Indiana man’s death penalty upheld in slaying-mutilation

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indiana Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a southern Indiana man convicted of killing a family friend and mutilating her body.

The court on Thursday affirmed William Clyde Gibson III’s sentence for his 2013 conviction in the killing of 75-year-old Christine Whitis. The Clarksville woman slain in April 2012 had been the best friend of Gibson’s late mother.

The justices found no errors by the trial court among the six issues Gibson raised on appeal. They wrote in their ruling that Gibson’s killing of Whitis was “beyond horrendous” and noted that the New Albany man killed, sexually assaulted and dismembered Whitis.

Gibson also faces a death sentence for his conviction in the killing of another Indiana woman and a 65-year sentence for killing a Florida woman.