On October 2, 2010, the life of Angela Gabel, a 40-year-old Caucasian female, was brought to a tragic end in rural Allamakee County, Iowa. She was found in a parked car, having suffered two fatal gunshot wounds to the head from a. 22 caliber rifle. The investigation into her death quickly focused on her live-in boyfriend, 33-year-old Christopher Thompson.
The couple's relationship was described as turbulent and volatile, and they lived together in a farmhouse with their infant son and Gabel's teenage daughters from a previous relationship.
The events that unfolded on that fatal night stemmed from an argument between the couple. Gabel had retreated to a car parked in the driveway when she made an obscene gesture toward Thompson. In response, Thompson retrieved a rifle and, from the porch of their home, shot her in the head. He then walked up to the vehicle and shot her a second time. It was Thompson himself who placed a 911 call, telling the dispatcher that he and his girlfriend had a fight and that he had shot her. When law enforcement arrived, they found Gabel deceased in the car. Thompson initially came out of the house holding his son but then retreated inside before surrendering.
Christopher Thompson was arrested and subsequently charged with first-degree murder. During his trial, which began in November 2011, the prosecution detailed the troubled nature of the couple's home life, stating that Thompson drank heavily and would become mean. Gabel's own daughter testified that her mother and Thompson would often argue when he drank on weekends. Thompson confessed to investigators, stating he "had it" when he shot Gabel, though he claimed the first shot was only meant to scare her. He admitted to firing the second shot to "put her out of her misery." The defense argued that Thompson did not intend to kill Gabel, highlighting his post-traumatic stress disorder from military service in Iraq and his alcoholism as contributing factors to the volatile situation.
On November 18, 2011, a jury found Christopher Thompson guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder, determining that the killing was not premeditated. In January 2012, he was sentenced to a prison term not to exceed 50 years, with a mandatory minimum of 35 years to be served. In addition to his prison sentence, Thompson was ordered to pay $150,000 to Angela Gabel's estate as damages for her wrongful death.
