Perfect Poison
Highest Praise for M. William Phelps
BAD GIRLS
“Fascinating, gripping . . . Phelps’s sharp investigative skills and questioning mind resonate. Whether or not you agree with the author’s suspicions that an innocent is behind bars, you won’t regret going along for the ride with such an accomplished reporter.”
—Sue Russell
NEVER SEE THEM AGAIN
“This riveting book examines one of the most horrific murders in recent American history.”
—New York Post
“Phelps clearly shows how the ugliest crimes can take place in the quietest of suburbs.”
—Library Journal
“Thoroughly reported . . . The book is primarily a police procedural, but it is also a tribute to the four murder victims.”
—Kirkus Reviews
TOO YOUNG TO KILL
“Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.”
—Allison Brennan
LOVE HER TO DEATH
“Reading anything by Phelps is always an eye opening experience. The characters are well researched and well written. We have murder, adultery, obsession, lies and so much more.”
—Suspense Magazine
“You don’t want to miss Love Her To Death by M. William Phelps, a book destined to be one of 2011’s top true crimes!”
—True Crime Book Reviews
“A chilling crime . . . award-winning author Phelps goes into lustrous and painstaking detail, bringing all the players vividly to life.”
—Crime Magazine
KILL FOR ME
“Phelps gets into the blood and guts of the story.”
—Gregg Olsen, New York Times best-selling author of
Fear Collector
“Phelps infuses his investigative journalism with plenty of energized descriptions.”
—Publishers Weekly
DEATH TRAP
“A chilling tale of a sociopathic wife and mother . . . a compelling journey from the inside of this woman’s mind to final justice in a court of law. For three days I did little else but read this book.”
—Harry N. MacLean, New York Times best-selling author of In
Broad Daylight
I’LL BE WATCHING YOU
“Phelps has an unrelenting sense for detail that affirms his place, book by book, as one of our most engaging crime journalists.”
—Katherine Ramsland
IF LOOKS COULD KILL
“M. William Phelps, one of America’s finest true-crime writers, has written a compelling and gripping book about an intriguing murder mystery. Readers of this genre will thoroughly enjoy this book.”
—Vincent Bugliosi
“Starts quickly and doesn’t slow down . . . Phelps consistently ratchets up the dramatic tension, hooking readers. His thorough research and interviews give the book complexity, richness of character, and urgency.”
—Stephen Singular
MURDER IN THE HEARTLAND
“Drawing on interviews with law officers and relatives, the author has done significant research. His facile writing pulls the reader along.”
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“Phelps expertly reminds us that when the darkest form of evil invades the quiet and safe outposts of rural America, the tragedy is greatly magnified. Get ready for some sleepless nights.”
—Carlton Stowers
“This is the most disturbing and moving look at murder in rural America since Capote’s In Cold Blood.”
—Gregg Olsen
SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE
“An exceptional book by an exceptional true crime writer. Phelps exposes long-hidden secrets and reveals disquieting truths.”
—Kathryn Casey
EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE
“An insightful and fast-paced examination of the inner workings of a good cop and his bad informant, culminating in an unforgettable truth-is-stranger-than-fiction climax.”
—Michael M. Baden, M.D.
“M. William Phelps is the rising star of the nonfiction crime genre, and his true tales of murder are scary-as-hell thrill rides into the dark heart of the inhuman condition.”
—Douglas Clegg
LETHAL GUARDIAN
“An intense roller-coaster of a crime story . . . complex, with twists and turns worthy of any great detective mystery . . . reads more like a novel than your standard non-fiction crime book.”
—Steve Jackson
PERFECT POISON
“True crime at its best—compelling, gripping, an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Phelps packs wallops of delight with his skillful ability to narrate a suspenseful story.”
—Harvey Rachlin
“A compelling account of terror . . . the author dedicates himself to unmasking the psychopath with facts, insight and the other proven methods of journalistic leg work.”
