Pam DankinsMississippi Clarion Ledger
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Editor's note: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.
Wendy Gilbreath had battled mental health illnesses for much of her life. But that could not have predicted what was to come on March 5 in Mississippi.
The 51-year-old Texan was passing through the Jackson area and stopped at Merit Health Central where she was brutally assaulted while on the sixth floor, allegedly by another patient she had never met.
A day later, she succumbed to her wounds after being transported to another hospital in the area.
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The 36-year-old man accused of the murder had been in and out of mental health facilities around the state for years, facing diagnoses of "schizoaffective disorder — bipolar type" and was listed as "unstable."
Six months after authorities reported Gilbreath dead, the Clarion Ledger has reviewed the case. Who was the man accused? Could the death have been prevented? Did officials follow protocols?
Who is accused of killing Wendy Gilbreath?
Nearly six months after authorities reported Gilbreath dead, authorities have still not released the identity of her accused killer, only stating a white, adult male was in police custody on March 6.
Hinds County inmate records show only two individuals were arrested on March 6. But only one of those individuals was identified, based on inmate records, as a white, adult male who was arrested by the Jackson Police Department.
That Merit Health patient was David Christopher Reed of Diamondhead, which is located in southeasternHancock County near the Mississippi Gulf Coast, at least 170 miles from Jackson.
William Bell, an attorney appointed by a family member of Reed, confirmed to the Clarion Ledger that Reed is his client and the murder suspect in question.
In addition, court records filed on June 28 show a Hinds County grand jury indicted Reed in connection to the murder of Gilbreath.
According to the one-page indictment, Reed "willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously, without the authority of law, at 1850 Chadwick Drive in Jackson, MS," allegedly killed "another human being, Wendy Gilbreath, with deliberate design to effect the death of Wendy Gilbreath."
The indictment continues, stating Reed allegedly killed Gilbreath "by grabbing her by the neck and slamming her head into the floor multiple times."
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The victim had to be transported to the University of Mississippi Medical Center — the only Level I trauma center in Mississippi. Level I trauma centers provide the highest level of trauma care to critically ill or injured patients. The Hinds County coroner later identified the victim as Gilbreath.
The next day, on March 6 — 11 weeks shy of her 52nd birthday, Gilbreath was pronounced dead at the medical center after succumbing to her injuries sustained from the attack.
Who was Wendy Gilbreath?
Jackson police told the Clarion Ledger that Reed and Gilbreath did not know one another prior to that rainy day in March.
According to Gilbreath's obituary in The Houston Chronicle, she grew up in Houston and graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a degree in advertising where she served as rush chair of her sorority. Gilbreath was a devoted Christian, he obituary said and noted Gilbreath's “bright personality,” “loving energy” and “strength and determination.”
“While fighting challenging illnesses throughout her adult life, Wendy exhibited remarkable courage and stamina as she sought solutions,” according to Gilbreath's obituary. “Wendy was truly an inspiration to those who witnessed her bravery every day. Wendy never gave up.”
Her obituary noted she had cats named Hampton and Peter Pan and had worked in the "fields of advertising, digital media, design, and construction."
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Family members and friends did not respond to the Clarion Ledger's requests for comment.
After her death, donations were encouraged toward The Goodness Web, a self-styled "philanthropy for mental health."
What was the background of the accused?
Shortly after Reed's arrest, court records filed on March 7 shows a municipal judge signed off on charging Reed with murder and denied him bond at his initial court appearance. Court filings stated Reed "needs a mental evaluation."
Additional court records filed under Reed's case refer to the Clarion Ledger's article reporting on the assault, that contained details provided by the Jackson police, as an exhibit as to why Reed should receive a mental-illness evaluation.
Court documents also show Reed had an "extensive family history of mental illness" including a grandmother who was a patient in the Texas State hospital system who disappeared in the 1970s and also an aunt who died in a state hospital.
Apart from the prevalence of mental illness in Reed's family, the Reed family shared a passion for serving in armed forces. Bell, the attorney for Reed, told the Clarion Ledger that sometime after high school, Reed was in the Marines, went through boot camp and afterwards, was discharged.
