Examine individual changes

'{{short description|American murder on death row}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Marvin Gabrion | image_name = | image_size = | image_caption = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1953|10|18|mf=y}} | birth_place = | birth_name = Marvin Charles Gabrion | death_date = | death_place = | known_for = | charge = Murder | penalty = [[Capital punishment|Death]] | status = On death row | country = United States | states = (Federal Jurisdiction) | parents = | spouse = | children = | imprisoned = [[United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute]] | victims = '''Convicted:''' Rachel Timmerman. '''Suspected:''' Shannon Verhage, Robert Allen, John Weeks, and Wayne Davis }} '''Marvin Charles Gabrion''' (born October 18, 1953) is an [[United States|American]] murderer convicted of the 1997 kidnapping and murder of 19-year-old Rachel Timmerman, of [[Cedar Springs, Michigan]]. Timmerman and her 18-month-old daughter, Shannon, disappeared two days before Gabrion was set to stand trial on rape charges filed by Rachel the previous summer. Rachel's body was found in Oxford Lake, weighted down by cinder blocks. Shannon remains missing, but is presumed deceased.<ref name=Post>{{cite news|title=Court of appeals affirms death penalty for Gabrion|url=http://cedarspringspost.com/2013/06/07/court-of-appeals-affirms-death-penalty-for-gabrion/|newspaper=Cedar Springs Post|date=June 7, 2013}}</ref><ref name="young mother">{{cite news|last=Agar|first=John|title=Marvin Gabrion's death penalty reinstated in 1997 killing of young mother|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/05/marvin_gabrions_death_penalty.html|newspaper=MLIVE|date=May 28, 2013}}</ref> Gabrion is also the prime suspect in the disappearances and murders of several other people, including a witness who was set to testify against him in the trial for rape, his handyman, another potential witness and family friend and an unknown man. The bodies of these people, who were witnesses to his case, are yet to be found, but various of their belongings were recovered from his home.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name="charley project"/> The case received national attention both for the brutality of the crime and for the controversial sentence. Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846, but the body of Timmerman was found within the [[Huron–Manistee National Forests]], a federally-maintained forest, which is not within the legal jurisdiction of the State of Michigan, but is directly subject to U.S. federal law – which ''does'' authorize the death penalty.<ref name="grand rapids press">{{cite news|title=Court divided on Marvin Gabrion death penalty appeal|newspaper=The Grand Rapids Press|date=March 14, 2008}}</ref> Gabrion, who was tried in the [[United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan|U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan]], thus is the first person sentenced to death by a federal court located in a non-death penalty state since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988.<ref name=DPIC>{{cite web|title=First Federal Death Sentence in Non-death penalty state overturned|url=http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/first-federal-death-sentence-non-death-penalty-state-overturned|publisher=Death Penalty Information Center|accessdate=May 16, 2014}}</ref> ==Rape== On August 7, 1996, Rachel Timmerman reported to [[Newaygo County]] Sheriff's department that she had been raped by Marvin Gabrion.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name=Appeal/> The previous evening, she had been invited to a card game by a family friend named Wayne Davis and a classmate of Rachel's named Mikey Gabrion. Davis and Mikey Gabrion arrived to pick up Timmerman along with Gabrion's uncle Marvin. On the way to the card game, Marvin Gabrion allegedly forced Davis and Mikey Gabrion out of the car before driving off and raping Rachel. Gabrion was arrested and charged with the crime.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit">{{cite news|title=FBI Criminal Pursuit|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IG-SPIp9lU|accessdate=May 15, 2014|newspaper=Investigation Discovery}}</ref><ref name=Appeal>{{cite web|title=United States of America v. Marvin Charles Gabrion II--Appeal from the United States District court for the Western district of Michigan at Grand Rapids No. 99-00076--Robert Holmes Bell, District Judge|url=http://www.