Edward Lester Gibbs
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA
- Date of birth
- December 1, 1924
- Age at first offence
- 26
- Characteristics
- —
- Victim profile
- Marian Louise Baker, 21
- Method of murder
- Crushing her skull with a lug wrench
- Date(s) of murder
- January 10, 1950
- Years active
- 1950
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Executed
Executed by electrocution in Pennsylvania on April 23, 1951
Name
Edward Lester Gibbs
Status / Outcome
Edward Lester Gibbs was electrocuted in Pennsylvania on April 23, 1951, after being found guilty of first degree murder and having his appeal turned down.
Timeline
- 1/10/1950 — Edward Lester Gibbs gave secretary Marian Baker a ride on her way to the bank; he made a detour to park at a scenic view and acted on his sudden impulse to strangle her and then bludgeon her to death with a wrench.
- (four days after 1/10/1950) — Marian Baker’s body was found after a police search; her watch had been smashed in the struggle and was stopped at 2:36 PM.
- Mid-March 1951 — Gibbs was picked up and went to trial.
- April 1951 — Gibbs’s appeal was turned down; he was electrocuted.
Background
Edward Lester Gibbs was an American who strangled and bludgeoned a woman to death and hid the body. Marian Baker was a college student in Lancaster, PA. Marian Baker was 21 years old.
The offence
On 1/10/1950, Edward Lester Gibbs gave secretary Marian Baker a ride on her way to the bank. He made a detour to park at a scenic view. Gibbs acted on his sudden impulse to strangle her and then bludgeon her to death with a wrench.
There was no sexual assault. Gibbs stole Marian Baker’s rings and purse.
Gibbs put the body in a hole under a summer cottage and covered it with sheets of corrugated metal.
Investigation
With the police search, Marian Baker’s body was found four days later. Her watch had been smashed in the struggle and was stopped at 2:36 PM, establishing the time of the crime.
Arrest / Trial
Gibbs was picked up and went to trial in mid-March. He was found guilty of first degree murder.
Sentencing
Gibbs’s appeal was turned down, and he was electrocuted in April 1951.
Appeals
His appeal was turned down.
Aftermath
Hensel Brown was associated with Gibbs’s defence. The trial and execution occurred in the context of Brown having “absolutely no success in having the man reveal the whole truth” and Brown being “almost self-tormented by that case.”
Other details
Edward Lester Gibbs was popular with good social and academic standing.
Gibbs raced into one of the offices at Franklin and Marshall College, confessing to the killing of Miss Baker. He was forthright and offered up most details and showed the authorities where he had disposed of Marian Baker’s purse.
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