The Whole Story

Clearly, the whole truth about what went on in the woods near the Harnish cottage in West Lampeter Township on January 10, 1950 has never been made public.
Ed Gibbs confessed to killing Marian Louise Baker. By law, there had to be a trial.
The prosecution had more than enough evidence at the outset to gain a conviction for the crime.
They opted to not include all the evidence. As was said to me recently about it..."It would have been overkill." It surely wouldn't have put Gibbs in any better light with the jury. It would have skeeved them greatly.
I have wondered if the DA was sparing Marian's memory or the peace of mind of her family and loved ones by not introducing everything they knew or could surmise from the evidence of the crime.
To do their job and do it well, they legally didn't need to tell the world what really happened.
It was twisted and depraved.
Richard Gehman did at least allude to the concealed truths a few times in the book.
Certain phrases and sentences that he used have always made me wonder. It was as if he was throwing out a clue at a time to spur the most curious to do some work of their own.
The presence of a particular female in the courtroom clearly and visibly upset Gibbs more than the fact that he was on trial for his life. What on earth could that young woman tell the courtroom, if called, that could be worse than what Ed had already confessed to?
Ed Gibbs was depraved. And there were a few people who knew.
I have always gotten the sense that he was sparing his family the ultimate shame by going to his death without telling it all.
To normal people, what on earth could be worse than being a confessed killer?
Being what we would call today a "freak".
That would be the ultimate shame to your family, to your good name and to your community.
And as much as Ed Gibbs wanted and craved being the center of the party, and well thought of,
his protection of his friable, brittle mother was what made his stick to his ridiculous and disregarded defense of having killed Marian on impulse.
Ed was driven by impulse but those impulses were present long before he choked Marian.
They were there in his behaviors with other young women in the area when his wife was out of town or doing other things.
As I have said many times and will say many more, his story just doesn't add up.
He stuck to his story to protect his mother.
For the world to know what he really was and did would have killed her.
He said it himself when he turned himself in at F & M... he said "I am Edward Gibbs." When told
that yes, they did know him, he responded..."No, you don't know me. You only think you know me." That is the absolute truth.
The only one who may have gotten closer to the black soul of Ed Gibbs was his wife, Helen.
And it's not a sure bet that even she knew the worst of him.
Did he intimate to his wife his depravity even in it's most minor form?

I remember my own mother's garter belts from back in the day.
The eyelets just don't fall off. Not even from being dragged. It takes some force to rip the material.
If you choke a person to the point of unconsciousness so that it gives you a chance to leave them and walk to your car, open your trunk and retrieve a lug wrench, all without fear of them having the physical ability to run while you're on your errand, how do you inflict crushing wounds to the right frontal area of their head as well as the left parietal area with sufficient force to actually tear into the ear cavity?
If we are to believe that Marian was choked and unconscious at the very least, did Ed turn her over to keep striking her with the lug wrench?
The rage attack would have been sudden, non-stop and relentless without repositioning the victim to inflict the wounds in such disparate locations.
I believe that Marian was indeed still alive and at least able to move her head in defense as he struck her with the lug wrench.
Edward Lester Gibbs was a liar. To the very end.
To tell it all would have killed his mother and he went to the chair taking the truth with him.
How nice for him.
But how horrible for Marian.
Some days, it feels like enough to just know that he killed her. The details don't matter.
Today isn't one of those days.
I believe under it all that Ed Gibbs needs to be held accountable today, if only in the court of public knowledge, for what he really did to Marian Louise Baker in January of 1950.
The crime scene and autopsy photos are extremely graphic but hold much information.
The complete transcript of the trial does as well.
I am quite anxious to finally spend some time examining both.
My grown daughter, who has heard of Marian and this case for many years, will be going with me to view the photos and examine the transcript. When I do my document or archive research I always rely on at least a second set of eyes. They may pick up on something I miss and vice versa.
I am also waiting on a response about the actual evidence from the trial itself.

I have to acknowledge those who wish for this subject and this story to just go away, much as it has for many years. I intend no harm and I wish to inflict no pain in having old memories resurface. But time is running out. And the whole, horrible truth of this crime and the stories of all involved need to be revealed while we still can do that.
Ed Gibbs was electrocuted for what he did to Marian. No, he was electrocuted for what he admitted doing to Marian. I fear that his Maker had bigger and better plans for him knowing full well what Ed did to her in the cold woody area near Mill Creek.
Let Ed Gibbs finally stand accountable for what he really did.
Sometimes the truth is horrible. But why should Ed and his real character be protected? He afforded Marian no protection that day. He robbed good people of a light in their lives.
He destroyed lives and he destroyed people.
Someone said that Ed Gibbs died like a man. I submit that he killed liked a depraved animal. And he died like a coward.