POLK COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A 21-year-old man has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of leaving the scene of a crash after allegedly killing his mother, fleeing, and then causing multiple car crashes.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department, deputies investigated the crashes on July 21. A BMW allegedly was involved in a hit-and-run and then struck two more cars while fleeing. The driver of the BMW, Gibson Nash, was taken to the hospital for his injuries and was sedated and intubated, per authorities. Three of the drivers involved in the crashes were also hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Nash had allegedly overdosed on Tylenol and was treated for liver failure, WTVT reports.
Investigators learned the BMW was registered to Margaret Chu Dufour, 56. Deputies attempted to make contact with her at her home but were unable to do so. However, neighbors told deputies they heard loud thuds coming from her house at about 4:30 a.m. Deputies entered the home after finding broken glass and a shovel outside an entrance.
According to the sheriff’s office, Dufour was deceased inside the living room with blunt force trauma to the face. WTVT reports that a medical examiner determined her cause of death was blunt force trauma and strangulation.
It was determined that Nash was the driver of the BMW and he became a suspect in his mother’s death. Investigators spoke with family members and learned Nash had a history of mental illness, including schizophrenia, and had previously been arrested for domestic violence when he allegedly charged at his mother with a knife.
On Aug. 3, Dufour picked up Nash from jail in Tennessee when he bonded out and brought him to her Florida home to live with her, according to the sheriff’s office.
Nash had been in jail for an alleged incident on April 29 in which he pulled a knife on his mother during an argument over an Xbox. WTVT reports Dufour, who worked as a nurse, bonded him out of jail and wanted to move Nash to an area with better mental health resources.
Blood on Nash’s boots was tested and allegedly found to belong to Dufour. After he was extubated and no longer sedated, Nash was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and leaving the scene of a crash. He will be transferred to jail once he is released from the hospital, per the sheriff’s office.
Of the charges, Polk County Sheriff Grady Nash said, “Gibson Nash needs to remain locked away from the public forever. The way he murdered his mother was a mix of pure rage and extreme violence. After killing her, he caused two vehicle crashes on a busy road. He has no respect for others and is a clear threat to society.”
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