The Rebekah Gay murder was the Halloween 2012 killing of a 24-year-old single mother in Isabella County, Michigan, by John Douglas White, a 55-year-old pastor and twice-convicted felon who lived in the same trailer park and was engaged to her mother. White confessed that he killed Gay to act out a necrophilia fantasy, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and was sentenced to a minimum of 56 years and three months in prison. He hanged himself in his cell four months later.
Who Rebekah Gay Was
Gay graduated from Bullock Creek High School in Midland in 2007 and went on to cosmetology school.1MLive. Funeral for Homicide Victim Rebekah Gay Planned for Tuesday in Midland2MLive. Rebekah Gay Vigil3Oxygen. Halloween Murder: Why John White Killed Single Mom Rebekah Gay She had been dating a man named Aaron Fisher for two years. Fisher had recently bought an engagement ring for her; she never knew.
White lived in the same trailer park and was in a relationship with Gay’s mother, Sally Gay. He frequently babysat Conway.4CBS News. Pastor Who Police Say Confessed to Killing Mich. Mom Was Engaged to Victim’s Mother
What Happened on Halloween 2012
In the early morning hours of October 31, 2012, White entered Gay’s unlocked mobile home. He later told investigators he had drunk four or five beers and watched online pornography depicting killings and sex with corpses beforehand, and that he had been experiencing thoughts about killing Gay and having sex with her body for roughly two weeks.5MLive. Rebekah Gay Homicide Suspect Tells Police of Necrophilia Fantasy
White struck Gay in the head with a rubber mallet until she was unconscious, then strangled her with a zip tie. He admitted undressing her body and attempting to have sex with the corpse.5MLive. Rebekah Gay Homicide Suspect Tells Police of Necrophilia Fantasy He moved her body to a ravine near the intersection of Pickard and Coldwater roads, about half a mile from the trailer park, and left her car in a local bar’s parking lot to suggest she had gone out and been abducted.3Oxygen. Halloween Murder: Why John White Killed Single Mom Rebekah Gay
Later that morning White returned to Gay’s home, dressed Conway in a Halloween costume, and dropped the boy off with his father.6NBC News. Police: Mich. Pastor Killed Fiancée’s Daughter to Fulfill Fantasy When Gay failed to show up for work or collect her son from school, family and friends grew concerned. White called a member of his church, Donna Houghton, and asked her to start a prayer chain for the missing woman.4CBS News. Pastor Who Police Say Confessed to Killing Mich. Mom Was Engaged to Victim’s Mother
How Investigators Caught Him
Detectives who entered Gay’s home found signs of a struggle and focused on White quickly. During interviews they noticed a cut on his nose, and he failed a polygraph. A search of his truck turned up blood and a broken necklace. Inside his home, investigators found a bag containing a rubber mallet, zip ties, and women’s underwear.3Oxygen. Halloween Murder: Why John White Killed Single Mom Rebekah Gay
Isabella County Sheriff’s Detective Sergeant David Patterson obtained a full confession, and White led police to Gay’s body and to the evidence he had discarded, including the mallet and bloodied towels.5MLive. Rebekah Gay Homicide Suspect Tells Police of Necrophilia Fantasy Her body was recovered on the morning of November 1, 2012. White was arraigned that day in Isabella County Trial Court on charges of first-degree murder and open murder, and was held without bond.7Isabella County. John Douglas White Arraigned on Charge of First Degree Murder
The Killer’s History of Violence Against Women
White had two prior convictions involving attacks on women, and Michigan corrections officials had warned law enforcement he was dangerous before his release.
In 1981, in Calhoun County, White was convicted of assault with intent to murder after choking and repeatedly stabbing a 17-year-old girl with a hunting knife in a basement. He was originally sentenced to five to ten years, but an appeals court reduced the sentence to two years of probation.8The Morning Sun. Killer John White Dies of Asphyxiation in Prison
In 1994, a 26-year-old Comstock Township woman named Vicky Sue Wall disappeared. Wall worked with White at a business in Oshtemo Township, and the two had been having an affair. Security cameras at a Meijer store captured Wall entering White’s truck on July 11, 1994, the day she vanished. Her badly decomposed body was found weeks later in a wooded area, and White had checked himself into the Kalamazoo Regional Psychiatric Hospital shortly after the disappearance. Investigators alleged he strangled her because she was pressuring him about the affair, though decomposition prevented an exact cause of death from being determined.9MLive. Mt. Pleasant Murder Suspect Charged in Prior Case
Initially charged with murder in Wall’s death, White pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and called the death “a tragic accident” at sentencing. He received eight to fifteen years.9MLive. Mt. Pleasant Murder Suspect Charged in Prior Case The parole board held him until 2007, citing disturbing psychological evaluations and information from the Kalamazoo County Prosecutor’s office. On his release, the Michigan Department of Corrections sent warnings to law enforcement in Kalamazoo, Calhoun County, Battle Creek, Jackson, and Paw Paw stating that he “should be considered dangerous.”8The Morning Sun. Killer John White Dies of Asphyxiation in Prison
White nonetheless became the pastor of Christ Community Fellowship Church in Deerfield Township, Isabella County. Members of the congregation later said they were aware he had a criminal past.10New Haven Register. Worship at Church Where Murder Suspect Preached
Guilty Plea and Sentence
On March 27, 2013, White pleaded guilty in Isabella County Trial Court to second-degree murder with a habitual third offender enhancement. The plea agreement stipulated a minimum sentence of no less than 45 years and eight months, with the court free to impose more.11Isabella County. John Douglas White Pled Guilty to Second Degree Murder On April 18, 2013, Chief Circuit Judge Paul H. Chamberlain sentenced White to a minimum of 56 years and three months and a maximum of 85 years in prison.12Our Midland. Murderer Sentenced in Death of Bullock Creek Graduate Under Michigan’s Truth in Sentencing law, he would have had to serve the full minimum before becoming eligible for parole.
Isabella County Prosecutor Risa Scully told the court that White’s criminal history showed a “pattern of extreme violence against females.”12Our Midland. Murderer Sentenced in Death of Bullock Creek Graduate Sally Gay delivered a roughly 20-minute victim impact statement. “I stand here today to be the voice of Rebekah because she no longer has a voice,” she said, and she questioned why the justice system had allowed White to be released after his prior convictions.13MLive. Mount Pleasant Halloween Murder Featured on Investigation Discovery
White’s Death in Prison
On August 28, 2013, four months after sentencing, White was found hanging in his cell at the Michigan Reformatory in Ionia. Staff attempted resuscitation, and he was pronounced dead at 4:38 a.m. He was classified as a level-four prisoner at the time. Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman Russ Marlan confirmed the cause of death as asphyxiation by hanging.8The Morning Sun. Killer John White Dies of Asphyxiation in Prison14USA Today. Minister Suicide in Cell