—Lowell Cauffiel
Other books by M. William Phelps:
Perfect Poison
Lethal Guardian
Every Move You Make
Sleep in Heavenly Peace
Murder in the Heartland
Because You Loved Me
If Looks Could Kill
I’ll Be Watching You
Deadly Secrets
Cruel Death
Death Trap
Kill For Me
Love Her to Death
Too Young to Kill
Never See Them Again
Murder, New England
Failures of the Presidents (coauthor)
Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America’s First Spy
The Devil’s Rooming House: The True Story of America’s
Deadliest Female Serial Killer
The Devil’s Right Hand: The Tragic Story of the Colt Family
Curse
The Dead Soul: A Thriller (available as eBook only)
Kiss of the She-Devil
Bad Girls
Obsessed
The Killing Kind
PERFECT POISON
A Female Serial Killer’s Deadly Medicine
M. WILLIAM PHELPS
PINNACLE BOOKS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
http://www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
Praise
Also by
Title Page
Dedication
Explanatory Note
PART ONE
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
PART TWO
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
CHAPTER 67
CHAPTER 68
PART THREE
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
CHAPTER 79
CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 81
CHAPTER 82
CHAPTER 83
CHAPTER 84
CHAPTER 85
CHAPTER 86
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 88
CHAPTER 89
CHAPTER 90
CHAPTER 91
CHAPTER 92
CHAPTER 93
CHAPTER 94
CHAPTER 95
EPILOGUE
UPDATE 2014
Acknowledgments
Teaser chapter
Copyright Page
Notes
For my children: April, Jordon and Mathew;
and my lovely wife, Regina, whose love, support and
patience have been a true blessing in my life.
Explanatory Note
Portions of dialogue and a number of events in this book were taken directly from trial transcripts. In other cases, court records, trial transcripts, medical records, search warrants, notes made by law enforcement, and exclusive interviews conducted with certain individuals relevant to this story were combined to reconstruct conversations and events that took place. As much as possible, the author has refrained from recreating scenes and putting thoughts into people’s minds solely for dramatic effect; however, for the sake of keeping the narrative moving and to better communicate the story, in a few instances, dialogue was recreated based on the author’s investigation. The end result had nothing to do with the integrity of the words spoken or the information presented. All thoughts attributed are, moreover, actual thoughts uncovered by the author.
Any name appearing in italics for the first time is a pseudonym. For good reason, that person has preferred to remain anonymous. Also, the author has chosen to keep the identities of Glenn and Kristen Gilbert’s children, known as Brian and Raymond in the text, anonymous.
There are no composite characters in this book. Each person is real.
Through the reading of more than ten thousand pages of trial transcripts, court documents, pleadings and motions, audio and video tape transcripts, medical records, police reports, search warrants, affidavits, letters, e-mails, military reports, nearly one hundred interviews with dozens of people involved, and VA employee evaluations, along with scores of private documents the author uncovered over a two-year period, a comprehensive narrative has been put together that, in the author’s opinion, best tells this story.
There were only a few times during the murder trial where conflicting versions of the same event occurred. The author has chosen to rely on the testimony that was believed by the jury of nine women and three men who sat through nearly five months of trial testimony and, ultimately, decided Kristen Gilbert’s fate.
While conducting research for this book, the author uncovered several new pieces of information that had not previously been made public and were never reported. The author wishes to thank those individuals who came forward and told their stories for the purpose of giving a better understanding of why Kristen Gilbert did what she did.
They should be commended for their courage, intelligence and impeccable memory of the events. As it was explained to the author, “Psychotic behavior is hard to forget . . . when you fear for your life, you tend to remember how things happened.”
Please visit www.mwilliamphelps.com if you wish to contact the author.
PART ONE
These seven victims, ladies and gentlemen, were veterans. They protected our country during war and peace. They were vulnerable, due to their physical and mental illnesses. Some were seriously ill. And some had no family. And because of that, ladies and gentlemen, they were the perfect victims. And when Kristen Gilbert decided to kill them or assault in attempt to kill them, she used the perfect poison.
—Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariane Vuono
PROLOGUE
There are sections of landscape bordering the quaint New England town of Northampton, Massachusetts, as flat as a tabletop—acres of farmland that, from a bird’s-eye view, might make one think this small section of the Northeast is no different from Indiana or Kansas.
And in many ways, there is no difference.
In May 1995, for example, the unimaginable happened. A tornado whipped through Great Barrington, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring twenty-four. With a top wind speed of two hundred and four miles per hour, farming tractors were tossed into the air and willow trees pulled from the ground and snapped in half as if they were plastic toys in a child’s train-set collection.
