Q&A with defense lawyer Mark F. Renner
(Forensic Files “Strong Impressions”)
Ron Gillette tried to kill his wife with sleeping pills dissolved in an alcoholic drink and, when that failed, he suffocated her by pressing her face onto a plastic bag on August 28, 1984.
To make it look as though Juana “Vicki” Gillette died when she accidentally rolled onto a laundry bag in her sleep, he put some clothing in the bag and placed his sleeping 3-year-old son in bed with Ms. Gillette’s body.
He did it for $27,000 in insurance money – used to finance a wedding to his girlfriend 11 days after the death of Ms. Gillette at age 26. Although the show never touched on other motives, it’s safe to assume he wanted to avoid the child support payments a divorce would bring.
I imagine that anyone who’s seen the Forensic Files episode “Strong Impressions” would be happy to let loose all manner of name-calling and cursing to Hades in the general direction of the former Las Vegas, Nevada, Air Force mechanic.
But we already know Ron Gillette’s actions were awful. To offer insight into some of the related issues — like how an individual convicted of murder managed to exit prison for good behavior after just 15 years — I turned to Mark F. Renner, who was tasked with defending the ex-military man in 1985. A former JAG attorney who left the military and is now a magistrate of Marion Superior Court in Indianapolis, Renner agreed to answer a few questions:
Were you surprised Gillette got out of prison so soon?
Yes. I got a Christmas card from him and the return address wasn’t Leavenworth, and that’s how I found out.
I thought he would have to serve at least another five years before being considered for parole.
How did this happen? The show said he got life in prison without the possibility of parole. According to the ACLU website, no one sentenced to life without parole has ever been paroled.
When he was sentenced, it was simply life, not life without parole. Then the Uniform Code of Military Justice — the bible of discipline for all military branches, not just the Air Force — changed some of the rules, which ultimately applied positively to Ron’s case.
As one of his defense lawyers, did you really believe he was innocent?
I never thought he was innocent. No lawyer approaches a defense having to believe someone’s innocent. What you’re doing is compelling the government to establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The death penalty was on the table, so our real focus was defending him from that.
What about the brutal assault that injured Vicki Gillette’s legs? (Ron Gillette admitted that, 18 months before her death, he had broken both her kneecaps in a fit of anger.) At least one web commenter felt he deserved 15 years for that crime alone.
He was never charged with anything in respect to the battery. He was charged with murder and faced a possible death penalty.
Did it surprise you when Gillette married another woman 11 days after Vicki Gillette died?
Yes, and it’s unlikely the government would have ever investigated the case as a murder if he had not remarried and brought his new wife back to George Air Force Base. The original cause of death was linked to possible alcohol and accidental drug intake. At first, they had not determined the suffocation and homicide.
I’m a big fan of Forensic Files. Did working on the episode about Vicki Gillette’s murder leave you with a favorable impression of the way Forensic Files creates its stories?
I found the part I had very appropriate, and I thought their efforts to be thorough were great. They wanted facts and information, and I appreciated that they didn’t try to dramatize or minimize anything.♠
Watch the Forensic Files episode on YouTube
Next: Steven Weisbart of the Insurance Information Institute explains why it’s not so easy to profit by a murder plan
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I loved this!
I hadn’t been familiar with the show, but now I wish I were. But the blog may be even more riveting.
So the moral I take away from the Q&A is: A “Columbo”-level criminal mastermind may not get away with murder, but a mind-boggling series of jaw-droppingly idiotic proportions is pretty much guaranteed not to. As I understand it, he shattered his wife’s knees, tries to pharmaceutically dispatch his wife, then *presses her face* into a plastic bag, then marries his girlfriend 11 days after her “mysterious” death and brings her to his air force base? What could go wrong?
I don’t admire his conscience, and I don’t admire his intelligence, but that self-confidence! The man could give a course at the Learning Annex.
Thank you for this terrific addition to my must-read list!
Thanks much for the kind words, Kirk! As novelist Louis L’Amour wrote in Passin’ Through (Bantam, 1985):
Cheers,
Rebecca R.
So many murders would be prevented if the state would simply subsidize alimony and child support. It is a life destroyer.
