Victim Impact Statement
Every day we struggle with whom to blame and with whom to be angry. Evelyn was not planning to go out that night; she had already changed into her pajamas and was watching a movie. She got a text message. Then she needed to use her brother’s phone to call someone. Then she left.
I know by reading messages on Facebook between her and Gillespie that he probably provided her with the alcohol, he liked to ask her for “money for the gin and the juice”. None of us except for my son had ever met the defendant. He told my son that Evelyn was helping him with a fashion project. A story that we now know is a lie. He claims that she was the one person who was keeping him from doing meth, but we know that is a lie too. We will never know for sure. It’s his word against a dead woman’s.
It’s obvious based on Gillespie’s actions that he has no interest in stepping up and taking responsibility for his role. Instead he’d like to be declared incompetent, failing that he’d like to use his PTSD or mental disorders or sleeping disorders to excuse his behavior. All of these evasive tactics have done nothing but drag out the pain and suffering of our family and his.
Police confiscated drugs from his home three times during the investigation. It says, “The defendant had several opportunities to make the right and safe decision, but he chose to be selfish and reckless with a teenager in his care.” HE CHOSE TO BE RECKLESS WITH MY DAUGHTER. The probation report says that Gillespie offered accepted responsibility for Evelyn’s death and that he offered his condolences to her family. Nothing I have read, heard, or watched indicates that Gillespie feels responsible for his action. He has continued to stonewall these proceedings and put off the inevitable. The probation report also says “The factors in aggravation and mitigation are nearly balanced.” How does his performance in prior probation and Evelyn’s death “balance out”. This part of the probation report and the recommendation of the middle term of six years nearly caused me to blow a gasket.
It turns my stomach when I hear Gillespie refer to himself as her “father figure” or “big brother”. She has only one father and one mother and one brother.
During the period of my life when I served this country, I learned about accountability and responsibility. I learned about how the actions of one can affect the lives of others. I learned that you don’t even have to be at the helm of a ship to be held accountable for its grounding. I learned that you don’t have to be the person that pushes the launch button that brings down an airliner killing hundreds. I learned that whether you are a ships captain, an airline pilot, or the driver of a car, once you get behind that wheel you accept responsibility for those under your charge.
That man made a choice to get behind the wheel of his car with my daughter as his passenger. That man made a choice to use drugs, not only less than 24 hours from the time of the accident, but immediately after being release from jail and several times during the investigation. Robbie Gillespie needs to be held accountable for the role he played in Evelyn’s death. We humbly ask the court to sentence Robbie Dean Gillespie to the maximum time allowed.
