My hometown newspaper came in the mail yesterday. One of the front page stories caught my eye: “‘Gibby’ D—- Found Dead on Railroad Bridge; Funeral Tuesday.” The story goes as follows (I’m hiding the names just because, with the exception of the tragically ironic “Gibby,” they don’t matter for my purposes:
On Friday afternoon, August 3rd, at approximately 4:05 p.m., the Martin County Sheriff’s Department received a 911 call reporting that S—- D—-, age 36, had been battered by her husband, L——- G—– “Gibby” D—-, Jr., age 34, of Shoals. When police arrived…, they requested an ambulance for S—- D—-. The whereabouts of “Gibby”…was unknown….
In the meantime, the wife was taken to the hospital for treatment. Later in the evening, police responded after “a 19-year-old male, who was walking near the railroad tracks, discovered a male hanging from the trestle. After officers arrived, they identified the male as Gibby D—-. Investigators determined that D—- hung himself with his belt.”
The story finishes with an obituary for Gibby that summarizes his survivors, his educational history, his church attendance. And then there’s this touching note:
“Gibby” will be sorely missed by many friends. He was a gifted artist and writer, with a smile for all.
My hometown. This is the same county which saw a domestic murder-suicide incident in 2005 that left five people dead. When I left the area in 2000, the county was still insisting they didn’t need domestic violence outreach services from Bloomington, and the local police described the county as a “low crime area.”
I bet Gibby’s still smiling; after all, he gets the headline and a fond send-off.
i still maintain this is why violent crime is on the rise in america. look how lovely they made him sound in the end. much better dead than alive…
Maybe he had some sort of facial paralysis and could only smile. Or he smiled because he knew he was getting away with battery. Did he really hang himself, or did he have help? Hmm.