind her back. She was on her left side. A yellow cord bound her hands,” Shephard testified.

“The State would like to submit State's exhibit number five, a video tape of the residence,” Macha said.

With no objection from the defense, Macha told the judge it would take him a few minutes to set up for the tape to be shown to the jury.

“We'll take a morning break,” the judge announced.

 

 

Glenda Wardrip arrived late at the courthouse and sat directly behind her husband in the second row of the gallery. Wardrip smiled broadly.

Neither Glenda nor her husband was smiling as Macha asked Chief Shephard to stand in front of the jury, upon their return, and describe what they were seeing in the crime-screen video.

Some of the two dozen spectators moved to the far right of the courtroom in an effort to see the video, but their view was mostly obscured by the awkward position of the television set.

All twelve jury members and two alternates remained stoic as they watched the video of Leza Boone's disheveled small house. There was no change in their expressions as the camera panned to blood that had splattered on the bathroom counter and then to the bloody, nude body of Terry Sims, her swollen hands bound behind her with the yellow electrical cord. A puddle of dark blood surrounded her body. Stab wounds were visible in her slender back. Her head was resting near the cat's litter box and her legs were outstretched.

The jury remained controlled, but members of the spectator gallery flinched as Shephard described the murder scene as it unfolded in video for the jury. Members of the Sims family shed tears of sorrow and clung to one another for emotional support.

Once the video was completed, Macha introduced State's exhibits numbers twenty-six through twenty-nine, still photos of the crime scene. The pictures showed blood on the edge of the bathtub and on the wall behind the tub, blood on the chest of drawers and the bathroom light switch, and blood that had run down the side of the tub. As Shephard talked about the photos, Faryion Wardrip sat staring at the open Bible in front of him. No one knew for sure if he was reading passages or making a show of faith for the jury's benefit.

Snapping a clean pair of latex gloves on his hands, Macha pulled the electrical cord used to tie Terry Sims's hands behind her back from another brown-paper sack. The cord, discolored from the powder used to dust it for fingerprints, was a shocking reminder of the brutality used to subdue Sims.

Glenda Wardrip's stare never drifted to the evidence in the prosecutor's hands. She remained stone still, her total attention directed toward her spouse.

Macha took the bloody Kleenex found on Boone's coffee table and held it up for the jury to see. He asked Shephard what was done with the tissue. The officer stated that it had been sent to Southwest Institute of Forensic Sciences for testing.

“Was a knife or other sharp instrument found at the scene?” Macha asked.

“No, sir,” Shephard answered.

“Did you look for one?” Macha asked.

“Yes, sir,” Shephard responded.

“Were oral swabs taken of Miss Sims?” Macha asked.

“Yes, sir. They were sent to Gene Screen for DNA screening,” Shephard said.

“In 1984–1985 was Faryion Wardrip ever developed as a suspect?” Macha inquired.

“No, not to my knowledge,” Shephard said.

“No arrests were made in the Sims murder prior to Faryion Wardrip?” Macha asked.

“No, not to my knowledge,” Shephard responded.

“Pass the witness, Your Honor,” Macha stated before returning to his seat.

“No questions, Your Honor,” Curry said softly.

Wardrip shot a sharp glace at Curry. He hurriedly scribbled a note and passed it to his attorney. Curry seemingly ignored his client's message.

“The State calls Dr. Allen Stilwell,” Macha announced loudly.

The short, stocky, retired forensic pathologist walked to the front of the courtroom, a briefcase clutched in his right hand, a loud black tie with orange pumpkins around his neck.

Dr. Allen Stilwell told the court he was a graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. He had done his postgraduate work in general surgery and pathology, with pathology his specialty. He had practiced in Michigan, Texas, and Alabama, was board certified in forensic pathology and anatomical pathology, and had performed more than six thousand autopsies.

From July 1, 1984 to June 30, 1985, Stilwell had worked for the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office. He had been responsible for performing the autopsy on Terry Sims.

“Miss Sims had sustained several points of injury,” Dr. Stilwell told the jury. “Eight on the front of her chest, three on the right side of her back, and an additional stab wound to the left upper arm. Plus, there were what I call defense wounds.

“She had actually gripped the knife, causing cuts on her hand. One cut was at the base of her little finger.

“She sustained blows to the facial area, the bridge of the nose, and bruises on the left side of the face and eye. Her hands had been tied together behind her back.

