Investigators go over phone messages as Gillespie trial wraps up second day

Yahoo

20-02-2025

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains graphic details and quotations contained in evidence of an ongoing first-degree murder trial involving the death a two-year-old child. Readers may find those details and quotations disturbing or offensive.
CENTERVILLE — Investigators on Wednesday outlined an extensive exchange of messages from Roger Gillespie to the mother of a child that was fatally injured while in his care.
After two-year-old Journey Marberry was transported from Gillespie's home at 1417 Drake Ave. to the MercyOne Centerville Medical Center, messages began flying from Gillespie's phone to Kaytee Gregson, Journey's mother who had went to the hospital to be with her daughter in the emergency room.
"I want to put a f------ bullet in my own head only because she f------ fell...," Gillespie wrote in an early message to Gregson.
"Mother f--- man all this is going to look so f------ negative," another message from Gillespie to Gregson said. Followed by a message which read, "And all you can do is think of yourself as usual."
Gregson began to confront Gillespie over his story, that he was bathing Journey when he stepped out of the bathroom. He later heard a loud thud and returned to find Journey had fallen.
"What happened because falling in the bathtub she shouldn't be like this Roger what the f--- happened?" Gregson sent to Gillespie. "I'm telling you right now if anything happened to my daughter I will kill you myself. She slipped in the bathtub before at my house. How deep is the water? What the f--- happened?"
Gillespie continued to send messages laced with obscenities that shifted from accusations to supportive in the few hours following the incident. Gregson eventually blocked Gillespie on the Facebook Messenger app he was communicating with her on.
The messages were included in an exhibit admitted by prosecutors Wednesday in the second day of the trial in which Gillespie faces charges of first-degree murder and child endangerment causing death.
Prosecutors have charged Gillespie with the murder of Journey, who died on Jan. 27, 2024, after medical staff had removed her from life support so she could be declared an organ donor. A 30-year-old woman received her kidneys, Gregson said on the stand Wednesday.
Gillespie has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Gregson had left Journey in Gillespie's care, which she had done before. The two had what Gregson considered a friendship, and Gillespie would babysit Journey and also had helped Gregson from time to time in other ways. She knew him originally because her son was friends with his son.
On Jan. 19, 2024, Gillespie called 911 to report that Journey had fallen and was not responsive. He told the dispatcher that she may have been attempting to retrieve bath toys while bathing, and slipped.
"She slipped and fell, and she seemed OK at first, but now she's not waking up," Gillespie told the dispatcher on a recording of the 911 call played in court Wednesday. "And then I put her back in the tub to try to wake her up, but she's breathing — but I don't f------ know what to do."
An ambulance arrived a short time later and found Gillespie at the back door of the residence, and he pointed them to the direction of the bathroom.
Centerville Fire Rescue EMT Jeremy Barber testified Wednesday that he was the first to find Journey, naked in the bathtub with water up to her ears. He said she was cold, displaying signs of posturing, her eyes closed and unresponsive.
He found a towel to wrap her and immediately took her to the ambulance to begin administering care. Journey was transported to the hospital in Centerville, where she began undergoing further treatment and plans were made to transport her to a hospital better equipped to care for her injuries.
Dr. David Rogan was in charge of the emergency department that day. He said it was clear early on that Journey was suffering from significant brain injury.
He said this was evidenced by the fact she was posturing, which is a body's response to a brain injury that can cause arms to flex, hands to clinch into fists, and the body's limbs to extend and rotate.
A CT scan on Journey's brain showed significant bleeding that was collecting in multiple areas outside of the blood vessels, Rogan testified. It also showed a fracture to the bone in the back of Journey's head.
Rogan said he could not say for 100% certainty the injuries couldn't have been accidental, but said there were factors consistent with some form of abuse.
"The fact that she had the occipital bone skull fracture and hematoma would be not very likely to have occurred by just a simple fall in a child that age," he said.
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Special Agent Chris Spencer introduced jurors to the scene through photos, in addition to walking them through messages Gillespie sent to Gregson and others.
Spencer outlined the many security cameras within the home. Some were connected to a cloud storage service, while others were not connected or were decoy cameras that weren't operable.
Additional phone activity introduced showed that after Journey left for the hospital, beyond sending messages Gillespie's phone he also accessed an app which was connected to the cameras. Police said they located videos recorded prior to Jan. 19, 2024, but no videos on the day of Journey's injury.
Other messages reviewed from Gillespie's messenger account to Gregson before the Jan. 19, 2024, incident included venting, information about Journey, or suggestions that Gregson have sexual activity with Gillespie.
Gregson said she would ignore those sexual advances, stating she only desired to have a friendship with Gillespie.
In the days before Jan. 19, 2024, Gillespie had notified Gregson of his plans to stop babysitting Journey. On the night of Jan. 18, 2024, Gillespie sent a message to Gregson that said, "If you really cared how much I've meant to you in life you should come up here right now and provide it..."
He had no further communication with Gregson after that message until 1 p.m. the next day when he notified her that Journey was injured.
The trial will continue at 9 a.m. Thursday. If convicted of murder, Gillespie faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The child endangerment charge is punishable by up to 50 years in prison.