PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Keith Gibson, the man charged in the killings of four people in 2021 — including his own mother, two store clerks, and a Dunkin’ manager — was found guilty by a jury on Tuesday of four counts of first-degree murder.
Assistant District Attorney Katherine Wood said the verdict brought long-awaited relief to the victims' families.
"The souls of Roy Caban, Eric Flores, Christine Gibson, and Christine Lugo can rest a little easier, and their families finally have some peace," the District Attorney said.
During a week of testimony, prosecutors showed jurors physical evidence, videos, and a revolver that they said tied Gibson to the three “horrific” incidents and four murders.
In all four homicides, prosecutors said the victims were shot in the head, and each motive was robbery.
The series of slayings started on Jan. 28, 2021. Flores and Caban were found shot execution style inside their store, Al-Madinah Traders, along Germantown Avenue.
Roy Caban Courtesy of family
About a week later, Gibson’s mother, Christine Gibson, was fatally shot inside a community center office along Ridge Avenue. Prosecutors said he killed her to try to get her life insurance money.
Christine Gibson Courtesy of family
Then in June of that year, Christine Lugo was working her manager shift at Dunkin’ in North Philadelphia when she was killed during an armed robbery.
Christine Lugo with her daughter and son Courtesy of family
The detective who handled Lugo’s homicide investigation testified that police pushed out pictures and video of the suspect. Eventually, they got a call from Delaware authorities who thought a murder in Wilmington seemed similar to Lugo’s. In both cases, female managers were fatally shot in the head in the back office of their stores.
Wilmington police sent the detective a picture of a suspect they believed looked like Lugo’s killer — the photo was of Keith Gibson.
Days after Lugo was killed, Keith Gibson was arrested in Wilmington after a Rite Aid store clerk put a tracker in a bag of cash he stole during an armed robbery. Investigators also found a revolver — the gun prosecutors said was the one used in all three incidents.
"Without her placing that tracking device, he likely would not have been arrested that day, the gun would never have been recovered, and without that recovery of that firearm connecting the defendant to all three crime scenes and all four murders, these families would likely not have justice today," Wood said.
An expert testified that bullets and fragments from three of the shootings matched that gun, and a fragment found at the shooting of Flores and Caban had similar characteristics, though it couldn’t be exactly matched.
Gibson was sentenced to four life sentences, plus 38 to 76 years for additional robbery and gun convictions. He is already serving life sentences for killing two people in Delaware during robberies. He told the judge he is filing a direct appeal but offered condolences to the families.
The families of Lugo and Christine Gibson said healing can now begin.
"There is no amount of justice that can bring her back, but at least we can say we finally got our justice," said Vittoria Arroyo, sister of Christine Lugo.
"We finally can put her to rest," said Carmella Smiley, niece of Christine Gibson.
