MARION, Va. (AP) - A former doctor from North Carolina who killed his father and dumped his mutilated body in Virginia wants to be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported Monday that Vince Gilmer, 57, has been serving a life sentence for the 2004 slaying at the Marion Correctional Treatment Center in southwestern Virginia.
Gilmer’s lawyers sent the transfer request to Gov. Ralph Northam because Gilmer suffers from Huntington’s disease. The terminal brain disorder can cause poor impulse control and outbursts and grows progressively worse.
Gilmer had lived in Fletcher, North Carolina, which is outside of Asheville. The body of his father, Dalton Gilmer, was found in southwestern Virginia with rope burns around the neck, and the fingers and thumbs cut off.
Gilmer said he killed his father in a rage brought on by childhood sexual abuse and withdrawal from antidepressants. But DNA tests have since confirmed that Gilmer has Huntington’s disease.
Gilmer’s lawyers said Marion will soon be unable to meet Gilmer’s medical needs. His supporters say he would likely have been convicted of a less serious crime if he had been diagnosed before trial and now be in a hospital.
Gilmer’s case was profiled on the national radio show, “This American Life.”
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