I just saw this story and I can’t believe he only got 15yrs!!! Then for the current wife to stick around and take him back. But, wait she has a vested interest in him. Without spelling it out.
He murdered his second wife too. In 2010.
He’s 2 for 2 now and in jail.
Not true. His name is Paul Gillette.
Dangerous not to check your facts before “just” posting asumptions.
Different man. Perhaps check your facts ♀️
Yes, check your facts more accurately. This just happened to be my friends father who killed her mother and the information is very true.
Am so sorry to even ask but I didn’t understand if or not the same man who killed his wife Vicki in 1984? I figured he changed his name perhaps…his second wife was actually pregnant with twins. That’s probably why there’s confusion if it isn’t Ron Gillette vs Paul Gillette…
Indeed, the blog post is about Ron Gillette, who killed his wife, Vicki, in 1994. I don’t know much about the other Gillette who was a wife killer – it was never made into a Forensic Files episode as far as I know.
Yeah, he shouldn’t have ever be let out, life sentence is life, not 15 yrs.
He did!?
So much for “good behavior” huh?
15 years is a travesty. IMO anyone who murders, whether it’s First Degree, Second Degree, I don’t care if it’s One Hundredth Degree, murders should get either life (in prison) or death (Capital Punishment) in those states that aren’t governed by wimps.
Parole and released early for good behavior would never be an option.
Agreed — he should have received 15 years for breaking her knee caps alone.
It’s unbelievable that a scumbag like that got out of prison for “Good Behavior”!!?? Well, criminals, kill all you want to. Matter of fact, kill your wife and take your 3-yr-old son, place him next to his dead mother in bed where you just killed her. Marry another women in less than 2 weeks after you commit the murder, collect her life insurance. And then sit back and don’t worry about a thing. Because if you behave nicely, they will just let you walk right out of jail! Yeah! No kidding! Glad scumbags always seem to get a second chance. Too bad the precious life you took who was someone’s mother, sister, friend, and daughter will never get that opportunity. What a great justice system we have!
So what he only did 15 years? Have you ever been to prison or had a terrible wife? She probably deserved it.
Nobody deserves murder.
Amen. The 1st wife, Vicki, was a beautiful woman who seemed to have a beautiful, friendly personality. Ron was ugly on the inside (“mean” or “cruel”) and there’s an old saying that goes like this: “If you’re ugly on the inside, you’re ugly on the outside.”
Maybe he got sick of the first wife because she got fat.
Ever heard of ‘divorce’? Murdering another human being, especially someone you used to love or have been living together with for years…there is simply no justifications or valid reasons!
Right you are there is never a reason to take the life of a person it serves no moral purpose. I however don’t like when people reply with the statement “have you heard of divorce?” This has no bearing on the case divorce is miserable and especially so for men. For some reasons the courts and society seem to think that if 2 people divorce even if the wife was cheating or abusive that the man should have to pay her alimony on top of more than half of the possessions even stuff that was clearly his I’ve seen multiple times with others and with me. Parents of the husband give him a house and then divorce comes even though those parents were assuming the couple would stay married it’s clear they want the house to stay with their son but can’t do that with divorce you have to agree on it or it is forced to be sold even though that has nothing to do with the extent wife. I really believe that if society and the legislatures would change divorce laws so many people would still be alive. All these people get pushed by greed or fear to murder their partner because if they divorce they won’t even get to keep half of their own money or stuff and life insurance is a boost. If you make it where a divorce splits things fairly based on the relationship why it ended and input and also don’t make it to where it will cost someone more just to get by after divorce than it would be after death. Laws are incentivizing domestic murder.
Dp: Highly tenuous, and implausible, to suggest that if divorce ‘splits’ were fairer (assuming they’re not), spouses would murder less – as though they’re less inclined to do so for 50% of assets than for 30% (or whatever)… The ‘driver’ of homicide is less about money – the effect – than about hatred – the cause. That a spouse (usually the male) might be, say,$100,000 worse off than he thinks he should be per division of assets is highly unlikely to motivate him to murder; rather, anger, hatred (at the spouse’s infedelity/meeting another, say), loss of child custody and/or one’s home are the visceral ingredients of homicide – though of course the perception that one’s been ‘cheated’ doesn’t help… Even with a scrupulously fair split, these remain issues. And even if it were a matter of pure greed, that being so wouldn’t permit ANY loss of assets, let alone the ‘fair’ loss that you invoke.
