A Las Vegas court has found William Redman guilty of first-degree murder but mentally ill in the 2008 stabbing death of his twelve-year old daughter, Gloria. The verdict in the case was reached by Clark County District Judge Elissa Cadish after an eight-day bench trial. The murder occurred on March 12 in the Redman family trailer at the Roadrunner RV park in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gloria had stayed home from school due to illness and was left in her 54-year old father's care while her mother left for the store. Gloria's mother, Rosemary Redman, stated that there had been no sign of her husband's intent when she left him watching religious programming on television. According to police reports, Redman phoned 911 and told them that his daughter was dead because "that was the way Jehovah does things". He also admitted to "falling on her" with a knife. Police arrived on the scene to find Redman covered in blood and suffering from self-inflicted stab wounds. The girl's mother was also on the scene screaming, "What did you do to my baby?" Gloria lay dead in the trailer with deep gashes to her neck where her father had stabbed her repeatedly with a serrated steak knife.
After being arrested at the scene, Redman was taken to Sunrise Hospital for treatment. A toxicological screen showed no indication of substance use and existing news coverage provided no indication of previous psychiatric problems. In his subsequent testimony, Redman- a devout Jehovah's Witness- stated that he "saw God" while watching religious programming and subsequently attacked his daughter. There was no indication of any argument occurring before the attack. He also told investigators that he believed Gloria would be resurrected three days after her death. For that reason, he insisted that Gloria's body not be embalmed and that the funeral not be held until the three days had passed. Gloria Redman's murder has generated tremendous community outrage and a public appeal was also set up to cover the costs of her funeral. Her teachers at Harney Middle Sch0ol described Gloria Redman as a quiet student and a crisis team was set up at her school within two days of her death to counsel grieving students. According to her obituary, she was survived by her parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
William Redman's sentencing will be on April 27 and he faces twenty years in prison in conjunction with psychiatric treatment.
Comments