How a Princeton graduate accused of killing his father got the gun

Thomas Gilbert Jr. is accused of shooting his father in the head after an argument. Photo / Jefferson Siegel, The New York Times

Thomas Gilbert Jr. drove to rural Ohio and paid cash for a used pistol he had found on Facebook, a witness said.

From a rural home in Clarksburg, Ohio, John Jay Bennett uploaded a photo of a .40-calibre pistol on Facebook and asked for a buyer. Before long, he got a response.

"I'm interested in buying it," someone named Tommy wrote in May 2014. "I'm based in NY."

Three weeks later, Thomas Gilbert Jr., a Princeton graduate from a family well-known in elite Manhattan circles, stood in Bennett's living room, raving about "the great deal" he had gotten on the used Glock handgun.

Bennett recounted the meeting Friday afternoon during the second week of testimony in Gilbert's murder trial. Prosecutors say Gilbert, who has a history of mental illness, eventually used the gun to kill his wealthy father in a dispute over money.

The testimony offered a window into how easy it is to find a used weapon online and buy it. Sales between private individuals do not require background checks in most states.

"If I knew he was psychotic, I would not let him in the house," Bennett told the jury.

Ever since Gilbert's arrest, his lawyers have tried to convince a Manhattan Supreme Court justice that their client is not competent to stand trial and that he has suffered from severe mental illness since he was in high school, including paranoid schizophrenia and compulsive disorder. They have signalled their intention to mount an insanity defence.

Gilbert's mother, Shelley Gilbert, testified that her son had refused his parents' repeated entreaties to seek treatment at psychiatric hospitals.

Throughout the week, Gilbert has interrupted testimony with outbursts and has attempted to speak directly to the jury, earning him stern admonitions from Justice Melissa Jackson. A lawyer for Gilbert, Arnold Levine, has argued that his client's behavior is a symptom of his mental illness.

But Jackson has sided with a psychiatric expert hired by the Manhattan District Attorney's Office who found him competent to stand trial. She ordered Gilbert removed from the court Friday morning after he loudly objected while his lawyer and a prosecutor questioned a detective.

"It has been extremely intrusive when you object," she told Gilbert. "I counted almost 25 objections in the last hour. When you decide you can obey the rules of the court, you may come back."

Craig Ortner, the lead prosecutor, has told the jury the evidence would prove that Gilbert showed up at his parent's Turtle Bay apartment on January 4, 2015, and shot his father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., a hedge fund founder, in cold blood. He was angry because his father planned to reduce his US$1,000-a-week allowance, the prosecutor said.

Despite the oddity of a New York socialite driving 917km to buy a gun in Ohio, Bennett testified that he viewed their exchange as fairly innocent at the time. The two men swapped emails in May 2014 to hash out details of the transaction.

At one point, Bennett encouraged Gilbert. "I know you will have a great deal of fun with her," he wrote of the gun.

But after they agreed on a price of US$575, Bennett testified, he decided it was too expensive to ship the pistol to New York.

Gilbert offered a solution. "I might be able to just drive there since I have free time over the next few weeks," he wrote, according to emails shown to the jury. "It would fantastic if you could drive out here," Bennett replied.

Gilbert arrived on Bennett's doorstep on June 1, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans. He handed over the cash and seemed giddy when he got his hands on the gun, Bennett said.

"He seemed overly excited, like a kid with a new toy," Bennett testified.

Bennett, a former US Navy service member who lives in his childhood home, told the jury he found it "a little weird" that Gilbert spent most of their 30 minutes together raving about the gun. He was "talking to the room," Bennett recalled, saying things like, "I can't believe what a deal I'm getting."

Bennett said he also gave Gilbert a holster and ammunition. After learning about the killing, he said, he felt guilty and initially withheld from investigators that he included the ammunition in the sale. As Gilbert prepared to drive back to New York, Bennett asked him if he wanted to shoot the gun in the target range on his property.

"He said, 'No,'" Gilbert recalled. "He was ready to go."

Written by: Edgar Sandoval

Photographs by: Jefferson Siegel

© 2019 THE NEW YORK TIMES