This being said, what you suggest could be worth examining: have people killed on the basis of merely perceived unfair division of assets, rather than the aforementioned? How could that hypothesis be evidenced? Of course perps would claim it, in the hope it put them in a slightly better light – they’d been ‘wronged.’ But I think it’s a red herring…
So, yes, divorce IS the proper, sane response to irretrievable breakdown. But if you’re a Barber you’re uninterested in propriety, and you’re likely to be somewhat imbalanced by the narcissism that placed you at the centre of every circumstance, with others mere conveniences – in this case, as a cash cow to bail you out of the financial mistakes your grandiosity caused you (gambling/womanising).
Child support or alimony had nothing to do with it. If I remember correctly, the invitations to his second wedding (11 days after the murder) had been mailed out before the actual murder occurred. Mr. Gillette had been living a double life while he was stationed at the AFB in Las Vegas. He wanted a new life and Vicki
had no role in that new life. So “Goodforhim”, he didn’t have a terrible wife, she had a terrible husband. IDIOT!
So if you get old and ugly and fat then someone should murder you??? You’re stupid.
Agree! Very very stupid.
I wonder what kind of person would say this in the comment section. All you confirmed is that men like him or people like him are out there ready to strike. People who like you are born cowards.
*Goodforhim
You’re a scumbag troll aren’t you? Hopefully, someone will murder you so we won’t have to read your disgusting comments anymore.
Ditto…only a loser would write garbage like that.
Yes!
You are disgusting! Have you ever heard of divorce? No one has a right to murder their wife/husband because they stopped loving them. He just wanted to avoid paying alimony and child support. He murdered her to get $27k in life insurance to pay for the wedding to his new wife just two weeks after his wife was murdered!
If you have a terrible wife then the answer is NOT murder, the answer is DIVORCE!
U sound like a wife murderer yourself.
Trolling much?
You belong on a number of government watch lists, buddy. That’s some sick thinking.
Wow. I hope your significant other is happy with you. I love a good murder as much as the next guy, but even I just divorced my ex.
As far you know…
Fuck off.
Ron Gillette, is that you GoodForHim or his second wife?
You are the idiot here. Without even knowing either party in this horrible crime, to say it was her fault is a non-factual statement. With your thinking, a person who is sexually assaulted and there were many eyewitnesses, it’s the person who was assaulted fault. SMH…
I agree this upsets me so much. I can’t believe they would allow him to walk after good behavior? As if he just got a time-out! Let him comtionue to raise his son after all that?? And the new wife is ok with this? Wow is all I have!
Does this not raise concern to the new wife he could do it to her?
I agree with you Julie! Now that he’s out from jail, he will surely have time to search for third wife and premeditate second wife murder! Lol
The new wife is a tasteless, amoral fool, assuming she knew her would-be husband’s history. And if she didn’t then, she must now. I see no moral difference between this case and a woman marrying, or remaining with, a child-abusing man. Deeply disturbing.
He’s a loser who can’t handle American women, these guys are the type who like to control women & want them to be passive little servants.
There was more than just a son, there was a daughter as well. Too many people have been manipulated by this man. He’s evil and should have stayed in prison to rot like the rest of the scum that have no value for human life.
They didn’t just have a son together they also had a daughter, people don’t obviously get all their facts in order. Even though you posted this back in 2017, facts need to be verified.
That’s not “great justice.” That’s an injustice!!!
That’s my father-in-law, and he’s a plotter.
You’re proud of your family are you?
I couldn’t resist commenting. Very well written!
It would be very interesting if someone video-blogged or wrote about the life of this man and his family and people who surround them. How do you go on about your business just like: peachy????
That’s easy for them, they’re low class human trash without a soul…but don’t forget, what goes around, comes around. He’ll get his when the time comes.
I agree — the universe will make him suffer somehow.