“There were stab wounds on her chest that varied in size. The majority were one and one-fourth inches to one and one-half inches in width. They were approximately the size of the stabbing instrument that caused the wounds. Several other smaller wounds are what I would classify as tease wounds. They just broke the skin. They weren't deep.”

Dr. Stilwell's testimony infuriated Wardrip. He turned to Dorie Glickman. “Look, he's giving his personal opinion. He's only speculating here. You aren't going to stop this?”

“We don't want to make the jury mad,” Glickman whispered to her client.

“Were any swabs or smears taken during the autopsy?” Macha asked Dr. Stilwell.

“Yes. A swab, or Q-tip, was used to pick up any substance from the mouth, vagina, or anus. A smear was done with a cotton swab rubbed across a slide and then sent to be viewed under a microscope,” Dr. Stilwell replied.

“Was that done for the purpose of seeing if there was the presence of semen, for example?” Macha asked.

“Yes,” Dr. Stilwell said.

“Were you able to determine the cause of death?” Macha asked.

“Miss Sims died from two items. One, at least one stab wound injured an artery of the heart. Two, stab wounds opened portions of the right and left lungs. Both lungs collapsed. She couldn't breathe,” Dr. Stilwell explained.

Terry Sims's sisters fought back tears as they listened to the doctor explain how Terry had bled to death alone in her friend's house.

“Would death have been immediate?” Macha asked.

“No. There wasn't one fatal single blow. It was a combination of bleeding and lung collapse. It took two to four minutes,” Dr. Stilwell said.

“Would she have known she was dying?” Macha asked.

“Oh, yes,” Dr. Stilwell said emotionally. “At least while fighting she would have known what was about to happen. She struggled several minutes with her assailant.”

Glenda Wardrip hung her head. She couldn't bring herself to look at the doctor as he characterized how Terry Sims had suffered before her death.

“Dr. Stilwell, will you look at these photos and tell the jury what you see?” Macha asked.

Dr. Stilwell put on his glasses, took the eight-by-ten photos from Macha and studied them momentarily. He began to again describe the wounds to Terry Sims as he looked at each photo. A woman in the audience released a low moan as he talked about Sims's defensive wounds, where she obviously had grabbed the knife of her assailant, trying to save her life.

After taking the photos from the doctor, Macha gave them to the defense attorneys before passing them to the jury. As Curry and Glickman shuffled through the pictures of Sims's battered and wound-riddled body, Wardrip kept his eyes focused on the Bible before him. His wife's eyes remained downcast.

“No objection, Your Honor,” Curry announced after reviewing the photos.

Dr. Stilwell continued his testimony regarding the wounds suffered by Terry Sims.

“On her left hand there were cuts to the middle, ring, and little fingers. They were caused when she grabbed the knife and it was jerked away,” Dr. Stilwell explained.

The detailed account of Terry Sims's wounds and her suffering was too much for some of the jury. An older man with graying hair covered his mouth as though sickened by the doctor's testimony. A woman dressed in blue denim wrinkled her brow and frowned at the vivid details of Sims's death. But the gruesome description continued.

“There were eight stab wounds to her chest. The small cuts to her skin are believed to have occurred first,” Dr. Stilwell continued. “The speculation was that he did those to get her attention. And there were several wounds grouped around her breasts. That indicates some sexual activity of the killer.

“I believe the wounds occurred in this order: first, the face blows, then the defensive hand wounds, stabs to the chest, and then she was rolled over and stabbed. Her arms were tied behind her when the chest and back wounds were done. There was not enough blood on the bed to be from a chest wound. Perhaps it came from her hands,” Dr. Stilwell stated.

Faryion Wardrip showed the first sorrowful response of the trial. First dabbing his cheeks with a Kleenex, then wiping tears from his eyes and glasses. Dorie Glickman reached over and put her arm around him, as though to comfort her client. The attorney knew that the gesture would show the jury that she was a petite, young woman who wasn't afraid of Faryion Wardrip.

“From the large amount of blood on the bathtub,” Dr. Stilwell continued, “she must have been over the edge of the tub at some point. It couldn't be all splatters. I think she was on the ledge of the tub at some time, either during the back or chest stabs.”

Dr. Stilwell pointed to a diagram of Terry Sims's body, noting each of the stab wounds, as well as the defensive wounds of the victim.

“Can you tell what kind of weapon was used?” Macha asked.

“Someone from the Wichita Falls Police Department came to my office and asked the type of weapon used. I made a drawing, although I'm not an artist. It was my
attempt
to help them,” Dr. Stilwell answered.

