MI MI - Shannon Verhage, 11 months, Cedar Springs, 3 June 1997

[luckyseven]

Awaiting execution, Marvin Gabrion says he deserved mistrial for punching attorney
May 29, 2015 at 7:10 PM

snip

Marvin Gabrion has asked a federal judge to vacate his death sentence in the 1997 killing of Rachel Timmerman.

Among the reasons: the trial judge failed to declare a mistrial when Gabrion punched one of his attorneys.

The government showed that Gabrion kidnapped and killed Timmerman, 19, two days before he was to stand trial in Newaygo County Circuit Court for raping her. Her body was found in a remote lake. She was bound, gagged and weighed down by a concrete block.

The body of her 11-month-old daughter, Shannon Verhage, has never been found. The government believes he killed her as well as three others. The federal government, which allows use of the death penalty, prosecuted Gabrion because the killing occurred on federal land.

 

[0101ABA]

Teen murder victim's family finds solace as foster parents

After his daughter was killed and his granddaughter disappeared, Tim Timmerman's home turned silent.

The change was too much to bear in a place that once was so full of life.

(...)

Tim Timmerman said he and his wife decided that Gabrion wouldn't take any more lives. Despite their grief, they became foster parents a year after the tragedy.

It changed everything.

 

[Rayemonde]

Death-row inmate Marvin Gabrion may have been born into poverty, abuse and neglect. But in his early years, he showed promise, having a strong intellect and tender side for others.

He routinely helped elderly family, and cared for a cousin with mild mental disabilities while others shied away.

Described by a classmate as "very smart - near genius," he had an IQ of 121, which is at the lower end of the "very superior intelligence" category.

These descriptions and more are outlined in an incredibly detailed report, now filed with the court...

After he graduated from high school, Gabrion suffered an "astonishing number" of brain injuries in up to 14 car or motorcycle crashes. He went through the windshield more than once. Once, during a carjacking, he was hit in the head with an object.

A family friend hit Gabrion in the head with a baseball bat during a fight.

The head injuries took a toll, the report said.

He had trouble with everyday tasks. Tests showed he was in the "border-line range for a possible organic mental disorder ...," the report said...

An evaluation in 1993 found "dramatic cognitive and behavioral impairments," the report said.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2017/01/once_near_genius_marvin_gabrio.html

 

[Rayemonde]

The government said aggravating factors included Timmerman being killed "in an especially heinous, cruel and depraved manner" with "substantial planning and premeditation" by Gabrion.

An appeals panel found "overwhelming" evidence of Gabrion's guilt.

Timmerman reported that Gabrion threatened to kill her if she reported being raped. He also said he would kill her daughter and make her watch, the prosecution says. In a call to Newaygo County Sheriff's Department, she told a receptionist she wanted to establish a "trail" in case Gabrion killed her. The defense contends Gabrion was brain damaged, and his mental state deteriorated so much at the trial that he punched his attorney during the sentencing phase.

Prosecutors say Gabrion "exhibited bizarre behavior" after he was charged. He underwent three examinations and was found competent, [Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer] McManus said.

"To begin with, Gabrion is not mentally ill," McManus wrote. "Post-conviction counsel's conclusory, unsupported assertion that he is contradicts the vast evidence amassed in this case demonstrating that he was not mentally ill at the time he murdered Rachel Timmerman or at the time of trial."

She said examiners found he was "feigning" mental illness.

https://www.google.com/amp/www.mliv...ing_death_pe.amp?client=ms-android-sonymobile

 

[Rayemonde]

"Four of five suspected victims of Marvin Gabrion."

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell, who is retiring after 30 years on the federal bench, recalled the Gabrion trial as the most high-profile one he’s handled.

U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell, who is retiring after 30 years on the federal bench, recalled the Gabrion trial as the most high-profile one he’s handled...

Bell said he rarely thinks about Gabrion, though he learned that he recently attacked a female attorney in a visiting room at the federal prison in Terre Haute.

“Apparently it didn’t go well,” Bell said. “Apparently the minute she got in and got seated and he got seated, he came right across the table after her.”

https://www.google.com/amp/woodtv.c...ut-to-death/amp/?client=ms-android-sonymobile

 

[Rayemonde]

When a detective showed up at Tim Timmerman's house and asked why his daughter had not shown up for trial, it was then he knew Rachel and her 11-month-old daughter were missing. Tim Timmerman said he had just gotten a letter from her. It said she was fine and had met the "man of her dreams," he said. She said the man's name was Delbert, which was strange. "She had written it under duress, I'm sure. It was postmarked Cedar Springs, saying she was fine."...

