A Florida grandmother is being accused of stabbing her 76-year-old roommate to death, hiding his body under a tarp and then stealing his truck.
Shannon Giblin is now facing charges of second-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.com, in connection with the death of Paul De Wayne Bradley.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office was called to Bradley’s Punta Gorda home the evening of March 8 after receiving a report that a person was not breathing at the property, according to a statement from the department. Deputies arrived to find Bradley was “deceased and beyond help.”
After noticing that Bradley’s truck was missing from the driveway, detectives learned that someone had driven the truck to Sarasota County and they reached out to the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office for ᴀssistance. Law enforcement officers were able to locate the vehicle and detain Giblin.
While being interviewed by detectives, Giblin allegedly confessed to stabbing Bradley after an argument, per the sheriff’s office.
They noted, “After realizing that the victim was beyond help, Giblin then covered Bradley with a tarp and left the scene in the victim’s pickup truck.”
She was arrested and taken into custody in Sarasota County, where she’s currently being held without bond.
A spokesperson for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office told Oxygen they were unable to release any further details in the case, citing the ongoing investigation.
It’s unclear whether Giblin has retained an attorney, however, her family released a statement to Gulf Coast News expressing their condolences to Bradley’s family.
“First and foremost, to the Bradley family, Paul’s friends, all his loved ones and anyone else affected by this horrible, bereaving event: Our hearts are deeply saddened by this inconceivable tragedy and the utter grief you most certainly must have been stricken with, by what is such an inconsolable loss,” they wrote. “We can only imagine the pain you’re feeling. And words can hardly express how heartbroken we are and how very sincerely we apologize that this has been thrust upon you. We are so very sorry.”
They went on to add that Giblin will have to face the consequences of her alleged actions.
”We will, in no way, attempt to deflect blame or responsibility for this crime away from the accused, who is a daughter, a sister, a mother and grandmother to those of us who are her family,” they continued. “This is something she will deal with, and the repercussions of it, every day, and eventually, before Our Lord God. We only wish the paths that have led us here today could have been altered so many years ago, so as not to have resulted in so many losses for so many people.”
The family added that the arrest had forced them to be “once again confronted with the pain and anguish of The Mental Health Crisis, and the demons born of it.”
Bradley’s friend Adam LaFleur told the news outlet that Giblin had been moved in with Bradley about a week before his death and was describing herself as an at-home caregiver.
“Within two or three days, she started doing some strange things. She lied to him about a few things,” LaFleur said. “He caught that right away.”
LaFleur believes his friend may have confronted Giblin and asked her to leave before his death. He said that Bradley will be missed by those who knew him.
“That was a damn good man, a better man than I’ll ever be, for sure,” LaFleur added. “A veteran. Our veterans deserve better than this.”
A spokesperson for the Office of the State Attorney Twentieth Judicial Circuit declined to comment to Oxygen on the ongoing case. Oxygen also reached out to the public defender’s office, but did not receive an immediate reply.
