NEW YORK (AP) - The mother of a man on trial for killing his hedge-fund founder father over a cut in his allowance spent a second day on the witness stand discussing her son’s mental illness.
Thomas Gilbert Jr. is accused of shooting Thomas Gilbert Sr. four years ago and then trying to make it appear as if his 70-year-old father killed himself. The victim’s wife, Shelley Gilbert, found his body in their Manhattan apartment and called 911.
On Wednesday, CBS New York reported that Shelley Gilbert said her son’s allowance was lowered in order to force him to get psychiatric help. She described the trial as painful and exhausting.
“No family should ever have to go through this, ever,” Shelley Gilbert said.
Gilbert Jr.’s lawyer says the Princeton University graduate, who faces murder and other charges, has a history of delusions and psychotic symptoms going back at least a decade.
His mother testified that her son had been diagnosed with a string of mental illnesses, including depression and paranoia.
In a recording of the 911 call, the dispatcher is heard asking Shelley Gilbert who shot her husband.
“My son, who is nuts. But I didn’t know he was this nuts,” she said.
In Tuesday’s testimony, prosecutors described how Gilbert, 34, planned the killing by driving to Ohio to illegally buy a gun and visiting the websites Hireakiller.com and hitman.com on his iPhone.
Gilbert Sr., a graduate of Harvard Business School, worked on Wall Street for 40 years and founded Wainscott Capital Partners Fund in 2011.
___
Information from: WCBS-TV, http://www.cbs2ny.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.