Reed's father Jay Reed at one point served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. According to an obituary, Reed's father died at the age of 68 in September 2021. Bell also said Reed's mother, who lives on the Gulf Coast, served time in the military. Bell said David Reed also has two sisters, and he was previously divorced.
In addition to Reed's family mental health history, an exhibit in court filings shows Reed’s 16-year-long documented history of mental illness.
The exhibit illustrates a timeline of Reed’s psychiatric history, “showing a number of inpatient hospital admissions for treatment of mental illness” dating back to 2008 when Reed was approximately 20 years old. Medical records in court filings also show Reed had been admitted more than five times for psychiatric treatment near the Gulfport-Biloxi area, not in Hinds County.
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Medical records documented in court filings show Reed having a history of “schizoaffective disorder — bipolar type (Unstable),” “suicidal ideations,” “alcohol abuse,” “anxiety disorder,” and a “personal history of traumatic brain injury."
Marine Corps officials did not respond as to whether the traumatic brain injury was sustained during Reed's time in the Corps.
Medical records in the filings also showed Reed having "a current episode manic severe with psychotic features" in 2023.
Court records show in the summer of 2014, Reed had three ER visits to Memorial Behavioral Health in Gulfport, now known as Gulfport Behavioral Health System, and was sent home each time. According to Universal Health Services, Inc., Memorial Behavioral Health changed to Gulfport Behavioral Health System in 2017.
Sometime between the summer and fall of 2014, Reed had a “complete breakdown, severe mania” leading to five weeks as an inpatient at Memorial Behavioral Health. In the fall of 2014, Reed was committed to the South Mississippi State Hospital in Purvis for six weeks to two months.
From 2018 to 2023, Reed had inpatient treatments, outpatient treatments or ER visits at different facilities: Pine Grove Behavioral Health Center in Hattiesburg, Gulfport Behavioral Health in Gulfport, an unidentified location in Ocean Springs, and Pine Belt Behavioral Health in Bay St. Louis.
On March 2–3, Reed stayed overnight at Ochsner Medical Center Emergency Room in Bay St. Louis. And on March 3, two days before the assault, an ambulance transported Reed 200 miles from the emergency room in Bay St. Louis to Merit Health in Jackson.
Bell, Reed's attorney, presented these facts in an April 3 filing, detailing the justification for Reed to have a mental examination.
After the facts were laid out, Hinds County Judge Johnnie McDaniels granted the motion on April 19 for Reed to be given a mental evaluation for two reasons — the purpose of determining whether or not Reed is "mentally competent to stand trial" or likely to become so "within the foreseeable future" and "insanity at the time of the alleged offense" which includes the defendant's mental state at the time of the alleged offense.
Dr. Laura Brodie, a forensic psychology evaluator in Gulfport, is identified in court records as the professional who would perform the evaluation. Brodie's website states she has been in clinical and forensic private practice for more than 23 years. The Clarion Ledger reached out to Brodie for an interview, but the request was denied. Brodie stated, "no comment," referring any and all questions to Bell.
Bell told the Clarion Ledger that the evaluation has been conducted but the findings will be filed under a seal. It is unknown whether a trial date has been set as of this publication.
Could this death have been prevented?
Dr. Tom Recore, medical director at the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, told the Clarion Ledger that psychotic disorders — a group of mental illnesses — tend to emerge especially for men in their early twenties and late teens. The disorders often involve psychosis as a main feature. Psychosis is a description of how a person can experience a disturbance in thought and perception such as hearing voices, delusions and illusions.
"Many people have complex mental health histories. The truth is, it's exceptionally difficult to predict who will have a violent event," Recore said. "Some of the predictive factors are things like command hallucinations where people are hearing voices telling them to do specific things; substance use is a major factor that can contribute to the probability of violence; and a history of violence.