Me and my family were stationed at the same air force base that that ron and juana were. My mom and juana were good friends which my mom used to baby sit their little girl and little boy.. this is something that me and my family were never able to forget. The one thing that these babies didn’t get was justice for their mom and that really broke our hearts.
I too was at GAFB. Ron was my supervisor and I very clearly remember the day this happened.
The decision comes a decade, almost to the day, since Witt stabbed to death Senior Airman Andrew Schliepsiek and his wife, Jamie, in their home on Warner Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
What a travesty of justice — a disgrace — that he was imprisoned for only 15 years for murder. ‘Life’ may not mean life — but in this case it meant far too little: less than 20% of an average man’s life. What a slap in the face for her loved ones. Cases such as this discredit the justice system.
Agree. Premeditated murder involving strangulation/suffocation is a torturous death. LWOP or the death penalty should have been the only outcomes.
I am the mother-in-law of Ron’s beautiful daughter and her sweet children’s paternal grandmother. His children were seriously traumatized by this horrible act. Their childhood was anything but idyllic. However, Vicki’s children have grown up to be responsible adults and loving parents, obviously virtues they inherited from their mother.
In regard to Ron and his second family, I have met them. They hide behind their religion. Ron did not appear to be remorseful at all.
Thank you so much for writing in — it is wonderful to hear that the Gillette’s children have grown up to be happy and responsible after getting off to such a rough start in life!
Thanks for the info, I was wondering about them. Who raised them in the end? Are they still in touch with their dad?
He will have to answer to god I wonder where he is now?
The situation is sad and Ron is a pathetic coward. His present wife is foolish and a poor excuse for a woman. What is this world coming to??
RR: Just adding my two penn’orth to those astonished at the short ‘life’ sentence, and the dumb, amoral second wife there when he was released. What part of breaking her predecessor’s knee-caps then murdering her (and placing his child next to the body as a cover story) didn’t/doesn’t she comprehend? Maybe by now she’s seen the light…
One jaw-dropping snippet from FF: investigators discovered that the wedding invitations to this second bride’s were mailed before the first’s death – pretty clearly suggesting either homicidal premeditation or bigamy.
My name is Cinthia Gillette… Even though bad things have happened and have to live this nightmare over and over listening to people’s comments and seeing the show and not knowing it existed. Hit me hard. People should really consider what they write. I forgave my dad. And love him. He will answer to god. I love and miss my Mom.
Hello Cinthia: My heart goes out to you, and I’m very sorry for the terrible loss of your mother. Crime, particularly murder, is and must be in the public domain. The law punishes on behalf of all citizens because it recognises that the taking of life – the worst crime – injures not just the victim and her loved ones (who feel it infinitely worse) but society, because we’re all diminished, damaged and rendered vulnerable by the perpetrators’ act. The jury is, or should be, a microcosm of us all.
Because of this, however painful or distasteful the expressed thoughts of the public are to those close to the crime, it’s entirely reasonable to express them. Some will be well-expressed, reasonable and justified; others not. But that’s society and that’s life. Just as you’ve forgiven your father, there may be family members who haven’t… That’s properly a personal matter and there seems no right nor wrong either way. But forgiveness is not forgetting – and part of not forgetting is remembrance of the loss, the facts around it, and anger at the perpetrator. Such anger doesn’t imply that forgiveness shouldn’t be offered (by the victims of the crime – it’s not for the public to forgive but it may be for it to be merciful); but nor does forgiveness imply that fair punishment shouldn’t be sought… So when you encounter ‘anger’ in the likes of the comments herein, it’s righteous anger on behalf of the victim/s (your mother, yourself and those who loved her) and society. If you’re a Christian you’re exhorted to forgive, and it’s a blessing that you can. I hope it has brought, and brings, you some peace.
May God bless and keep you and your loved ones and assure you of his care of your mother close to Him.
Warmest wishes,
Marcus
At last, an intelligible, intelligent and measured response. Thank you for that.
One question occurs to me, did Gillette ever admit his guilt? If not, to my mind, he should never have been released.
It also occurs to me that his second wife, because she loves the man, may be convinced that he is innocent of his first wife’s murder. He possibly maintains his innocence to this day. Otherwise, I cannot see how she would stay with him.
