An individual in Florida, labeled as a “habitual offender” due to his 33 previous felony charges, is now facing legal consequences connected to the vicious attack on a 74-year-old woman and the assault and rape of her daughter-in-law.
David Earl Gipson was most recently released from jail just last month, WJHG reported.
According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, they received a call late Monday evening from a bystander who had found a victim. The victim disclosed that she managed to escape after being assaulted by the 40-year-old suspect, who subsequently confined her in an “oversized tool box” located in a shed within his backyard.
The woman said Gipson visited her home on Sunday and then “became irate” aand attacked her.
The sheriff’s office relayed that “Gipson proceeded to restrain and silence the victim, subjecting her to further physical violence and issuing death threats.” Additionally, the victim recounted that Gipson sexually assaulted and beat her, menacing her with a firearm and striking her with a blunt weapon.
Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews said the woman told deputies that Gipson attacked her mother-in-law, beating her face and head before dragging her out to his vehicle and duct taping her mouth. He allegedly took her back to his home, where the abuse continued.
The woman was taken to a local hospital for treatment while deputies launched a search for Gipson.
After the victim’s escape, deputies went back to the initial home and found her mother-in-law, Lettie Cooper Collins, dead.
“She was beat to a pulp,” Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews said.
Gipson was found and arrested on Tuesday after an exhaustive manhunt by multiple agencies.
“The dog teams didn’t give up, and [Gipson] didn’t give up,” Crews said, according to WMBB. “He kept running and kept running. At one point, we came to a place where he got down in a mud hole and tried to cover himself in mud, you see, and all he’s doing is trying to throw the scent of the dog off. He was just trying to avoid capture, but it didn’t work, and we got him.”
He was initially charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon, sexual assault with a deadly weapon, and kidnapping. Crews said murder charges would likely follow.
