Daughter testifies against father in slaying - Says he stomped, burned retarded daughter

Wednesday, January 10, 2001

By Jonathan D. Silver, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

The sad spectacle of a family divided played out in a Fayette County courtroom yesterday, as Mary Jo Overly testified that her father stomped his adopted, mentally retarded daughter to death and then burned her corpse.

"He said, 'Your mother didn't kill her. I killed her,' " Overly said James Gillin told her several days after the death of 25-year-old Helen Gillin.

Expected to testify against Gillin today or tomorrow is his wife, Roberta, who is also charged with homicide, abuse of a corpse and criminal conspiracy in the case. Her trial date has not been set.

State police said the Gillins confessed to the murder, which they believe occurred in July 1992 in Bear Rocks, Fayette County. Prosecutors contend that the Gillins burned their adopted daughter's corpse in a barbecue pit behind their house, and their son, Timothy, then unknowingly scattered her ashes.

Yesterday was the second day of the trial and the first of testimony, which saw continual sparring between Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon and Gillin's lawyer, Mark Morrison.

In the prosecution's opening statement Monday, Assistant District Attorney Joe George couched the murder as the case of a man who took an orphaned girl home to be her father and instead became her killer.

Morrison disputed Overly's account, saying she and Roberta Gillin were filled with "lies and deceit."

Gillin, 53, has multiple sclerosis and uses a cane and wheelchair in the courtroom. Morrison cast doubt on whether Gillin could have committed the crime because of his physical condition and said his client has no criminal record.

On the witness stand, Overly testified that her mother had accused her father of having sexual relations with Helen, whom the family adopted in 1982 but didn't take into their home until 1989.

On the day of the killing, she said, Roberta Gillin mixed a concoction of laundry detergent and heart medication, which Helen Gillin later drank and then vomited.

At that point, Roberta Gillin became upset. Asked why, Overly replied: "Because [Helen] didn't die."

Afterward, Overly said she was upstairs when she heard her father yelling for someone to die. She said she heard snapping sounds outside like chicken bones breaking and saw her father stomping on Helen's chest.

Overly testified that before Helen's corpse was burned, she cradled it in her arms.

"The only thing I cared about was holding her for the last time," Overly said.

"You didn't care enough to call an ambulance?" Morrison asked.

"Yeah, I did," she said.

"But you didn't do it?" he asked.

"No," she replied.

Overly kept silent about the killing for years. She said her mother kept a piece of Helen's jawbone in her father's dresser. When the couple got into fights, Roberta Gillin would threaten to turn her husband in to police, using the jawbone as evidence.

State police found out about Helen's death in February 1995 when Overly confided in a friend, whose mother-in-law contacted police. Until then, the couple had told police Helen had run off with a boyfriend.

In April 1999, Overly furnished the police with additional information, which jump-started the languishing case.

During cross-examination, Morrison poked and prodded at Overly's testimony until it became uncertain exactly what she saw or when she saw it. He brought up numerous contradictions between her statements in court and those given to police.

By the end, there was confusion over whether Overly saw her father or merely silhouettes by the fire pit, what the lighting was like outside the house and exactly when Helen Gillin was killed.

As Common Pleas Judge Conrad Capuzzi and the jury of five men and seven women listened, it was clear that Overly was anguished about testifying against her father.

During the course of the police investigation, she wore a microphone and recording device to gather evidence against her parents.

Morrison hammered repeatedly on why Overly never called for help, contacted the authorities or told anyone immediately after Helen's death.

"I didn't know if it was doing the right thing by turning your mother and father in," Overly said. "I know what they did was wrong. ... You have to be in my shoes to understand."

"That's an interesting point," Morrison retorted, "because I don't think I would have waited."