Caretaker Accused of Killing 76-Year-Old Veteran After Argument, Covering Body With Tarp and Stealing His Car

A 48-year-old Florida woman, Shannon Rose Giblin, is under arrest after authorities said she admitted to killing her roommate, Army veteran Paul De Wayne Bradley, 76, and stealing his pick-up truck. Giblin was taken into custody after Bradley was found dead at his home with stab wounds.

The incident happened on March 8 when deputies from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office were called to check on a man who was not breathing at his home on Gewant Boulevard in Punta Gorda.

When deputies arrived at the scene, they found that Bradley had died from stab wounds. Meanwhile, Bradley's pickup truck was missing from the property. As the investigation began, Charlotte County sheriff's officials tracked the vehicle to Sarasota County.

Deputies with the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office located the truck and detained Giblin. According to a press release from the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Giblin admitted that she stabbed Bradley after an argument.

Authorities said she also confessed to covering Bradley’s body with a tarp after realizing he was beyond help. Giblin then fled the home in Bradley’s pickup truck. She is now being held at the Sarasota County Jail without bond.

Giblin has been charged with second-degree murder and grand theft of a motor vehicle. Investigators have not revealed a motive behind the crime, but Bradley’s neighbors said he recently allowed Giblin to live with him as a roommate so she could help him around the house. Bradley had lived alone for years after his wife died.

In a statement to WINK News, a local woman named Jody Scharping said, “From my understanding, things weren't going really well… but he was gonna, I guess, evict her [Giblin] that day, and then that happened, so I'm assuming something didn't go right.”

The neighbors are shocked by the tragedy as they cannot believe someone could harm a kind man like Bradley. Scharping said, “He was a veteran. He went through wars and came back, he survived a heart attack not long ago, and then this is what takes his life. Nobody deserves that.”

Scharping’s son, Parker Daigle, echoed similar sentiments and said, “He was a super nice guy. Always bought me lunch. I worked with him a lot. I helped him clean out all the sheds. Nobody hated him. He was just a super nice dude. I didn’t think anybody would ever do that to him.”

Giblin’s family also issued a statement apologizing to Bradley’s loved ones. The family suggested that Giblin may be facing mental health issues that could have played a role in the stabbing.

“We can only imagine the pain you're feeling. And words can hardly express how heartbroken we are and how very sincerely we apologize that this has been thrust upon you. We are so very sorry,” the Giblin family wrote addressed to the Bradley family.

The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities expect Giblin to be transferred to Charlotte County.