He recalled telling the prosecutors during the case that they could take the death penalty off the table if Gabrion would tell them where his granddaughter was. "He refused to talk." He long ago gave up hope that Shannon was still alive, a sentiment not entirely shared by family.

On the fourth and fifth anniversaries of his daughter's death, he would wonder if Shannon would show up for kindergarten somewhere. "I was optimistic in the beginning." Now, he says: "Gabrion killed her. Gabrion got rid of her. I don't think I have any hope of him telling me what he did with Shannon. The time for that was in Grand Rapids during the trial." Timmerman does not spend time thinking about Gabrion. He knows his daughter's killer won't leave prison alive. He has access to court filings that detail the case, but he doesn't bother. He knows what he needs to know. Once, Gabrion managed to get past prison security and mail a letter to him. "It was 10 pages or more of his bulls---, derogatory of the U.S. attorneys. Crazy ramblings."

https://www.google.com/amp/www.mliv...iller_marvin.amp?client=ms-android-sonymobile

 

[Aycheff]

Bump for Shannon, it's been over 20 years now. Hers is one of the cases I think of often.

 

[Ozoner]

Bump for Shannon, it's been over 20 years now. Hers is one of the cases I think of often.

It's hard to believe it's been so long. It's likely that Shannon was disposed of in the same lake where Gabrion drowned Rachel or in a nearby lake. It may be that because of her small size, she simply wasn't found.

 

[Ozoner]

Gabrion was mentioned in the Free Press a while back in the context of federal executions starting up again. I was hoping that he would be executed in 2020, but it didn't happen.
Michigan's Marvin Gabrion II on death row list as executions resume

 

[Galaxy781]

Any updates to this case?

 

[TootsieFootsie]

Michigan girl still missing 25 years after mother murdered, found dead in lake; Killer on death row

Shannon Dale Verhage was just 11 months old when she disappeared.

www.clickondetroit.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Cold Case Cedar Springs: The Disappearance Of Baby Shannon

The man likely responsible for Baby Shannon's disappearance has a long list of crimes and a trail of unsolved disappearances.

wbckfm.com

 

[Richard]

It is sad to see Shannon's age progressed image, showing what she could have looked like if she survived this evil killer.

Meanwhile, the serial killer Gabrion continues to enjoy a life of leisure at taxpayer expense: doesn't have to work, gets 3 meals a day, private room, color TV, and green Jello every Wednesday for dessert.

Probably has a fan club hoping he gets parole.

What's wrong with this picture?

 

[ilovewings]

I am watching this story right now- was not aware of it prior to this time.
I believe the justice system is responsible for the death of Rachel Timmerman.
The judge let Gabrion out on bond: during that time he was out on bond he murdered
Rachel Timmerman: who could not see that could happen except an ivory tower judge without a brain cell.

As far as poor Baby Shannon goes, I am sure he killed her.

I was surprised to see he is on death row here in Michigan because Michigan does not have the death penalty- but I guess this is a Federal Court case - and he got the death penalty. They just said he got the death penalty because her body was found on Federal land.
He will probably die of old age before he gets executed.

He is thought to be a serial killer who killed at least two other men who could identify him as the killer of Rachel Timmerman. Marvin Gabrion is truly evil.

 

[Ozoner]

I am watching this story right now- was not aware of it prior to this time.
I believe the justice system is responsible for the death of Rachel Timmerman.
The judge let Gabrion out on bond: during that time he was out on bond he murdered
Rachel Timmerman: who could not see that could happen except an ivory tower judge without a brain cell.

As far as poor Baby Shannon goes, I am sure he killed her.

I was surprised to see he is on death row here in Michigan because Michigan does not have the death penalty- but I guess this is a Federal Court case - and he got the death penalty. They just said he got the death penalty because her body was found on Federal land.
He will probably die of old age before he gets executed.

He is thought to be a serial killer who killed at least two other men who could identify him as the killer of Rachel Timmerman. Marvin Gabrion is truly evil.

I hope he is executed soon. It should have already happened.

 

[Ozoner]

It is sad to see Shannon's age progressed image, showing what she could have looked like if she survived this evil killer.

Meanwhile, the serial killer Gabrion continues to enjoy a life of leisure at taxpayer expense: doesn't have to work, gets 3 meals a day, private room, color TV, and green Jello every Wednesday for dessert.

Probably has a fan club hoping he gets parole.

What's wrong with this picture?

I live in Michigan, and I am sick of sharing the air in my state with that piece of garbage. I want to see an execution by alkali bath A.S.A.P.

I'll volunteer to foot the bill for the lye.

 

[DS2021]

Wow. Allegedly killing 5 people including a baby, just to dodge a rape charge.