I know I was blind to my first wife’s transgressions for over a decade and that blindness was engendered by my deep love for her. I was unwilling, unable even, to see what friends and relatives could see and I had unshakeable belief in her denials of wrongdoing. That remained the case until, finally, certain undeniable occurrences opened my eyes and, for a time, rendered me an emotional wreck.
Don’t judge Gillette’s present wife unless you know with certainty that she believes her husband is truly guilty.
Well, you are an idiot. That dude is a pyscho
Melvin Strickland you’d better be careful your ignorance is showing. To call the innocent people involved in a horrific crime an idiot just because they chose to forgive the person who took the life of the one they loved, makes you seem heartless. The forgiveness isn’t for the person who did the crime so much as it is for the ones who lost so much. You are right though in your assessment that the dude as you put it is a pyscho.
Marcus said it best, but one point missing from the conversation is that the person who lost the most, who has the most to forgive, simply cannot because she is permanently dead and unable to do so. If by some supernatural ability she was able to hover as a specter above and have such a choice, do you really think for one split second she would forgive her two-timing husband for breaking her kneecaps and killing her, permanently separating her from her beloved children and traumatizing them?
I get very tired of hearing people forgive a murderer for killing someone else. Unless we have a witnessed and notarized written statement IN ADVANCE of forgiveness from the murder victim, there is no one else qualified to do the forgiving. And that includes any imaginary beings known as GD or ALLH.
15 years is simply too little punishment compared to the value we should give to all life, human or animal or otherwise. Regardless of how the murderer behaved in prison, there is no ‘good behavior’ that offsets the seriousness of this premeditated, sociopathic, intentional crime against an innocent woman, her children, and society as Marcus so eloquently explained. No one but the primary victim and society at large has the right to forgive, and last we heard, the victim is still permanently deceased.
So many times we hear of second and third cases of violent crime by someone released early, and it has almost become a broken record when others are convicted that everyone is surprised because ‘they had no criminal record.’ It’s become almost a joke as though everyone gets ‘one free murder pass.’ It’s bad enough most states have done away with the death penalty. The least we can do is life in prison without possibility of parole.
Only 15 years is a travesty of justice. Another is Michael Peterson, FF “A Novel Idea,” who is free after just 13 years and 4 months of his “life without parole” sentence. The more outlandish the story, the better chance to escape justice. Michael Peterson is now free to throw a 3rd woman down the stairs to her death. See the owl did it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Peterson_(criminal)
The owl should sue Michael Peterson for defamation.
John,
Think twice and speak once or not at all in this case.
Maybe you will be more informed now.
When you open your mouth you need to engage your brain.
We all learn in time. Some are just slower than others. Did you think your were being smart and saying something cool.
What do you think now?
I suggest that you ;come clean and introduce your self to your self. This is who you were but you don’t have to remain a bone head. Stand up straight and be respectful. It will grow on you and you will be a better human.
Aji and RR: The Peterson case does seem yet another sad illustration of money buying a good defence buying an easy sentence (for another wealthy white person (as opposed to poor and black) to boot).
No. He got the sentence he deserved which was life. His trial attorney was surprised that Ron got out of prison at all. I have never heard of a federal sentence of life being shortened. There is no parole in the federal system. You serve your sentence – period! Very strange. Releasing him from prison seems an insult to the victim and her family, AND a crime itself.
