Timothy Lane Gribble (August 27, 1963 – March 15, 2000)[1] was an American murderer, rapist and self-confessed serial killer who admitted to raping and strangling three women across Texas between 1985 and 1987.
The couple, who were in dire financial straits, attempted to make a living via his father's business in Hitchcock, but he eventually had to take on additional jobs as a carpenter and roofer.
[6] On June 16, 1986, Gribble abducted 23-year-old junior college student Donna Weis from Texas City, and drove her to a wooded lot near Santa Fe, where her father owned a storage business.
[8] When Jones failed to appear at work that day, one of her colleagues dropped by her home in Clear Lake Shores to check on her, but found the house locked.
[2] Later that day, Gribble returned to the house, ostensibly to retrieve his wallet, but then kidnapped his former employer, driving her around the countryside until he found an isolated area near the FM 646 and the I-45.
Under pressure, he admitted that a wine bottle and some cigarette butts found at the crime scene were his, but before he could be brought in on charges of sexually assaulting Jones’ ex-wife, Gribble fled the state.
[9] In the next few days, Gribble confessed to the Jones murder under questioning, travelling with them to indicate where he had left her body, and the skeletal remains and skull were subsequently found on October 5.
After spending two years on death row, Gribble was given a new trial following a decision by the Supreme Court, Penry v. Lynaugh, which prohibited mentally ill offenders from eligibility for capital punishment.
Prior to his execution, he gave a handwritten statement to the prison chaplain, James Brazzil, in which he apologized for his crimes and criticised the use of the death penalty.