"I also really want to be sure that there's a disambiguation there because in the context of talking about a situation where violence has occurred and we see that a person has a serious mental illness, we can be tempted to think that people with serious mental illnesses are more likely to be violent, but that's rarely true actually. They're more likely to be victimized. And there are some symptoms that can increase the probability that a person will be violent, but the truth is most people that experience these symptoms are never violent."
Recore, who specializes in forensic and clinical psychiatry, told the Clarion Ledger that violent episodes such as the March 5 incident at Merit Health are "really difficult to predict and exceedingly rare." But it is probable to think that someone with a complex mental health history can be a harm to others as well as themselves, Recore said.
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"I think we can look at the civil commitment standards," Recore said. "The requirement for someone to be civilly committed to a treatment facility is that they are, by definition, dangerous to themselves and others. So, if you take a population of people who have been determined legally to, at that time, be dangerous to themselves and others due to mental illness, I think the probability of there being some kind of physical aggression at some point, with all of these people that are experiencing these perceptual disturbances, is likely."
Early administration of medications is critical, Recore said.
"You want to provide them with medications that treat those symptoms, and you want to make sure that you've got adequately trained staff to intervene when these things arise," Recore said.
Did Merit Health follow all proper procedures?
In the aftermath of the incident, the case grew into public discourse on the handling of mentally ill individuals who may experience psychiatric episodes inside the confines of medical facilities. This incident at Merit Health at the same time raised questions about hospital security and police involvement.
It is not new news that access to mental health resources have been limited in Mississippi, especially after St. Dominic closed its behavioral health unit in early June 2023, and Merit Health River Region’sbehavioral health services unit in Vicksburg ended services on late June 2023.
The Clarion Ledger reached out to Merit Health Central on April 18 to interview administration but was told no one was available for an interview. A spokesperson did provide several emailed statements on April 23.
“Last year, Merit Health consolidated some behavioral health services from Merit Health River Region in Vicksburg to Merit Health Central in Jackson, allowing adolescent and adult behavioral health patients to receive treatment in a newer facility and central location. We also built a new geriatric care unit in Vicksburg to sustain those specialized services,” said Alicia Carpenter, director of marketing at Merit Health.
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When the behavioral health unit in Vicksburg closed, 50 beds were transferred to Merit Health Central.
The closure meant a person in Vicksburg requiring treatment for mental health issues would have to go to Jackson or another facility. The hospitals in Vicksburg and in Jackson are roughly 40 miles (or a 45-minute drive) apart.
Some of the Clarion Ledger’s additional questions included:
- How many security personnel are staffed at Merit Health?
- Is the sixth floor under 24-hour camera surveillance?
- Does Merit Health have a designated room on the sixth floor to detain patients who may be exhibiting/experiencing any behaviors/episodes?
- Is the sixth floor separated by female and male wings?
None of these questions were answered by Carpenter.
The Clarion Ledger also reached out to the licensing agency under the umbrella of the Mississippi State Department of Health inquiring about any repercussions Merit Health Central could receive from the March 5 incident.
The state Health Department’s Office of Licensure and Certification told the Clarion Ledger the licensing agency conducted an investigation on March 11–13, almost a week after the incident occurred, finding Merit Health followed basic and proper protocols.
"Based on staff interviews, review of medical records, facility policy and procedures, staffing, and staff assignment sheets, the facility was in compliance with Medicare Conditions of Participation (CoP) and Minimum Standards of Operation for Mississippi Hospitals (Minimum Standards). While the investigation did not find violations of the Minimum Standards or the Federal CoPs, the investigation was thorough and considered all relevant aspects of patient care and safety," the licensing office stated.
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According to Carpenter, the safety of Merit Health's patients and staff was and is the hospital's "first and most vital priority."
"Patients are carefully screened to place them in the unit most suited to their needs, and we continue to monitor them while they are in our care," Carpenter said. "We have a skilled and experienced staff whose members care deeply about our patients, and they are trained to take timely, appropriate actions during urgent and emergent situations.
"If we are unable to provide the necessary treatment, patients are transferred to an outside hospital that provides a higher level of care to ensure patients receive the care they need."