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/13a0151p-06.pdf|publisher=United States Court of Appeals|accessdate=May 15, 2014}}</ref> ==Disappearances== [[File:Timmerman Verhage.jpg|thumb|Victim Rachel Timmerman and her daughter Shannon Verhage]] On June 3, 1997, two days before Gabrion's trial on the charge of rape, Timmerman left the house with her 11-month-old daughter Shannon, telling her family she was going on a date with a man she met at work. Her father soon received a letter stating that she planned to leave town and elope. The prosecutor and the judge presiding over the case also received letters in Timmerman's handwriting stating that the rape allegations were fabricated and that she wished to drop the charges against Gabrion.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name="charley project"/> Another letter arrived identifying the man she left with as being named "Delbert". Rachel's family believed the letters were legitimate and her disappearance was not investigated at the time.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name="charley project"/> ==Investigation== [[File:Shannon Verhage age progression.jpeg|thumb|left|1998 age progression of Shannon by the FBI]] On July 5, 1997, two fishermen found Rachel's body in Oxford Lake chained to [[cinder blocks]] and her face wrapped copiously with [[duct tape]]. According to the [[coroner]], she was alive when she entered the lake and died from [[drowning]].<ref name=Post/><ref name="new book">{{cite news|last=Rademacher|first=Tom|title=Father, uncle pour out grief, love in new book|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/02/father_uncle_pour_out_grief_lo.html|newspaper=MLive.com|date=February 6, 2011}}</ref> Gabrion's whereabouts were unknown, but he quickly became a prime suspect in her death. A search warrant was executed for his residence and keys that matched the [[padlock]] used to secure Rachel's body were found at Gabrion's home along with concrete blocks stained with the same paint as the ones retrieved from the lake.<ref name=Appeal/> Marvin's nephew, Mikey Gabrion, also led police to a campsite that had frequently been used by his uncle. Gabrion's tent was found there, along with [[bolt cutters]], chain, duct tape, a woman's hair clip, and nipples for a baby bottle.<ref name=Appeal/> Gabrion's neighbors were also interviewed by police. They reported that Gabrion had a [[handyman]] named John Weeks, but that he hadn't been seen around the property in a few weeks. Investigators contacted Weeks' girlfriend, who identified a photo of Gabrion as a man introduced to her as "Lance". She reported that Lance had left the area with Weeks and she hadn't heard from him and was unsure of how to get a hold of him. She also reported to police that on one occasion she caught John on the phone with a girl named Rachel. When she confronted him, she was told that he was trying to do a favor for Lance, who was interested in being set up with her. Authorities believe that Weeks was the mystery date who picked up Rachel and Shannon on the day they were last seen and that he arranged the date at the behest of Gabrion.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name=Appeal/> The search for Gabrion lasted two months until they received a tip that Gabrion was set to receive a [[social security]] check from a post office in [[Sherman, New York]]. [[FBI agents]] covertly staked out the location and he was arrested as he left the post office.<ref name=Appeal/> Timmerman's daughter, Shannon, has never been found.<ref name=Appeal/> ==Other disappearances== Gabrion is a suspect in the disappearances of several other people. The house where he was living when Rachel's body was found was owned by a man named Robert Allen. Allen was a [[mentally disabled]] transient and had been receiving social security when he went missing in 1995. Gabrion cashed Allen's checks and lived in his home until 1997. His impersonation of Allen led authorities to him following Rachel's murder when he opened a post office box in Allen's name and directed that his social security check be sent there. Gabrion was [[convicted]] of social security fraud in July 1998 for his use of Allen's checks and sentenced to five years in [[federal prison]].<ref name="charley project"/><ref name=Appeal/> Wayne Davis, the family friend who invited Timmerman the night she was raped, disappeared in February 1997.<ref name=Appeal/> Davis was set to [[testify]] against Gabrion at the upcoming [[rape]] trial.<ref name="charley project">{{cite web|title=The Charley Project: Shannon Dale Verhage|url=http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/v/verhage_shannon.html|publisher=Charley Project|accessdate=May 16, 2014}}</ref> Davis' residence was largely undisturbed when the disappearance was discovered aside from a stolen stereo system. It was later uncovered that Gabrion was in possession of the stereo equipment and attempted to pawn it.