Murder Victim. Toni Gibbs was a young nurse who worked the night shift at a local hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas. After she did not report for work and was not at her apartment, the community was afraid that something horrible had happened to her. Police orginized search parties in a parking lot at Midwestern University. Two days later Toni's abandoned car was discovered but Toni was still missing. In mid-February an electrician was checking a transformer and discovered Toni Gibbs' body lying in a field less than two miles from her home. A bartender assistant named Danny Laughlin was indicted and tried in Archer County, Texas for Toni's murder. A jury eventually voted 11-1 for acquittal. In 1996 forensic technology allowed testing of a small sample of DNA that was taken from Toni's body and it proved that Laughlin had not been the person who sexually assulted the nurse and killed her. The murder investigation was re-opened but sat gathering dust for a long time. John Little, who joined the District Attorney's investigative team in 1993 was going over a file on Ellen Blau, another murder victim, when a name came up that sparked his memory, Faryion Edward Wardrip. Ellen Blau's roommate remembered Wardrip and felt uncomfortable around him. Little remembered that Wardrip had been a janitor, then an orderly, at the hospital where Gibbs had worked. Toni had felt comfortable with Faryion enough to give him a ride home. That was the last ride of her life.
A forensic lab in Dallas compaired the DNA found from Toni Gibbs' body and DNA from Wardrip. Faryion Wardrip could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA left on Toni Gibbs. This was enough evidence for Little to get an arrest warrant for Faryion Wardrip. After learning that DNA evidence linked him to the murder of Gibbs, Wardrip confessed to her murder along with Terry Sims, Debroah Taylor, and Ellen Blau's murders. In 1999 at the age of 40, Farylon Wardrip was convicted of killing Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Deborah Taylor, and Ellen Blau. He was sentenced to death. Two books: "Body Hunter" by Patricia Springer and "Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man's Crusade for Justice" By Carlton Stowers, have been published about the murders.
A forensic lab in Dallas compaired the DNA found from Toni Gibbs' body and DNA from Wardrip. Faryion Wardrip could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA left on Toni Gibbs. This was enough evidence for Little to get an arrest warrant for Faryion Wardrip. After learning that DNA evidence linked him to the murder of Gibbs, Wardrip confessed to her murder along with Terry Sims, Debroah Taylor, and Ellen Blau's murders. In 1999 at the age of 40, Farylon Wardrip was convicted of killing Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Deborah Taylor, and Ellen Blau. He was sentenced to death. Two books: "Body Hunter" by Patricia Springer and "Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man's Crusade for Justice" By Carlton Stowers, have been published about the murders.
Murder Victim. Toni Gibbs was a young nurse who worked the night shift at a local hospital in Wichita Falls, Texas. After she did not report for work and was not at her apartment, the community was afraid that something horrible had happened to her. Police orginized search parties in a parking lot at Midwestern University. Two days later Toni's abandoned car was discovered but Toni was still missing. In mid-February an electrician was checking a transformer and discovered Toni Gibbs' body lying in a field less than two miles from her home. A bartender assistant named Danny Laughlin was indicted and tried in Archer County, Texas for Toni's murder. A jury eventually voted 11-1 for acquittal. In 1996 forensic technology allowed testing of a small sample of DNA that was taken from Toni's body and it proved that Laughlin had not been the person who sexually assulted the nurse and killed her. The murder investigation was re-opened but sat gathering dust for a long time. John Little, who joined the District Attorney's investigative team in 1993 was going over a file on Ellen Blau, another murder victim, when a name came up that sparked his memory, Faryion Edward Wardrip. Ellen Blau's roommate remembered Wardrip and felt uncomfortable around him. Little remembered that Wardrip had been a janitor, then an orderly, at the hospital where Gibbs had worked. Toni had felt comfortable with Faryion enough to give him a ride home. That was the last ride of her life.
A forensic lab in Dallas compaired the DNA found from Toni Gibbs' body and DNA from Wardrip. Faryion Wardrip could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA left on Toni Gibbs. This was enough evidence for Little to get an arrest warrant for Faryion Wardrip. After learning that DNA evidence linked him to the murder of Gibbs, Wardrip confessed to her murder along with Terry Sims, Debroah Taylor, and Ellen Blau's murders. In 1999 at the age of 40, Farylon Wardrip was convicted of killing Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Deborah Taylor, and Ellen Blau. He was sentenced to death. Two books: "Body Hunter" by Patricia Springer and "Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man's Crusade for Justice" By Carlton Stowers, have been published about the murders.
A forensic lab in Dallas compaired the DNA found from Toni Gibbs' body and DNA from Wardrip. Faryion Wardrip could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA left on Toni Gibbs. This was enough evidence for Little to get an arrest warrant for Faryion Wardrip. After learning that DNA evidence linked him to the murder of Gibbs, Wardrip confessed to her murder along with Terry Sims, Debroah Taylor, and Ellen Blau's murders. In 1999 at the age of 40, Farylon Wardrip was convicted of killing Terry Sims, Toni Gibbs, Deborah Taylor, and Ellen Blau. He was sentenced to death. Two books: "Body Hunter" by Patricia Springer and "Scream at the Sky: Five Texas Murders and One Man's Crusade for Justice" By Carlton Stowers, have been published about the murders.
