Why a 30-year-old needs an allowance is another matter, but this is sad. He is also tied to a fire in Southampton.
Oh my.
This seems like a classic case of why coddling one’s children is a bad idea.
I also found it interesting how many articles referred to him as a “socialite.” I haven’t heard that term used on a guy before.
Horrible story.
Spoiled, entitled…
…and stupid…
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At the scene, officers found a gun resting on Gilbert Sr.'s chest, with his left hand covering it, NYPD Chief of Detectives Bob Boyce told reporters.
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He must not know much about suicide by gun. the gun and hand would not just land like that.
From other stories I’ve read, it seems like he’s had untreated mental illness for quite a while. (Not that this in any way excuses his actions- I’m just saddened that this might be yet another casualty of our terrible mental health system.)
The mental health system can’t do much on it’s own. Families need to take advantage of it as opposed to denying the problems they see.
Sounds like he sent his mom away first to run an errand and then killed his dad. He must have been confident that with dad out of the way, mom would continue the allowance?
I read some articles but don’t pick up on the “untreated mental illness” aspect. He sounds spoiled and entitled and as though he has some issues with his father.
And come on–if this guy needed mental health care, he/his family could afford it. He was not like a homeless Vietnam vet with long-term PTSD.
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Detectives waited outside Gilbert Jr.’s $3,000-a-month apartment in a six-floor walkup in Chelsea. When they saw a light go on, they went in and found bullets and empty shell casings along with 21 blank credit cards and a device for stealing card numbers, police said.
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He also seems to have violated some kind of protective order awhile back.
The local papers reported that this murder was preceded by a conversation where his $600/month in spending money was going to be cut by $200. Keep in mind his father was also providing $2400/month for an apt in Chelsea*.
[sarcasm]$200/month reduction means he’s probably not going to be able to show himself as a socialite of the Princeton variety to NYC folks…especially the women. He may have to shudder emulate the “more common” alum counterparts from H, Y, or other “more common” colleges. [/sarcasm] 
- Likely a studio as rents for 2 or more bedrooms are far in excess of $2400/month.
Fwiw, I consider the “mental health system” to be far more than the doctors, facilities, etc. It also includes the social environment that leads to mental health being taboo and discouraging families from confronting mental illness.
No offense, cobrat, but I think sarcasm and a are inappropriate in a thread about the murder of someone…
If this person was 30 yrs old or so, we might not want to be so quick to blame the family for not getting him mental health care. They may have tried but the son may have been unwilling. It’s possible but difficult to force care on an adult.
So couldn’t we classify anyone who commits a crime as “mentally ill,” since they do things mentally healthy people wouldn’t?
In this case I see calculated behavior as a response to his not getting his way (if the allegations are true, of course). He seems to have functioned just fine in most aspects of his life. So I’d wager that it’s more a moral failing than an issue of untreated mental health.
romani,
No offense taken. However, the sarcasm bit is riffing off of local news reports of how despite some mention of mental illness, the greater impression based on information released so far is that this murder was sparked by the alleged murderer’s overentitled reaction to finding his allowance being cut by $200 and how he has been known for going to some of the most exclusive high-end nightclubs and living a wealthy socialite’s life.
The two meld together, I think. Mentally ill people who believe the world is against them can despair and decide that they want to make a gesture of affirming power. Whether that’s moral failing or mental impairment is an open question.
We can all have moments of “I’ll show him (or them)”. Fortunately most of those moments take different forms. But not always.
He probably had a 2400 SAT score though.
Sally, no not all criminals are mentally ill, but many, MANY are. The number of people incarcerated with mental illness is truly astounding.
I know that, romani. I just don’t think this guy is. Maybe some do because he is a wealthy, attractive, educated person who might not be expected to do this kind of thing?
Since he was obviously coddled, his lawyer should be able to use the “affluenza” defense.