Farmers and townspeople, in a matter of moments, were left devastated. Twisters, locals protested, were supposed to be confined to the Midwest and Deep South. Northampton, like Great Barrington, is located on the edge of the Berkshires, in mountainous terrain, fenced in by steep, rocky cliffs. It is a quiet place, full of agricultural history and laid-back living. Nothing ever happens there of any national interest—and residents like it that way.
From Interstate-91, the only hint that Northampton exists somewhere within the throng of massive pines, clapboarded homes and small businesses is the steeple of the old clock tower, which pokes through the tops of the trees like the point of a witch’s hat.
On any given night, one can walk through downtown and see a wide variety of cultures mixing company. Passed on from generation to generation, Northampton, where Calvin Coolidge once sat in the mayor’s chair, is rumored to be the lesbian capital of the nation. That distinction, however, is perhaps derived from the presence of Smith College, a prestigious liberal arts school for women.
Surrounding downtown, and split into three neighborhoods, or “villages,” as the locals like to say—Leeds, Florence and Bay State—Northampton fits every bit of the Smalltown, U.S.A., image portrayed in many of nearby Stockbridge resident Norman Rockwell’s paintings. There are old-fashioned ice cream parlors for the kids, cafes for the intellectuals and diners for the blue-collar workers. Coffee houses, art museums, book stores and pubs line Main Street. Street musicians are everywhere, shaking tambourines, strumming guitars, banging on bongos and tooting horns for tip money.
Made up of roughly thirty-thousand residents, Northampton encompasses some thirty-six square miles, with approximately one hundred and seventy miles of roadway intertwined through its thousands of raised ranches, colonials and rustic farms. One could easily agree it is every bit of what writer Tracy Kidder calls, in his book Home Town, a “quintessential landscape.” Classic New England all the way: from its rolling hills to its maple syrup to its antique shops . . .
“Shake it,” Kidder wrote, “and it snows.”
Visible from just about anywhere in town, the Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Leeds has served the health needs of Massachusetts veterans since 1924. The main building of the hospital sits high atop Old Bear Hill, a rather steep stretch of land with a man-made duck pond at its base, perfect for sledding during winter months. Just off Route 9, the VAMC grounds rise out of the center of town like a monument and, to some extent, the main building looks a bit like a Victorian mansion. There are twenty-six smaller red-brick buildings, or “cottages,” that doctors rent, spread over one hundre
d and five acres of some of the most sprawling landscape the Northeast has to offer. Perhaps deliberately, the entire compound resembles a military base rather than a full-facility hospital, where six miles of roadway snake around a piece of property that visitors who often come here say is but a small slice of “God’s country.”
On any given day, scores of vets stand and sit outside the main entrance, smoking cigarettes, drinking from brown paper bags, waiting for the VA bus to take them home. They wear tattered and torn camouflage Army jackets, berets and medals, and speak of their days in the war to anyone who will listen.
The VAMC provides “tertiary psychiatric and substance abuse services, as well as primary and secondary levels of medical care” to a veteran population of men and women in western Massachusetts of more than eighty-five thousand. With nearly six hundred thousand veterans statewide—twelve percent of Massachusetts’s population—the one-hundred-and-ninety-seven-bed medical center at Leeds specializes in post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic mental illness, two ailments that often plague these men and women who sometimes return from overseas combat duty damaged for life by what they have seen.
“Our staff,” an open letter to veterans reads, “is dedicated towards one purpose—fulfilling [a veteran’s] needs as a patient. Veterans are the most important people in our Medical Center.”
CHAPTER 1
By the time U.S. Army veteran Stanley Jagodowski turned sixty-six, on August 12, 1995, his reputation for being an uncompromising pain in the ass had already preceded his frequent stays at the VAMC.
During the past eight months, the Korean War vet had become a permanent fixture at the hospital, admitted three times since January because the sores on his feet and legs had become unbearable.
At five-foot-seven, two hundred and twenty-eight pounds, the gray-haired, brown-eyed former truck driver with the Jimmy Durante nose was severely overweight for a man his size and age. Because he smoked, drank, and maintained eating habits that were a nutritionist’s worst nightmare, Jagodowski’s doctors begged him to exercise, but he rarely did.