A Princeton graduate, infamous for the shocking murder of his millionaire hedge-fund father in their upscale Manhattan home, is breaking his silence nearly ten years after the crime that stunned New York’s elite.
Thomas Gilbert Jr., once known as Manhattan’s “golden boy,” has reemerged in a recent Court TV interview from prison, where he continues to claim his innocence. This comes despite substantial evidence against him and his mother’s immediate identification of him as the shooter following the 2015 incident.
Currently serving time at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, Gilbert appeared visibly thin and withdrawn during the interview. He offered brief, sometimes incoherent responses before unexpectedly ending the conversation.
“I just want to present my case,” Gilbert stated during the Court TV segment. “The narrative misses a lot of the facts of the case, especially regarding my innocence.”
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Thomas Gilbert Jr. appeared in Manhattan Criminal Court on January 9, 2015, where he was later convicted for the murder of his father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., a prominent hedge fund manager. His defense attorney, Alex Spiro, stood by his side during the proceedings. (Photo By: Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
But prosecutors long argued the facts were unmistakable.
Gilbert is serving a sentence of 30 years to life for fatally shooting his father, wealthy hedge-fund founder Thomas Gilbert Sr., in the head inside the family’s luxury Beekman Place apartment after becoming enraged over cuts to the $1,000-a-week allowance funding his lavish lifestyle.
Authorities said Gilbert sent his mother out of the apartment on a bizarre errand to buy him a Coca-Cola before pulling the trigger and attempting to stage the killing as a suicide by placing the Glock pistol in his father’s hand.
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Thomas Gilbert Jr. attends the School of American Ballet gala in New York, U.S., on Monday, March 3, 2014. (Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“My son — he was nuts,” Shelley Gilbert said in a 911 call highlighted during the Court TV special. “But I didn’t know he was this nuts.”
Gilbert’s father was the founder and manager of New York-based Wainscott Capital Partners Fund and was well known in Manhattan finance circles.
The Court TV special revisits the killing through interviews with Gilbert himself, retired NYPD detectives, forensic psychologists, true-crime author John Glatt author John Glatt and former friends and acquaintances who watched the once-promising Ivy League graduate unravel in the years before the killing.
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Tommy Gilbert and Anna Rothschild attend the 2014 Animal USA Event at The Jane Hotel on January 29, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)
Among those interviewed was retired NYPD Detective Joseph Cirigliano, one of the first investigators to respond to the Beekman Place apartment after the shooting. The special also featured forensic psychologist Dr. N.G. Berrill, who discussed Gilbert’s mental health, and former girlfriend Anna Rothschild, who recalled becoming fearful after learning Gilbert had killed his father.
Glatt, who wrote the book “Golden Boy,” described Gilbert’s worsening paranoia and detailed allegations that the Princeton graduate had become increasingly unstable in the years leading up to the murder.
During Gilbert’s 2019 sentencing, prosecutors argued he “threw the ultimate tantrum” after his wealthy parents gradually reduced the allowance and pushed him to become more self-sufficient.
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Gilbert addressed the court for roughly 10 minutes and repeatedly referred to himself as “the defendant,” according to The New York Times.
“The defendant expresses remorse,” Gilbert said at the time.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Melissa Jackson rejected the defense’s claims that Gilbert was legally insane.
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Real estate of 20 Beekman Place, New York City. Thomas Gilbert Jr., the 70-year-old founder and president of Wainscott Capital Partners, was shot in the head during a violent encounter with his son Thomas Gilbert Jr., inside the victim’s multimillion-dollar apartment. (Photo By: Marcus Santos/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Jackson said during the 2019 sentencing, according to The Times. “You were not insane at the time you killed your father. You were not insane then. You are not insane now.”
The jury rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense after prosecutors laid out what they described as a calculated murder plot, including purchasing a .40-caliber Glock months earlier from a seller in Ohio and attempting to stage the crime scene as a suicide.
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The recent interview reignited longstanding questions surrounding Gilbert’s mental health.
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Over the years, doctors reportedly diagnosed him with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mental health experts and people close to the case described Gilbert as increasingly unstable in the years leading up to the killing.
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The building at 20 Beekman Place, New York City. Thomas Gilbert Jr., the 70-year-old founder and president of Wainscott Capital Partners, was shot in the head during a violent encounter with his son Thomas Gilbert Jr., inside the victim’s multimillion-dollar apartment. (Photo By: Marcus Santos/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
Despite those claims, prosecutors argued Gilbert’s actions before and after the murder, including sending his mother out to buy a Coca-Cola and later contacting a criminal defense attorney, showed clear awareness of wrongdoing.
Berrill said during the interview that mental illness and criminal responsibility are not mutually exclusive.
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“He’s mentally ill, but still criminally responsible,” the forensic psychologist said.
Nearly a decade after the killing shocked New York City, Gilbert remains behind bars serving a sentence of 30 years to life.
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At his 2019 sentencing, Shelley Gilbert insisted her son was mentally ill and unable to fully comprehend his actions, according to The New York Times. She pleaded with the judge to place him in a psychiatric facility instead of prison.
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“I know this is what my husband would have wanted for him,” she said.
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Thomas Gilbert, Jr. is walked into Central Booking at Manhattan Criminal Court. Gilbert is charged with murdering his father, hedge fund owner Thomas Gilbert, Sr. (Photo By: Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)
But jurors rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense, concluding he murdered his hedge-fund manager father with a close-range shot to the head using a .40-caliber Glock purchased months earlier from a seller in Ohio. Prosecutors said Gilbert then placed the weapon in his father’s hand in an attempt to stage the killing as a suicide before fleeing the apartment.
“Thomas Gilbert, Sr. was a beloved member of his family and business community when his own son murdered him in a cold-blooded killing,” then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said following the conviction in 2019. “But now, thanks to my office’s prosecutors, the defendant has finally been held accountable and he will serve a life sentence for this unconscionable crime.”
Gilbert was also convicted on charges of criminal possession of a weapon.
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