Daniel Prince
May 10, 2023
Man accused of burning wife's personal items
Deputy Charles Nicholson responded to an address on Catawba Hill Drive, where he spoke with a teenage girl who stated her step-father, identified as 49-year-old Dean Lee Clark Gibson, had texted her in the early morning hours, asking her to talk him out of what he was about to do, and that it had nothing to do with harming himself. The girl stated that she and her mother had moved in at a relative’s house due to her mother and step-father going through a separation. She said her mother had an infant pass away during her first marriage, and that a small box that contained a rose from the funeral and other memorabilia pertaining to the child was missing, and she was unable to get Gibson to the door. She showed Nicholson a picture from Gibson’s Facebook page showing a small fire and several pieces of paper on fire, as well as a plaque, which she identified as being in memoriam of the deceased child. She said several more items pertaining to the child were claimed to have been in the fire, as well.
Nicholson then entered the house to talk to Gibson. Gibson stated he burned some items, but he claimed they were marital property due to them being married for five years. When asked about the last time Gibson had seen the box containing memorabilia of the deceased child, he again stated that everything the woman had brought into their marriage became marital property and that he could do with it what he pleased. Nicholson requested that Sgt. Nathan Burdine respond to the scene, as well. He let Burdine talk to Gibson while he went outside to examine the area where the fire had been set.
While looking through the ashes, Nicholson found a partially burnt certificate with footprints on it dedicated to the memory of the woman’s deceased son, a partially burnt folder containing family court documents from her first marriage, a burnt diploma from Virginia College from the woman, and various school awards from the woman’s daughter. The court documents were collected as evidence, and Nicholson obtained screen shots from the Facebook page, a message Gibson sent the girl’s mother talking about the box of memorabilia and the certificate, and the messages Gibson sent the girl early that morning. Nicholson placed Gibson under arrest for malicious injury to personal property and took him to the Union County Detention Center. He was released on $1000 bond.