Summary of Offense:
On February 1, 1989, the eight-year-old son of Tressa and Kevin Pettibone found his mother beaten and stabbed to death on the kitchen floor. Tressa Pettibone had two stab wounds on the right side of her neck and one fatal stab wound on the left side. These stab wounds were consistent with a knife found in the kitchen sink. The medical examiner also found a number of bruises and abrasions on the head, face, chest, and abdomen of the victim that were caused by some form of blunt trauma. According to the medical examiner, the victim’s wrists had been bound with a plastic tie for at least twenty minutes prior to her death. A number of items were missing from the home, including the victim’s car. Geralds was a carpenter who had helped remodel the Pettibone’s home prior to the murder. Circumstantial evidence connected Geralds to the crime: Geralds knew that Kevin Pettibone was out of town at the time of the crime and Geralds separately asked Tressa Pettibone and the children when Mr. Pettibone would be returning; Geralds pawned jewelry from the Pettibone home that had traces of blood that were consistent with Tressa Pettibone’s blood type, but inconsistent with Geralds’ blood type; Geralds gave the victim’s sunglasses to a friend; Geralds’ shoes were consistent with the shoes used to make tracks on the floor of the Pettibone’s home; and plastic ties used to bind the victim matched ties found in Geralds’ car.
Geralds was sentenced to death in Bay County on April 13, 1993.
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