Macha showed the jury the crude drawing made by Dr. Stilwell as he described what he believed to be the murder weapon.

“It was four inches long. Something struck the body. I believe it was a knife guard,” Dr. Stilwell said. “It was a deadly weapon.”

Macha passed the witness to the defense, who only had one question.

“Could the shallow wounds have been incurred while Sims was defending herself?” Curry asked.

Dr. Stilwell reluctantly responded, “Yes.”

Macha recalled Leza Boone to the stand and asked her how the death of her best friend had affected her.

“Terry's dad died when she was one. Terry died at twenty. Her mother is in the courtroom and so is her sister Catie,” Boone said tearfully.

“You were going to buy Catie a bike for Christmas. You didn't get to do that, did you?” Macha asked.

Boone momentarily broke down, tears flowing from her eyes. While she wiped them away, Macha waited patiently. She muttered a muffled “No.”

“This has changed my life completely,” Boone said sadly. “I still won't go into a house by myself. I was an underachiever. It took me five more years to finish school. I miss her terribly.”

The tears of regret and sadness spilled from Leza Boone's eyes as she left the stand and walked slowly past her best friend's killer.

Chapter Twenty-two

After a short recess, District Attorney Macha said loudly, “The State calls Jeff Gibbs.”

A fortyish man with brown hair took the witness stand and told the jury that he was the older brother of Toni Gibbs. Jeff, his older brother, Walden, and Toni were raised in Clayton, New Mexico. In 1985, he had been living in Wichita Falls, not far from Toni. She had graduated from Midwestern State University and worked as an RN at Wichita General Hospital.

“On January 19, 1985, Toni was working at the hospital,” Jeff Gibbs testified. “It was a Saturday morning. She got off at 7:30 and she was scheduled to go back at 10:45
P.M.
I was notified on Sunday that Toni was missing. I called my older brother and he came down. We were told Toni hadn't shown up for work. That was highly unusual. We went to her apartment. She wasn't there. We went to the police and reported her missing. We went back to her apartment, the Rain Tree Apartments on Barnett Road, but Toni still wasn't there. Her car wasn't there either. I feared the worst. Toni had told me she had gotten some obscene phone calls. She didn't go into specifics, but she was very upset and very scared.”

Several jurors stared at the witness with wrinkled brows. It was as if they were asking themselves, “Who is Toni Gibbs and what does she have to do with the murder of Terry Sims?”

Jeff Gibbs identified photos of Toni and her 1984 white Z28 Camaro. He told the court that when her car was found on January 22, 1985, he didn't recall seeing any blood in the car.

Gibbs tilted his head back and took a long, deep breath before telling the jury that Toni had been found in a field in Archer County. She had been raped and murdered.

“How has Toni's death affected you?” Macha asked.

Gibbs closed his eyes and moments later cleared his throat. In a raspy voice that strained to hold back the emotions that welled within him, he said, “I'm sorry.” He sobbed while he held his hand to his mouth a full minute before regaining some degree of composure and continuing his testimony.

“I don't think words could explain what I felt or my family felt. It was a horrific nightmare.” Then the loving brother of Toni Gibbs broke down and cried.

 

 

As Jeff Gibbs left the courtroom, his eyes still filled with tears, Bill Gerth, a retired Department of Public Safety Texas Ranger, was called to the stand. The large man pulled on the bottom of his black-and-white-checked coat as he settled himself in the witness chair.

Gerth testified that a woman's body was found in Archer County one mile south of the Wichita Falls city limits and the Wichita county line. The body was in a pasture at the southwest corner of Highway 281 and West Gents Road.

Toni Gibbs's car had been found legally parked on Van Buren Street in Wichita Falls. The car was processed and photographed. A small smear of a red substance had been found on the inside door handle and on the outside door handle on the driver's side.

“On February 15, 1985, I went with the chief deputy, Ed Daniels, and Trooper Miller to the crime scene around an abandoned bus. Two individuals made crime-scene drawings. There was an evidence-recovery team and an evidence-search team. A list of all the officers at the scene was made.

“The first thing we did was check out the nude body of a female. She was on her back. The victim's hands and arms were above her head. Her head was turned to the south. There were wounds to her upper and lower chest. There were distinctive paw marks on her thighs and breasts. Part of her upper leg, arm, and lower calf had been eaten by animals.”

