In the spring of 2012, the life of 75-year-old Christine Whitis came to a horrific end in New Albany, Indiana. A longtime friend of her late mother, Whitis was found deceased on April 19, 2012, inside the garage of William Clyde Gibson, a registered sex offender with a lengthy criminal history. The discovery was made by Gibson's own sisters, who had gone to the home to handle affairs related to their recently deceased mother. They stumbled upon a gruesome scene: Whitis's body was found nearly naked, having been brutally beaten and sexually assaulted.
The investigation into her death quickly focused on Gibson. On the same day his sisters found the body, Gibson was apprehended by police while driving Whitis's vehicle under the influence. What unfolded was a chilling tale of violence. An autopsy revealed that Christine Whitis had endured immense suffering before her death. She had been strangled with such force that a bone in her neck was broken. The medical examiner testified that she had been beaten, sexually violated, and that her back was broken. In a final act of desecration, her body was mutilated. It was determined she had likely died on April 18, a day before she was found, after receiving a phone call from Gibson.
William Clyde Gibson was charged with her murder, and the case against him was swift. During questioning, he not only admitted to killing Whitis but also confessed to the murders of two other women, Stephanie Kirk and Karen Hodella, whose case had been cold since 2002. The trial for the murder of Christine Whitis laid bare the shocking details of her final hours. In October 2013, a jury deliberated for less than half an hour before finding him guilty. For the brutal slaying of a woman who had been a family friend, William Clyde Gibson was sentenced to death. He later pleaded guilty to the murder of Karen Hodella, receiving a 65-year prison sentence for that crime, and faced another trial for the death of Stephanie Kirk.