Ok so I’ve read all of these comments (after watching the FF episode and reading this article). I respect Cinthia (Ron and Juana-Vicki’s daughter), Cinthia’s mother-in-law and Vicki’s military friends’ comments especially. ❤️ I have probed the internet because I appreciate seeing the faces behind the stories. Found LOTS. It is EXTREMELY creepy that this woman Suyen was never investigated and thrown in jail as well. (And yes I agree Ron should STILL be behind bars). Opinions are like bully buttons (I know I know) but I believe the reason this “woman” is so COMFORTABLE with living with and bearing children for a convicted AND remorseless MURDERER is BECAUSE SHE WAS IN ON THE WHOLE CRIME! Poor babies! All of the children in this family, God bless them. What a train wreck they were born into or had to survive. THEIR WEDDING WAS PAID FOR WITH BLOOD MONEY! And THE WEDDING INVITATIONS WERE DATED PRIOR TO THE MURDER! Seeing Suyen smile in pictures with Cinthia and her kids on Cinthia’s birthday makes me want to VOMIT! You are better than me, Cinthia. I can forgive but I also would love those criminals from a distance, honey. I’m a Jesus follower and I practice and believe in forgiveness. However, unrepentant sinners hiding behind religion does not make them Christians, let alone people to be in healthy relationships with after they murdered my loved one. Just my two pennies ♀️
Completely agree with you! For all the public knows, this Sue Yen may have even been the instigator who planted the seed of a murder idea into Ron’s head and using her sex appeal and well masked vile traits to ensure it went ahead…seriously, WHO KNOWS? Not that it even excuses Ron for his crimes, he obviously is guilty and does NOT deserve the freedom he obtained so soon. It’s sickening but very real how some men can easily be bewitched by evil women & would do anything to please them and be with them! The point you made is very true, a decent and normal woman would never continue life with a convicted murderer, but instead would fear for her and her children’s lives that the same could happen to them in future. It’s obvious that this kind of woman would never truly have a conscience nor would they ever feel remorse. Brainwashing is probably one of her best skills. It certainly was a loophole in the justice system that this woman was never convicted for her crimes too.
Nicole: Re the second wife – there are, alas, not a few stupid women in the world who despite the evidence, remain (attracted to) evil men. They may pay the ultimate price for the stupidity…
Was Gillette tried by the military? What happened to him after he was paroled?
He was. Then he got back together with Suyen as though nothing happened.:(
This is all so sad. Nothing angers me more than evil, sadistic people being released from prison after committing such disgusting crimes. We honestly need someone to kill these motherfuckers because they do not deserve oxygen. if anyone personally knows Ron, be a good human and put a bullet in the back of his head. or you can just suffocate him with a trash bag, without slipping him sleeping pills so he feels an excruciating death. I’d wipe this dude out if I knew where to find him. Maybe I’ll move to Las Vegas. But I am happy that Vicki’s children have grown up okay, despite the fact that their entire lives were ruined by this monster. Thank you FF for covering this tragic story.
Maybe you’re a fucking loser to talk like this to see this kinda comment. This was my beautiful mother.
People’s comments upset me. Did my dad do a horrible thing? Yes. Will I ever know the truth? No… Learning to forgive is better… It took a long time .. The actions he did take caused a lot trauma on my brother and me. The crap we had to go through with every relative we had to live with words could not explain the situation. I learned to forgive.
Cinthia: We’ve been over this… As upsetting as the comments are to you as family, this isn’t just about you: this was a crime against society (as all crime is), not just against the people directly affected. While the language and sentiment you’re responding to is intemperate and perhaps inappropriate, it’s entirely understandable that observers should think this man appalling – and say so. He is.
“Will I ever know the truth? No…” Yes, you DO know the truth: it was determined in court (at least all of the truth the public needs to know, if not yourself – though whatever more you think you COULD know could only be appalling…)
Good for you if you forgive – as only you can. Forgiving may be better for YOU (I’m sure it is), but the public has no forgiving to do – and it’s important they express their horror, as humane society. Would you prefer that people said it wasn’t that bad after all, or it’s OK with them ‘cos you’ve forgiven??? If you can’t accept people’s entirely reasonable view – and it’s understandable you might be upset by it – then don’t visit sites such as this.
Again, I am so sorry for the awful things this man did. Best wishes.
Amen
There is a huge difference between forgiving (for one’s own peace of mind) and forgetting (justice for the crime).
Interesting point about forgiving for someone else’s murder.
