Florida Man Fatally Attacks 74-Year-Old Woman, Kidnaps Another Woman, Authorities Report

It is said that a 40-year-old man beat to death a 74-year-old woman and then kidnapped and raped another woman before stuffing her in a big toolbox in a shed. He was caught in Florida.

Officer Kevin Crews of Washington County said at a press conference that the horrible events started around 10 p.m. on Sunday when the suspect, David Earl Gipson, knocked on the victims’ door. Gipson allegedly told the woman who answered that her husband and brother-in-law were “thieves” and owed him money, and he was going to get it.

Gipson, who has a big tattoo that says “trust no b—,” is then said to have broken into the house and started taking things. Crews said Gipson then began to beat the woman, hitting her in and around the head before putting her in handcuffs and taking her clothes off. Gipson is then said to have turned his attention to Lettie Cooper Collins, the woman’s 74-year-old mother-in-law. Police say he then started punching her too.

The sheriff says the victim’s mother-in-law was bloody and her eyes were swollen shut the last time she saw her living.

Gipson is said to have taken the younger victim hostage, taped her mouth shut with duct tape, and thrown her into Collins’ PT Cruiser before driving off. Then he took her to his house, cops say, where he raped her and threatened to kill her. After she said he hit her, the defendant took her to a shed in the back of his property and squished her into a big toolbox. Crews said Gipson locked the box and piled boards and other junk on top to keep her inside.

“She was not dressed,” Crews said. “She is still handcuffed and has duct tape around her mouth.” He tied a rope around her neck and tucked her legs under her. He hurt her in a way that looks like a hog tie. She said she got really hot and thought she was going to pass out and die.

Police think she was stuck in the toolbox for most of Monday before she was able to get out.

The deputy said, “She came out of the shed and ran for her life.”

Crews says she used a tree to push the duct tape out of her mouth while she was still tied. Then she ran to a nearby road and flagged down a driver, who helped her get into his car and gave her a blanket. Around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, deputies went to Douglas Ferry Road to help the woman.

She told them about the scary event and asked them to check on her mother-in-law. Collins was already dead when the police arrived at the house.

“She was really beat up,” Crews said.

He said that the medical examiner would find an official cause and method of death. Gipson was taken by deputies on Tuesday just after 1 p.m.

He is being charged with kidnapping, sexual abuse, and serious battery. It’s not clear if he’s been charged with killing Collins yet. He is in jail in Washington County without bond. The next time he’s due in court is June 2.

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