Florida – A Florida man was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including murder, kidnapping, se-ual assauIt and abuse of a corpse. The charges stem from a incident that began when the 40-year-old defendant, D. Gepson, allegedly attacked two femaIes in their home.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, the defendant arrived at the victims’ residence claiming that the woman’s spouse and brother-in-law owed him money. He then allegedly assaulted the younger woman, handcuffed her, and stripped her of her cIothing. When the woman’s family member, 74-year-old L. Collins, intervened, the defendant reportedly beat her severely, leaving her with swoIIen eyes and a bIoodied face. He then forced the younger woman into a vehicle, duct-taped her mouth, and transported her to his property.
At his residence, the defendant allegedly continued the abuse, se-ually assaulting the woman and threatening her life. He then confined her in a large tooIbox inside a shed, tying her with a rope around her neck and tucking her legs underneath her. The victim later described the experience as suffocating and feared she would die.
Despite her injuries, the woman managed to free herself by kicking off the items covering the tooIbox and escaping the shed. Still handcuffed and without cIothes, she used a tree to remove the duct tape from her mouth and ran to a nearby road, where a passerby found her and called 911. Deputies responding to the scene found the elderly victim deceased in the home, having been beaten to death, according to Florida authorities.
Following an extensive manhunt, the defendant was apprehended in a wooded area. He was found covered in mud, an apparent attempt to evade detection by scent-tracking dogs.
The defendant has a lengthy criminal history, with more than three dozen prior felony charges and eight prison sentences dating back to 1999. He is currently being held without bond at the county jail, with his next court appearance scheduled for June 2.