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Fund estabished for woman acquitted of son’s murder, abuse
By Justin Goble
 A week after an Asheville woman was found not guilty of murdering her son, local supporters are helping her recover from a year in jail.
Sylva residents Sue Ellen Bridgers and Dottie Hedden have started the Michelle Gibson Recovery Fund at First Charter Bank. Its goal is to raise money to help Gibson get back on her feet.
According to Bridgers, the fund gives people in Jackson County a chance to help out.
“Michelle has a tremendous need,” Bridgers said. “Her life stopped a year ago. Somehow, it has to start again. So we wanted to do something to give the community an opportunity to support her. It all happened in our community, and she’s been in our jail.”
Gibson was charged with second-degree murder and felony child abuse stemming from the May 22, 2005 death of her 8-year-old son Devin.
Devin died when he was left in his mother’s Ford Escort while she worked a 16-hour double shift at Mountain Trace Nursing Center. Gibson admitted to leaving the boy in the car, and she made a bad choice when other child care plans fell through.
Before she was acquitted last Monday (May 22), Gibson spent a year in the Jackson County Detention Center. Hedden said the time in jail left Gibson without money or employment.
“With no home, job, car or active support system in place and a current dental disease that has caused the recent extraction of many teeth, what does the future hold for this woman?,” Hedden asked. “Compassion is a gift that many of us can translate into dollars to help those in great need. Michelle Gibson is facing great need.”
Both Bridgers and Hedden said they became involved with the case through media accounts. Both had contact with Gibson prior to her trial, and their support for her grew as the case proceeded.
“I was just going to write notes,” Bridgers said. “But then the autopsy report came back, and there was no evidence that she had intended any harm to her child. That’s when I started getting mad. I was just wondering why they wouldn’t change what she was charged with. All they had to do was drop the $100,000 bond she was under. Then she could have been out. She posed no threat to any other person than herself.”
When the trial started, the two made a point to be in attendance every day. Now that the trial is over, Bridgers said she and Hedden are concerned with helping Gibson meet her everyday needs.
“We’re now trying to figure out a way to form a support group to help her with medical care, dental care, transportation and a place to live,” Bridgers said. “She has nothing right now. She had nothing when she went to jail. We started the fund to try to get her all of the things she needs.
“As long as people contribute to the fund, we’ll keep it open,” Bridgers said. “We need to get with Michelle and other people in Asheville and see where the money should be spent. We’ll release the funds according to her needs.”
Gibson was found not guilty of all charges last Monday (May 22) after jurors deliberated for four hours. Though Gibson’s attorney, Randy Seago of Sylva, said throughout the trial that she had admitted to involuntary manslaughter, jurors did not convict her of the charge.
“We were relieved,” said Seago of the verdict. “The jurors heard the whole story, and there was overwhelming evidence that it was an accident and there was no malice involved. They got it right.”
Seago also said jurors could tell Gibson had punished herself for her son’s death, and that may have been one of the reasons they acquitted her of all charges.
“The jury decided she had suffered enough,” Seago said. “She punishes herself for it every minute of every day. And she’d been in jail for a year.”
Hedden agreed with Seago’s thoughts, saying the ordeal was enough punishment for her.
“The fact that Michelle took responsibility for what happened to her child and that her grief was nearly unbearable is probably further reason that the jury found her not guilty of any crime,” Hedden said. “She is a proud, hard-working woman who struggled valiantly to support her son and provide a home and protection for him. The year she has spent suffering this devastating loss, while having her grief denied any peace due to the legal accusation and self-blame, is more than most of us could endure.”
“We were overwhelmed at that moment,” Bridgers said of hearing the verdict. “My best scenario was that she would be convicted of involuntary manslaughter and the 12 months she had already served would be her sentence. I couldn’t even think about a not guilty verdict because I thought I would jinx it. It just proves that we should dream big. I didn’t have as much faith as I should have.”
Despite numerous attempts by The Herald, Assistant District Attorney Roy Wijewickrama had not returned calls before press time.
Donations to the Michelle Gibson Recovery Fund can be sent to P.O. Box 788, Sylva, N.C. 28779. Money can also be dropped off at First Charter.
For more information about the fund, contact Bridgers at 586-6271.
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