Read Online Body Hunter by Patricia Springer - Free Book Online
Authors: Patricia Springer
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Miss Gibbsâs body was found, prior to its discovery. âIt was either on February ninth or tenth,â Standifer said.
The prosecutor reminded jurors that Gibbsâs body had not been found until February 15.
Laughlin shook his head and mumbled under his breath in frustration. During the morning recess he stomped out of the courtroom. He didnât like the way his trial had started. Macha was twisting the facts, spinning the truth.
When Harry Harrison was called to the stand, Laughlinâs mood changed from despair to wrath. He loathed Harrison. Laughlin had first met the career criminal while they were both incarcerated in the Archer County jail. Laughlinâs eyes followed Harrison as he sashayed confidently to the witness chair.
âWe had just finished eating breakfast and talking about our military service,â Harrison said as he began to talk about his association with Laughlin. Harrison then dropped a courtroom bomb.
âHe said he held a knife to her [Gibbsâs] throat and held her in the missionary position. When he got through [raping her], he stabbed her and then turned her over and sodomized her. After that, he started crying and said he had found the Lord since then and God would forgive him,â Harrison said, with a slight grin of satisfaction directed at Laughlin.
Laughlin was infuriated. He made little effort to hide his aggravation and almost everyone in the courtroom knew he was close to losing control.
âHave you been promised anything by the District Attorneyâs office in exchange for your testimony?â Defense Attorney Roger Williams asked Harrison.
Although Harrison denied agreeing to any such exchange of information for favors from the DAâs office, it was later learned that seventeen charges against Harrison had been expunged from his record.
When Phil âRocketâ Guerieri testified that Laughlin had told him there was no reason to keep looking for the missing nurse, Laughlin again expressed his anger. He vigorously wrote on his yellow legal pad and underlined something so strongly that paper ripped and heads turned in his direction.
Roger Williams turned and spoke quietly to his client, who nodded and sat back peacefully.
The last of a jailhouse trio to testify against Laughlin was Glen Lowrance. He told jurors that Laughlin had told him in the county jail, âI know Iâm guilty, but Iâve got this case beat and Iâll be out in two weeks and write to you.â
Danny Laughlin remained silent, his head drooped. His mother sat behind him, a hot flash of resentment surging through her body. Lies, all lies, she thought. Wilma Hooker was unfaltering in her belief that Danny didnât kill Toni Gibbs. No one could convince her he had, but it was up to Roger Williams to convince the jury of her sonâs innocence.
Danny Laughlin had been riding a wave of emotions during the first days of the trial. His initial confidence had slipped away like seaweed drawn back into the ocean. But Laughlinâs mood was elevated to a new high when Bob Estrada, a criminal defense attorney hired by a friend of Laughlin, entered the courtroom and took his seat beside his new client and Roger Williams. By the time Williams had finished questioning the first defense witness, Laughlin had resumed his self-assured attitude. His renewed confidence spread to his mother, whose mood had likewise taken a surge upward.
Joyce Gregory, a former bartender at the Stardust, told the jury that Laughlinâs job behind the bar would leave him little time to talk to patrons of the club. Her description of Laughlinâs work cast doubt that he would have had the opportunity to âhit onâ Gibbs at the popular Wichita Falls watering hole. Gregory also stated that she was with Laughlin from about eleven-thirty A.M . until later in the afternoon on the day Gibbs was reported missing.
âI was helping him move into his Fillmore Street apartment and
The prosecutor reminded jurors that Gibbsâs body had not been found until February 15.
Laughlin shook his head and mumbled under his breath in frustration. During the morning recess he stomped out of the courtroom. He didnât like the way his trial had started. Macha was twisting the facts, spinning the truth.
When Harry Harrison was called to the stand, Laughlinâs mood changed from despair to wrath. He loathed Harrison. Laughlin had first met the career criminal while they were both incarcerated in the Archer County jail. Laughlinâs eyes followed Harrison as he sashayed confidently to the witness chair.
âWe had just finished eating breakfast and talking about our military service,â Harrison said as he began to talk about his association with Laughlin. Harrison then dropped a courtroom bomb.
âHe said he held a knife to her [Gibbsâs] throat and held her in the missionary position. When he got through [raping her], he stabbed her and then turned her over and sodomized her. After that, he started crying and said he had found the Lord since then and God would forgive him,â Harrison said, with a slight grin of satisfaction directed at Laughlin.
Laughlin was infuriated. He made little effort to hide his aggravation and almost everyone in the courtroom knew he was close to losing control.
âHave you been promised anything by the District Attorneyâs office in exchange for your testimony?â Defense Attorney Roger Williams asked Harrison.
Although Harrison denied agreeing to any such exchange of information for favors from the DAâs office, it was later learned that seventeen charges against Harrison had been expunged from his record.
When Phil âRocketâ Guerieri testified that Laughlin had told him there was no reason to keep looking for the missing nurse, Laughlin again expressed his anger. He vigorously wrote on his yellow legal pad and underlined something so strongly that paper ripped and heads turned in his direction.
Roger Williams turned and spoke quietly to his client, who nodded and sat back peacefully.
The last of a jailhouse trio to testify against Laughlin was Glen Lowrance. He told jurors that Laughlin had told him in the county jail, âI know Iâm guilty, but Iâve got this case beat and Iâll be out in two weeks and write to you.â
Danny Laughlin remained silent, his head drooped. His mother sat behind him, a hot flash of resentment surging through her body. Lies, all lies, she thought. Wilma Hooker was unfaltering in her belief that Danny didnât kill Toni Gibbs. No one could convince her he had, but it was up to Roger Williams to convince the jury of her sonâs innocence.
Danny Laughlin had been riding a wave of emotions during the first days of the trial. His initial confidence had slipped away like seaweed drawn back into the ocean. But Laughlinâs mood was elevated to a new high when Bob Estrada, a criminal defense attorney hired by a friend of Laughlin, entered the courtroom and took his seat beside his new client and Roger Williams. By the time Williams had finished questioning the first defense witness, Laughlin had resumed his self-assured attitude. His renewed confidence spread to his mother, whose mood had likewise taken a surge upward.
Joyce Gregory, a former bartender at the Stardust, told the jury that Laughlinâs job behind the bar would leave him little time to talk to patrons of the club. Her description of Laughlinâs work cast doubt that he would have had the opportunity to âhit onâ Gibbs at the popular Wichita Falls watering hole. Gregory also stated that she was with Laughlin from about eleven-thirty A.M . until later in the afternoon on the day Gibbs was reported missing.
âI was helping him move into his Fillmore Street apartment and
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