Suspected serial killer gets 7 life sentences, plus almost 300 years for killing 2 in Delaware

WILMINGTON, Del. (TCD) — A man convicted of murdering two people in Delaware and suspected of killing several others in Philadelphia was ordered to spend centuries behind bars.

The Delaware News Journal reports a judge sentenced Keith Gibson to seven life terms in prison, plus 297 years for the deaths of Leslie Ruiz-Basilio and Ronald Wright, as well as a slew of other charges.

Gibson was convicted in November of four counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, 13 counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, four counts of first-degree robbery, second-degree conspiracy, one count of theft of a motor vehicle, and one count of wearing body armor during the commission of a felony.

Following his conviction, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings called Gibson’s crimes a “deeply disturbing case,” adding, “The defendant carried out a vicious, cold-blooded crime spree, killing two and injuring four people in Delaware, and facing pending charges for yet more violence in Pennsylvania. He was armed and wearing a bulletproof vest when law enforcement arrested him, and it is difficult to fathom how much more destruction he would have caused had he not been apprehended.”

At the sentencing hearing, Judge Ferris Wharton reportedly said Gibson “deserves to die in prison,” and added, “I will do everything in my power to see that happens.”

Gibson is also believed to have been connected to four other deaths in Philadelphia that happened around the same time as the Delaware killings. WHYY-FM reports one of those victims in Philadelphia was his mother, Christine Gibson. Gibson was reportedly on probation at the time.

According to the Delaware News Journal, Deputy Attorney General John Downs said Gibson is a “despicable, horrible human being” and that he deserved the full length of the sentences. Judge Wharton handed Gibson the maximum number of years possible, but said, “It is not enough.”

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