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The Other Dr. Gilmer

 Vince Gilmer was a well-loved doctor in rural North Carolina. One day, he borrowed his father from an assisted-living facility and committed patricide; he removed the fingers of the corpse, then he slept and went to his office. His nurses said that nothing about his behavior indicated distress.


During questioning, however, Gilmer was a bad liar, and his plot was sloppy. It wasn't hard to build the case against the doctor. But had he made a deliberate choice to commit his murder on the border between North Carolina and Virginia (creating a "turf battle," redirecting beams of attention that would otherwise fall on his own apparent villainy)?

Years later, Gilmer's rural-clinic successor (the writer of a new memoir, "The Other Dr. Gilmer") felt puzzled. Why would a smart man insist on being his own defense attorney? Why had Gilmer sabotaged himself in the courtroom? How could Gilmer commit murder and then show no signs of angst? Was he a sociopath? He talked and talked about having fallen under a spell, one brought on by withdrawal from SSRIs. But could this withdrawal really lead to murder?

Eventually, the truth comes out: Gilmer has a genetic condition called Huntington's Disease, a progressive disorder that begins with uncontrolled movements and loss of intellectual ability (and ends with death). Before the murder, Gilmer had suffered a concussion, and he was also struggling with PTSD, because his father had raped him in childhood. Gilmer is in prison, but he should be in round-the-clock medical care. The smarmy, narcissistic Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe had an opportunity to assist Gilmer -- but instead kept Gilmer in prison, after dragging his heels for many months. McAuliffe did not feel a need for courtesy; he did not communicate with Gilmer's lawyers. He simply sent a one-sentence note to Gilmer himself: "Request denied."

Gilmer is a fascinating character, but also, you're compelled by the people who antagonize him. Even after experts conclude that Gilmer is not malingering, certain authorities insist Gilmer's behavior is a sham. One judge can't be bothered to comment on his own errors. A prison warden blocks Gilmer's team from rightful access to Gilmer -- and this just seems to be an act of petty tyranny.

I was swept up in the world of this memoir. The story is frightening.
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