THE dark past of the alleged Walmart stabber has come to light, revealing a troubling history of charges for exhuming bodies from graves and frequent clashes with the law.
Bradford Gille, the 42-year-old apprehended following the stabbing of 11 people at a Michigan Walmart, was known to have a history of mental health issues and legal encounters.
Records show that Gille was arrested in 2016 for disinterment and mutilation of dead bodies, alongside a charge for tomb destruction.
WOOD-TV reported that he had told doctors that he thought dead people were buried alive.
“Defendant stated he dug up the grave because the person was buried alive,” the affidavit states, according to reports.
“Defendant when asked about the other overturned grave stones stated he did that because he was angry that they were burying people alive.”
Gille was then ordered to go to a psychiatric hospital, and was found not guilty by insanity.
A manager at a place he used to frequently stay told the Detroit Free Press that everyone was scared of Gille.
They did not want to be identified.
He was diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses over the years, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, old newspaper archives and reports say.
Just a day before the Walmart attack, the Emmett County Sheriff’s Office were ordered to find Gille and take him into custody.
In the press release, police said that Gille was homeless and had no physical address in the county.
Cops then searched for him, to no avail.
“Regrettably, less than 24 hours after receiving this order, a tragic series of events occurred in Traverse City,” the press release read.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in this devastating situation.”
The stabbing victims ranged in age from 29 to 84, with five men and six women attacked with a fold-up knife. All are expected to live.
Gille had been entangled in legal battles for years, facing charges ranging from domestic violence and retail fraud to felonious assault and public intoxication, as reported by the Detroit Free Press.
Gille now faces 11 assault with intent to murder charges and terrorism.
During his court hearing, he pleaded not guilty.
His next expected court date is Aug. 6 for a probable cause hearing, with his bail set at $100,000.
Video footage shows customers attempting to stop the suspect as one person points a gun at him.
The person wielding the gun was later identified as Derrick Perry.
“My primary thought was to separate him from others, isolate him, persuade him to relinquish the knife, and divert his attention towards me,” he mentioned on Good Morning America.
