Published on June 2 | Last updated on June 3
PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Testimony got underway in the murder trial of a suspected serial killer who Philadelphia prosecutors say killed four people in 2021. One of the victims, prosecutors said, was his mother.
In their opening statements on Tuesday, prosecutors told jurors that physical evidence, video and a revolver tied Keith Gibson to the three “horrific” incidents and four murders.
The series of slayings started on Jan. 28, 2021. Eric Flores and Roy Caban were found shot execution style inside their store, Al-Madinah Traders, along Germantown Avenue, not far from Broad Street and Erie Avenue.
A month later, Gibson’s mother, Christine Gibson, was fatally shot inside a community center office along Ridge Avenue. In June, Christine Lugo was working her manager shift at Dunkin’ in North Philadelphia when she was killed during an armed robbery. The incident was caught on surveillance video.
In all three shootings, prosecutors said Keith Gibson pulled the trigger.
Keith Gibson allegedly told a friend about killing his mother for insurance money — and that friend called police with a tip about the shooter’s identity, after seeing news reports and surveillance video tied to Lugo’s killing.
Prosecutors told jurors that days after the last victim was killed, Keith Gibson was arrested in Wilmington, Delaware, after a Rite-Aid store clerk put a tracker in a bag of cash during an armed robbery. Investigators said they found a revolver, which was the gun used in all three incidents.
He is currently serving seven life sentences for killing two people in Delaware during robberies.
Keith Gibson has been notoriously disruptive in court proceedings but was ruled mentally competent for trial. He was not in the courtroom and watched from another room, because he said the shackles he was ordered to wear were highly uncomfortable.
Widow of store clerk testifies
Caban’s widow took the stand on the second day of trial. She told jurors that Jan. 28, 2021, was a typical morning with her husband. He left for work at the Al-Madinah Traders store, but less than two hours later, she said she was unable to get ahold of him.
She called around asking people to check on him, and eventually heard from a friend working at a nearby pizza shop that he had been found alongside his coworker, Eric Flores, with blood. Both men were fatally shot in the head.
She said she raced down to the scene and fainted upon hearing the news of her husband’s death and had to be hospitalized.
Prosecutors point to jewelry
The lead homicide detective who investigated the Al-Madinah Traders murders also testified on Wednesday. He told the jury that in all four murders that Keith Gibson is accused of, a revolver was used and the victims were shot in the head. Two of the incidents involved commercial businesses, and the motive in all of them seemed to be robbery.
The detective said that when Keith Gibson was arrested, he was wearing a gold lion pendant similar to one missing from the display case of Al-Madinah Traders. The detective also noted that watches were found inside Keith Gibson’s home that matched ones missing from the store.
Caban’s widow identified the watches in crime scene photos and said they looked like the ones the store sold.
Defense attorneys, however, argued that those watches could have been purchased on Amazon.
