JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (TCN) -- A 42-year-old man will spend the rest of his life behind bars for "brutally" stabbing and killing his 68-year-old neighbor in 2021.
The Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office announced that on Oct. 9, a judge sentenced Jerry Gelpi to life in prison plus 40 years after a jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder of Charles Davis. Gelpi was also convicted of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence and will have to pay a $100,000 fine.
According to prosecutors, in the months leading up to his death, Davis suffered from COVID-19 and its "lingering effects." Davis was first infected with the virus in April 2020 and required hospitalization for three months. Davis’ live-in girlfriend died of COVID-19. Davis survived the virus, but the district attorney’s office said he became "severely weakened, having lost 70 pounds," and "required auxiliary oxygen and was undergoing long-term rehabilitation."
Gelpi reportedly lived in the apartment beneath Davis’ home. In February 2021, Gelpi gained access to the unit and attacked him in the bathroom, stabbing him in the neck. Prosecutors noted that the sink came off the wall, and Davis ended up in the bathtub, where Gelpi stabbed him at least 16 times. Davis reportedly sustained wounds to his hand, indicating he tried to defend himself during the attack.
According to the district attorney’s office, following the stabbing, Gelpi cleaned the blood off of his hands in the kitchen, and he discarded his bloody clothing and the knife he used. Davis’ daughter found her father’s body on Feb. 9, 2021, after he failed to answer or respond to her phone calls.
Gelpi initially told detectives he didn’t know about Davis’ death and didn’t go into his apartment. Prosecutors said he provided authorities with the name of a local homeless man as a possible suspect, and he "presented no hint of mental illness."
Upon further investigation, the district attorney’s office said detectives learned Gelpi had gotten into a fight with two men at a Walmart after he allegedly stood near them without a mask. The men reportedly asked him to walk farther back because they were worried about COVID-19. Gelpi allegedly struck one of the men, pulled out a knife, and threatened the men. One of the men recorded the incident with a cellphone. Gelpi reportedly noticed and fled before police later arrested him.
In another incident, Gelpi allegedly used a knife to cut open teeth whitening strips and then tried to steal them from a pharmacy. A loss prevention officer confronted Gelpi, and he reportedly pulled out the knife and threatened to stab him before fleeing with the whitening strips. Gelpi was convicted of felony robbery, and his DNA was collected and entered into a database as a result.
According to prosecutors, authorities found Gelpi’s DNA under Davis’ fingernails and on the kitchen sink. Officials arrested him and found a knife in his possession.
Inside Gelpi’s home, detectives reportedly located five tactical knives and saw that he looked up information online about knife fighting and stabbing people in their kidneys, hearts, and lungs. Prosecutors noted that "it was only after his arrest that Gelpi began asserting mental illness," and he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
During his trial, Gelpi reportedly claimed he is "the son of God," and he "was not in control of himself when he killed Davis." According to the district attorney’s office, Gelpi said Davis was "the strongest demon in my experience," and the defendant "pointed to detectives seated in the courtroom and said they were demons."
Gelpi’s attorney claimed the defendant was not mentally sane when he attacked Davis and shouldn’t be held criminally responsible. However, prosecutors said while Gelpi was in a mental hospital, he "alleged there were demons present but otherwise exhibited no true signs of mental illness." Physicians determined the defendant was "malingering or fabricating mental illness symptoms to achieve his needs."
Gelpi had never been diagnosed or treated for a psychotic disorder before the fatal stabbing, but prosecutors said he "had a history of such feigning disorders."
Per the district attorney’s office, Gelpi enlisted in the Navy and in 2004, he "faked a mental illness" to avoid punishment for a criminal case and be discharged. Following his arrest for Davis’ stabbing death, Gelpi allegedly emailed an acquaintance and "boasted about lying" to a judge regarding a robbery case. Gelpi reportedly claimed he had a substance abuse problem "to get leniency," and he told his acquaintance "the judge bought it."
Judge Frank Brindisi told Gelpi, "You accused this man of being a demon. You were the only demon that day."
Davis’ sister spoke in court and reportedly said, "I will never get a chance to hug him, to speak with him, to tell him how much I love him, or just to hear him say, 'Sis, you all right?'"
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