The description of Toni Gibbs's wounds caused by wild predators visually disturbed some of the courtroom spectators. Some flinched; others covered their mouths with their hands. Jeff Gibbs hung his head; his shoulders shook from the painful thought of his beautiful young sister devoured by animals.

“The bus sat in a pasture. The motor and wheels were gone,” Gerth said. “It was open-ended to the south. You could see the floorboard, pipes, debris, and a stained nurse's uniform.

“Bloodstains, splatters, and drops were inside the bus. The directions were erratic. Cast-off blood was on the left and right sides of the bus. Whatever happened there, there was a lot of violence.”

Gerth told the jury that the body was found four hundred and thirty feet off of Highway 281. There was an offset metal gate, and on the east side, a downed barbed-wire fence. At the scene, two Bic pens were found, one blue with a cap and one red. Ten feet north of the gate a crumpled, weathered one dollar bill was found. Inside the bus there was a lady's white bra, still clasped, located among the pipes.

Macha asked Gerth to step down from the stand and point out the location of the crime scene on a map he had set on the easel.

Gerth's strong voice carried throughout the courtroom as he pointed out the mesquite tree, the body, and the place where the dollar bill was found in front of the locked metal gate.

“The bus resembles a trolley car,” Gerth said. “Clothing could be seen under the floorboard of the bus. There was a lot of action in that area of the bus.”

“Was a weapon found?” Macha asked.

“Thirty-five officers made up the search team. They walked side by side. We used metal detectors. We found nothing that looked like a weapon,” Gerth replied.

“I'd like to present a videotape of the crime scene,” Macha said, placing the tape into the machine that had been moved in front of the jury.

“Is this a fair and accurate presentation?” Macha asked before pressing the
PLAY
button on the video machine.

“Yes, it is,” Gerth said.

For the second time that day, the jury sat in their places in the jury box and viewed a disturbing crime-scene video.

Macha and Gerth pointed out scrub brush, tire tracks, white nurse's shoes, dark blood splatters, blood on pipes, broken windows, and the burned-out bus.

While the jury watched the video, some slight confusion registered on their faces. Faryion Wardrip stared at the Bible Dorie Glickman had taken from her hotel room.

The camera moved across the crime scene and focused on the body of Toni Gibbs. She lay faceup. Her arm had been eaten at the elbow. Dried blood was visible across her right forearm. She had two holes in her chest, and her left knee had been eaten away. There were bruises on her left hip.

A male juror shook his head, signaling his disbelief at the sight of Toni Gibbs's mutilated body. Another put his hand to his mouth. A reporter from the Wichita Falls newspaper abruptly left the isolated media room where the video could be clearly seen. “I think I've seen all of this I need to,” she said.

Gerth continued to explain the scene. “You can't see the body unless you know it's there, or happened on it,” he said.

There was a slight incline from the bus down to the body and the body was lying between the bus and a pole. Businesses outlined the distant skyline above the nearly barren pasture.

“What was done with Miss Gibbs's body?” Macha asked.

“Justice of the Peace C. D. Cox of Archer City pronounced her dead and ordered an autopsy. We covered the body with a sheet, put her in a body bag, and she was picked up by All's Funeral Home,” Gerth said.

After returning to the witness box, Gerth flipped through a stack of photos handed him by the district attorney. He handed them back to Macha, who then gave them to the defense counsel for their review. Curry and Glickman studied each of the photos for a long time. Wardrip kept his gaze riveted to the book in front of him.

“No objection, Your Honor,” Curry said as he handed the photos back to Macha.

Wardrip's mood was clearly deteriorating. His shoulders were lowered and his head nearly rested on the Bible. Glenda hadn't come to the afternoon trial session, and Wardrip's mood reflected her absence.

As Macha and Gerth stood before the jury to go over each of the still photographs, a couple of the jurors in the back row stood for a better view.

Gerth casually put his right hand in the pocket of his black pants and stood with his weight shifted to one side while he described the photos for jurors. Again the jury had to listen to a description of Toni Gibb's wounds and look at the gruesome pictures of her tortured body.

“Her feet were toward the west, her hands over her head to the east,” Gerth said. “There were several bruises under the chest wound. There was a defensive wound on her right wrist. A scratch ran from her hairline down her cheek. She was wearing a gold necklace.”

“Was anyone ever arrested for the murder of Toni Gibbs?” Macha asked after Gerth had moved back into the witness box.

“Danny Laughlin was arrested and tried. It was a hung jury. The charges were dismissed,” Gerth answered.

