Serial Killer Mom: The True Story of Janie Lou Gibbs
Author: Jane Carlisle
Year of Publication: September 19, 2016
Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Parricide – Poisoner – She did not give a motive
Number of victims: 5
Date of murder: 1966 – 1967
Date of arrest: December 24, 1967
Date of birth: December 25, 1932
Victim profile: Charles Clayton Gibbs, 39 (her husband) / Marvin Ronald Gibbs, 13 (her
youngest son) / Melvin Watess Gibbs, 16 (her middle son) / Roger Ludean Gibbs, 19 (her eldest
son) / Ronnie Edward Gibbs, 1 month (her infant grandson)
Method of murder: Poisoning (arsenic)
Location: Cordele, Crisp County, Georgia, USA
Killer Mom
In one of the most disturbing poison cases of the last century, Janie Lou Gibbs was responsible
for the deaths of her husband, three sons and grandson. That’s right, she killed her own children
and grandchild. And how did she do it? Rat poison and arsenic.
Born on Christmas in 1932, Gibbs was an active member of her local church, and a dedicated
home daycare operator. Then, one day, something changed. After 18 years of marriage to her
husband, Marvin, she decided one evening to kill him by putting rat poison in his dinner.
Gibbs’ plan did not immediately work. Marvin didn’t die, but instead was admitted to the local
hospital after falling ill from what the doctors believed to be – naturally occurring liver issues. As
the sweet wife she was, Gibbs decided to bring homemade soup to the hospital so that Marvin
could enjoy a home cooked meal. The problem was, the soup was laced with arsenic. He soon
died of “liver disease.”
In a surprising twist, Gibbs donated a significant amount of Marvin’s life insurance proceeds to
her church. Less than a year later, this wife and mother from hell poisoned her youngest son,
Marvin, Jr. Authorities chalked up his death to his unfortunate inheritance of his father’s liver
disease. Gibbs escaped without any suspicion. And, she donated some of her son’s life
insurance proceeds to her church – again.
Like a macabre broken record, Gibbs once again killed a year later. This time, she poisoned
another one of her sons. His death, like the others before, was attributed to a natural cause.
With only one living child remaining, the sadistic killer struck yet again. But, this time, Gibbs
skipped a generation and killed her newborn grandson, Raymond.
Less than a month later, Gibbs poisoned her son, Robert, who was the father of the murdered
baby. Finally, Gibbs’ “luck” had run out. A family physician grew suspicious after the back-to-
back deaths of a healthy newborn and his equally healthy father. An autopsy was immediately
conducted on Robert, who was found to have ingested a lethal amount of arsenic.
Forensic toxicologists worked with investigators in exhuming and testing the bodies of Gibbs’
other deceased family members. All five victims had their causes of death changed from natural
to homicide by poison.
Gibbs was initially found mentally unfit to stand trial and was confined to a mental institution.
Years later, she was successfully prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to five life terms. In her
elder years, Gibbs was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and released to the custody of her
sister. In 1999, the killer died of natural causes.
Murders
Gibbs’ husband of 18 years, Charles Clayton Gibbs, 39, died January 21, 1966. Her youngest
son, Marvin Ronald Gibbs, 13, died August 29, 1966, followed by her middle son, Melvin Watess
Gibbs, 16, on January 23, 1967. She inherited $31,000 from their deaths and tithed 10 percent
to her church.
The deaths had previously been attributed to liver disease, but she was eventually arrested
Christmas Eve 1967 after her oldest son, Roger Ludean Gibbs, 19, died in the same fashion as
his father and brothers. On October 28, 1967, Roger’s month-old son Ronnie Edward Gibbs
also died under suspicious circumstances.
Imprisonment
Despite the unusual coincidences of so many deaths in such a short period of time, she blocked
insurance adjusters’ requests for autopsies. Although insurance adjusters were suspicious, most
of Gibbs’ neighbors and friends from church could not believe that the 35-year-old mother and
former farmer’s wife who ran a day-care center could be a serial killer.
However, Gibbs’ daughter-in-law demanded an autopsy of her husband Roger. The autopsy
found fatal levels of arsenic in the young man’s body. The court ordered the rest of her family
exhumed and each was found to have been murdered.
She admitted methodically feeding rat poison to her family one victim at a time, but did not give
a motive. In February 1968 she was found to be insane and served time in a state mental
hospital until 1976. She was then convicted of poisoning the five male members of her
immediate family and received five life sentences.
Gibbs, who in later years suffered from Parkinson’s disease, was released April 1999 on a
medical reprieve into the custody of her brother and sister-in-law after being denied parole more
than 17 times. She remained on parole and was required to check in once per year due to her
deteriorating condition. She used a wheelchair and lived in a nursing home in Douglasville,
Georgia until her death on February 7, 2010. She was clinically insane.
Prepared by: TISTON, KAILA L.
LIPORADA, JESLYN S.