As a friend and former collegue of Cinthia’s, I’ve watched the episode twice. I was informed of what happened and wanted to see for myself how evil he was and how could it have happened. The second time I watched it, I was at a friend’s home and it came on the tv. She has cable and watches those true crime shows. I could not believe it. I feel it’s inappropriate to say to a survivor of a loved one who was killed in such a heinous way, to have others tell them NOT to visit the site then if they get upset at what people post. Although it know if can’t speak for Cinthia or her brother, I am certain it’s not the negative comments about her father, but those about her mother. She knows how I feel about what happened to her and her family. My heart breaks everytime I see her struggle with something. Whether she has forgiven her dad or not is no one’s business. Contrary to what you or anyone else may think, it’s none of our business to forgive him. I do understand to a degree what you may be trying to say, but in the end it’s the victim’s family who get to make that choice, and live with that.
Does the public have a right to their opinion, yes. Does that mean they can openingly say how bad either of the parents were. I am sure there are people out there like me. Who have seen the episodes and have informed Cinthia about the chatter, only for her to be curious to find out what is being said.
Sitiations in life can never be changed—a person can only learn from the mistakes they made and hope it never happens again.
Future…: Yep, he’s appalling, and it’s appalling he isn’t serving life for a crime that in some states such as Texas could have entailed the death penalty. 15 years’ imprisonment and death: that’s a huge gulf that makes a farce of justice for ‘murder done for a pecuniary or other valuable consideration’ (thus potentially enabling the death penalty). To lay the toddler next to his murdered mother to make the scene more plausible would beggar the belief of many a juror…
Ron Gillette is a disgusting piece of trash human being and he I hope he goes straight to burning pits of hell when he dies. He is ugly inside and outside (Not even sure what’s so attractive about him with that disgusting personality) and then you have women like Suyen Gillette who knew he was married and have a family and here she is being a home wrecker. NOT ONLY that but she is willing to marry him 11 days after his wife’s questionable sudden death. She was young… 27!! Wouldn’t that raise any red flags and then going to all his trials with details emerging after he was caught? Wouldn’t any normal people be suspicious your significant other did this despicable thing and not even mourning? Also he got caught and convicted and she’s still with him and took him back after 15 years of him being in prison with a loose butthole. You sure got a winner there Suyen Gillette. I know it takes 2 to tango and I hope you 2 get what you deserve and what you 2 did to Vicki!!
I wonder if he and That Woman are still together?
Someone said in previous comments Ron also killed Sue Yen in 2010?
I can’t find any info online about that…
Look at this conversation thread from the top.
Thanks. That’s a different Gillette: no second wife was murdered (and Rebecca, this site’s host, would almost certainly have found it if it were true and included it in her post).
A different Gillette? Like one Gillette wasn’t bad enough
Disgusting. He should spend the rest of his life in prison.
I’m a huge fan of FF. I’ve probably seen every episode, some more than once. This story is one of the more disturbing ones due to the miscarriage of justice. I can not fathom being his daughter and being able to forgive him for murdering my mother so he could start a new life with another woman and placing my baby brother next to my dead mother to cover his crime. Ron doesn’t deserve the love and forgiveness of Vicki’s children let alone being allowed to share in their lives! Further miscarriage of justice IMHO. Yes, forgiveness is healthy for the victim, but that doesn’t mean you are obligated to associate with the perpetrator. Indeed, Cinthia is a much stronger and better person than me. Never could I even look at that man again. Most bothersome is that he doesn’t deserve to have Vicki’s children in his life. So NOT fair! Poor Vicki is in the grave and never got to see her children grow up, yet Ron continues to be blessed by being allowed to be in their lives. DISGUSTING! I don’t believe in God, I’m spiritual, not religious. So, I can’t find solace that he will rot in hell someday. He gets away with an egregious crime and that’s that. He is an amoral, narcissistic, selfish, murdering coward. Shameful, unfair and unjust!!!
Same here — it still amazes me that he got out of prison and was able to pick up where he left off. I wish he’d been jailed when he broke Vicki’s knee caps. Maybe he figured if he could get away with assault, he could get away with murder.
Brainwashing is a scary but real practice. It’s not easy for anyone who has lived through or grown up being brainwashed to be able to find the strength & courage to break free from this invisible prison and live as their true self. Some people are pros at brainwashing weaker minded folks. I have lived as both a victim and witness to this kind of situation, it’s hell and has devastating impact that causes a chain of effects many years on.
Growing up with Ronny.
We met in 2nd grade and graduated together. Joined the Air Force together.