“Was any DNA testing done?” Macha asked.

“In 1985–1991, it was attempted to have DNA testing done. Miss Gibbs had been vaginally and anally raped. DNA testing was done to see if Laughlin was the perpetrator, but the technology just wasn't there,” Gerth said.

“Was Faryion Edward Wardrip ever a suspect?” Macha asked.

“Faryion Wardrip was never a suspect,” Gerth replied.

“The State passes the witness,” Macha said.

“No questions, Your Honor,” Curry said.

 

 

Glenda Wardrip had silently slipped into the courtroom. She faced forward, not looking at anyone until defense investigator Dana Rice moved over and sat beside her, giving her client's wife a smile of encouragement.

“The State recalls Dr. Allen Stilwell,” Macha announced.

The pathologist took the stand for a second time during the first day of Wardrip's capital murder trial.

“Did you perform an autopsy on Toni Gibbs?” Macha asked.

“No, Dr. Roger Fosum performed the autopsy. Dr. Fosum is now dead,” Dr. Stilwell responded.

“Can you tell us about what was in Dr. Fosum's autopsy report?” Macha questioned.

“Yes. Toni Gibbs was five-foot, one-inches tall and weighed ninety-four pounds. She was dead for some time because there was some decomposition, insect and animal activity. Her injuries consisted of stab wounds by a sharp instrument, three areas on the front of the chest, three areas on the left side of the back, a slice on the back of the left forearm, and a defense wound to the base of the left thumb. There were six stab wounds, two or three defense wounds. There were bruises to the leg area, particularly the left leg, and scratch marks by an animal. There were contusions on the chest. One stab wound to the lower portion of the mid-chest caused damage to a lung. It was consistent with a knife wound,” Dr. Stilwell testified.

Dr. Stilwell told the jury that sperm was found in both the vagina and anus of Toni Gibbs. Swabs were taken from Gibbs's mouth, vagina, and anus. Privately, Dr. Stilwell had been personally astounded, and pleased, that the swabs had been preserved for fifteen years, awaiting the capture of a suspect.

“Are there any similarities between the death of Miss Gibbs and Miss Sims?” Macha asked.

“Several aspects of wounds were almost identical,” Dr. Stilwell said. “One aspect is dissimilar—the depth of the penetration of the blade. The maximum depth of wounds to Miss Gibbs was six inches, to Miss Sims, four and one-half inches. Those numbers are explained by the strength of the person being stabbed and the stabbing person. The width was the same, one and one-half inches to one and one-fourth inches.”

“Did Miss Gibbs struggle with her assailant?” Macha queried.

“Yes, in some respect,” Dr. Stilwell answered.

“How long did it take Miss Gibbs to die?” Macha asked.

“Only one lung was punctured. She didn't die as quickly as Miss Sims. She lived five to ten minutes before she died from a loss of blood. She obviously had difficulty breathing.”

“Did she know she was dying?” Macha asked.

“She knew she was seriously hurt. I have no way of knowing if she knew she was going to die,” Dr. Stilwell said.

“Was it possible for her to have wound up from the bus to the location of the body on her own?” Macha asked.

“Yes, it's possible,” Dr. Stilwell said.

“Could the injuries on her knees have been caused by trying to get to this location?” Macha asked.

“I believe so,” Dr. Stilwell replied.

“I pass the witness,” Macha said.

“No questions,” Curry said.

 

 

Once Judge Brotherton had recessed trial proceedings until the following morning at nine o'clock, Wardrip jerked the knot of his tie and began to remove it from around his neck as he approached Curry.

“Why aren't you doing anything?” Wardrip asked irritably. “You're just sitting there. Why don't you object or something?”

“We didn't want to keep him on the stand any longer than necessary,” Curry answered, knowing the doctor's testimony would have a negative impact on his client.

Wardrip, who either refused to admit it or truly believed he hadn't sodomized Gibbs, wanted his attorney to ask the doctor if gravity couldn't have caused the sperm to travel to the anus. Curry just shook his head.

Wardrip wasn't satisfied. He wanted his attorneys to ask questions and dispute testimony. But his defense team knew they were facing a wall that was unscaleable. A wall built with the bodies of five innocent women violently slain by their client.

The jury, who had been selected to hear the evidence concerning the murder of Terry Sims, had already been exposed to one more killing than they had expected. They were visibly shaken from the testimony. What would be their reaction when they heard about the deaths of Blau, Taylor, and Kimbrew?