<ref name=Appeal/> In July 2002, canoeists found Davis' body in Twinwood lake, another body of water in the same national park where Rachel's body was found.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/> John Weeks' whereabouts are also unknown. Gabrion was the last known person to see him alive in June 1997.<ref name=Post/><ref name="charley project"/> Weeks and Allen are presumed [[deceased]]. Gabrion remains the [[prime suspect]] in the disappearances of the three men, but has not been charged.<ref name="Criminal Pursuit"/><ref name=disappearances>{{cite news|last=Lupo|first=Lee|title=supreme court asked to address Marvin Gabrion 1997 Murder Conviction|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2009/01/supreme_court_asked_to_address.html|newspaper=MLive.com|date=January 9, 2009}}</ref> ==Trial== Gabrion was tried in 2002 for the murder of Rachel Timmerman. The [[prosecution]] presented testimony from multiple [[witnesses]] describing Gabrion's propensity for violence and threatening behaviors, including accusations of other physical and [[sexual assault]]s. Two witnesses testified that their homes had been [[Arson|set on fire]] following altercations with Gabrion. Another woman described how Gabrion trained a rifle on her and her two-year-old child as she walked to her car one day. He then climbed into his own car and followed them for several miles. The disappearances of the other men surrounding the case were also admitted.<ref name=Appeal/> The trial was also noted for the judge's decision to deny the defendant's right to fire his counsel and defend himself in court due to Gabrion's erratic behavior and frequent disruption of court proceedings. He punched his defense attorney in the face in full view of the jury and he committed 40 major infractions while at the Calhoun County Jail.<ref name=Appeal/><ref name="Justifiable">{{cite news|last1=White|first1=Ed|title=Gabrion's lawyer: Sentence not justifiable|url=http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/648875/posts|agency=The Grand Rapids Press|date=March 17, 2002}}</ref> Gabrion filed numerous bizarre motions using "abusive and obscene language".<ref name=Appeal/> He accused the judge of sleeping with and impregnating 13- and 14-year-old girls and called his lawyer and the judge "satanic" and "Hitler". During his appeal, the appellate court affirmed that the District Court had every reason to deny Gabrion's right to represent himself, noting that his erratic and disruptive behavior would certainly have continued if he were given the opportunity.<ref name=Appeal/> The [[Defense attorney|defense]] countered that Gabrion's [[temperament]] and actions were the result of multiple [[car accident]]s that had resulted in [[brain injuries]] as well as a troubled childhood.<ref name=Appeal/> He was convicted and [[death penalty|was sentenced to death]].<ref name=Appeal/> ==Death penalty debate== ''[[United States v. Gabrion]]'' is considered a landmark case for its use of the death penalty in a non-death penalty state.<ref name=landmark>{{cite news|last=Agar|first=John|title=Former U.S. Attorney, prosecutor of Marvin Gabrion, Rami Saba, ends 40-year career|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2013/11/former_us_attorney_prosecutor.html|newspaper=MLive.com|date=November 29, 2013}}</ref> Capital punishment has been [[Capital punishment in Michigan|abolished in Michigan]] since 1846. Michigan was the first English-speaking jurisdiction to eliminate the death penalty.<ref name=overturned>{{cite news|last=Deiters|first=Barton|title=U.S. Appeals Court overturns death sentence for Marvin Gabrion, but conviction stands|url=http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/08/us_appeals_court_overturns_dea.html|newspaper=MLive.com|date=August 3, 2011}}</ref> Federal jurisdiction allowed prosecutors to seek the death penalty in the case. Rachel's body was found on [[federal land]] in [[Huron-Manistee National Forests|Manistee National Forest]], allowing prosecutors to try Gabrion in federal court and seek the death penalty on federal charges, a sentence that is not provided for under Michigan law. Gabrion was the first person in the United States to receive the death penalty for a crime committed in a non-death penalty state since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988 as well as the first person to be sentenced to death in the state of Michigan since 1937.