Money was a issue with Ron. He had a way of getting others to pay his way. Example was I bought a car and he circle-talked until it became his car. He could control others.
After getting out of service, I didn’t want to be around him but his wife and mine were best friends.
I avoided him but he was pushy and he was always about money.
I hadn’t been in touch with him for yrs and was shocked to hear this but at same time it makes sense that Ronny would be able to kill his wife. He was underhanded.
My overall opinion of Ronny was that he was greedy.
Ron knew how to network with people and make himself likable. I can see how he would do the ugly acts he was accused of. In the time I knew him, he was relatively honest around me but sometimes talked about getting over on the man and others. Always about $.
His mother was a wonderful lady. His dad didn’t work. Sister was quiet. Grandmother liked me.
Sorry he hurt people. We had different moral values. I had cut him out of my life and I’m glad.
Over all, Ronny was not a very nice person when you really got to know him.
Thanks much for writing in David! Sounds as though Ron Gillette started out as a selfish jerk, then progressed to a cruel murderer. Yikes.
I watched this episode today and was shocked like most of you about the 15 year “life sentence”
A thought about how imperfect the justice system can be:
‘With $22 billion in legitimate sales expected by 2020, pot has become a consumer product like any other. But new laws have done nothing for people with past convictions, including some with sentences heavier than for rape or murder.”
And that’s just pot! It makes me angry to think how a military man can get away with minimal sentencing for MURDER when there are countless people without resources that will die in prison that have done almost nothing, comparatively speaking.
A very depressing episode the worst so far in FF in miscarriage of justice.
15 years is nothing for cold blooded murder and plotting of a wife and the mother of his kids.
But he must have been a smart bloke not to use a gun but a polythene which he knew would leave less DNA evidence. And even though he was proven guilty by the defence expert himself who was sure he strangled his wife, looks like he escaped justice.
Glad the victim’s children have been strong enough to not only bear the trauma but also to hear that they coping well in life.
Like all who commit murder, he’ll be judged by a Higher Authority, whether he believes that or not. And this Authority can send you down for endless time. Now, then, is just temporary reprieve…
Sentencing reform needed when white collar crime gets you more years than murder. Or try not paying your income tax see what THAT gets you! Murder, rape, and child molestation especially. How does one obtain “good behavior” after murdering someone anyways? Let the punishment equal the crime.
I found his profile in LinkedIn and he’s really living a good life he doesn’t deserve. So sad for the victim.
This fu ck in g cu nt needs a long drop from a short rope.
How sad that her tombstone embellishes “Juana B, Wife of SSGT Ronald P Gillette USAF”
He should have been executed. America has lost its backbone to put murders, rapists and the like to death. They don’t deserve to walk among the innocent.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/82508454/juana-beatriz-gillette
I agree—he has no business walking among us after his crimes. He should have served 10 years for breaking his wife’s kneecaps in the first place.
Sadly, though, rapists and murderers sometimes got light sentences in olden days. Booker T. Hillery and Joseph Corbett come to mind.
It is sad to know that he is walking around free, enjoying life as only he knows it. Yet his children don’t have the opportunity to talk to their mom, hug their mom, or even have an argument with her. Anyone intentionally killing someone in the situation that is not war, should receive the death penalty, PERIOD. Regardless if the state is a death penalty state or not. Considering the children were minors at the time of her death, and he has been released from prison, he should have to have part of his wages garnished and put into an account for both his son and daughter. It does not bring tbeir mom back, but it holds him accountable for his actions and the effect it had on them.
This is disgusting! Her life should have mattered more to the US justice system. They should take the murderer’s name off of her tombstone! She was more than the murderer’s wife. Come on, really!?
There are a surprising number of cases of violent felons with long sentences being paroled absurdly early, making a mockery of the sentence. Maybe it’s improved over time. The infamous John Wayne Gacy – the original ‘killer clown’ – was sentenced to 10 yrs for child sodomy in ’68… and released 18 mnths later per model prisoner, only to resume child molestation, abduction and murder almost immediately (released in ’70; in ’71 there were two sep molestation/sexual battery charges which per incompetence parole board never knew, and his first known child murder was in Jan ’72).