<ref name=DPIC/><ref name=book>{{cite news|last=Reed|first=Judy|title=Murdered girl's tale told in book|url=http://cedarspringspost.com/2011/02/03/murdered-girl%E2%80%99s-tale-told-in-book/|newspaper=Cedar Springs Post|date=February 3, 2011}}</ref> During the trial, Gabrion's defense argued that she may have been killed outside Manistee National Forest before being transported into the park to be disposed of, and therefore the murder occurred on state property instead of federal property. The jury found, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Gabrion killed Timmerman inside the national forest. In 2011, Gabrion appealed both the conviction and the sentence. The defense maintained that jurors should have been told that had Gabrion been tried in state court, he would not have faced the death penalty. In his appeal, Gabrion defense argued that under the Eighth Amendment and the Federal Death Penalty Act, Gabrion was entitled to argue to the jury during the penalty phase of his trial that they should consider any "residual doubt" that he killed Timmerman inside the national forest. The conviction was upheld, but the sentence overturned.<ref name=overturned/> In their decision, the court wrote, <blockquote>The case was not brought to serve a special national interest like [[treason]] or [[terrorism]] different from the normal state interest in punishing murder. The [[jury]] should be given the opportunity to consider whether one or more of them would choose a [[life sentence]] rather than the death penalty when the same jury considering the same defendant's proper [[punishment]] for the same crime but prosecuted in [[Michigan]] state court could not impose the death penalty.<ref name=overturned/></blockquote> In 2013, the sentence appeal was overturned and the death penalty was reinstated.<ref name="young mother"/> He is currently on death row at the federal prison in [[United States Penitentiary, Terre Haute|Terre Haute, Indiana]].<ref name=Holland>{{cite news|last=Associated Press|title=Appeals court affirms death sentence for marvin gabrion, convicted of killing Michigan woman in 1997|url=http://www.hollandsentinel.com/article/20130528/News/305289942|newspaper=Holland Sentinel|date=May 28, 2013}}</ref> ==Media coverage== The case garnered national attention and was featured on the [[Investigation Discovery]] show ''FBI: Criminal Pursuit''<ref name=Undertaker>{{cite web|title=FBI: Criminal Pursuit - Season 3, episode 3: The undertaker|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/fbi-criminal-pursuit/the-undertaker-2448261/|publisher=TV.com|accessdate=May 16, 2014}}</ref> as well as ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]''.<ref name="Unsolved mysteries">{{cite web|title=Unsolved mysteries--Season 10|url=http://www.tv.com/shows/unsolved-mysteries/season-10/|publisher=TV.com|accessdate=May 16, 2014}}</ref> Rachel's father and uncle published a book about the case called ''The Color of Night: A Young Mother, and a Cold-Blooded Killer''.<ref name=Timmerman>{{cite book|last=Timmerman|first=John H.|title=The Color of Night: A Young Mother, a Missing Child, and a Cold-Blooded Killer|date=January 1, 2011|publisher=New Horizon Press|isbn=0882823221|url=https://archive.org/details/colorofnightyoun00john}}</ref> The legal aspects of the death sentence in this case were described in the book ''Cause of Death: Forensic Files of a Medical Examiner'' as well as the law text book ''Psychiatry in Law''.<ref name=slovenko>{{cite book|last=Slovenko|first=Ralph|title=Psychiatry in Law|date=July 1, 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415933636}}</ref><ref name="medical examiner">{{cite book|title=Cause of Death: Forensic Files of a Medical Examiner|date=February 27, 2007|publisher=Prometheus Books|isbn=1591024471|author=Cohle,Stephen D.|author2=Buhk, Tobin T.|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781591024477}}</ref> == See also == * [[Tony Chebatoris]] * [[Capital punishment by the United States federal government]] * [[Capital punishment in Michigan]] * [[List of death row inmates in the United States]] == References == {{Reflist|90em}} == External links == * ''[http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FCO%2020130528154/U.S.%20v.%20GABRION United States v. Gabrion]'', 219 F.3d 511 (6th Cir. 2013) * {{NCMEC|835530|Shannon Verhage}} {{CapPun-US}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Gabrion, Marvin}} [[Category:1953 births]] [[Category:1997 murders in the United States]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Trials in the United States]] [[Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by the United States federal government]] [[Category:Capital punishment in Michigan]] [[Category:Criminals from Michigan]] [[Category:American prisoners sentenced to death]] [[Category:American people convicted of murder]] [[Category:People convicted of murder by the United States federal government]] [[Category:American people convicted of kidnapping]]'