Jul 12, 2018
A Manhattan man was sentenced to life in prison Thursday in the Riley County Courthouse for murdering an infant.
Andrew Gibson, 28, received a mandatory life sentence for the first-degree murder of 3-month-old Serenity Reich in May 2016. He will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years, and is not eligible for credit for his time served in the Riley County Jail since his arrest on May 7, 2016, of almost 800 days.
He also received a nearly three-year prison term for one count of child abuse against Reich. The 34-month sentence on that charge won’t start unless he receives parole for Reich’s murder. Gibson is eligible for a 15 percent good time credit and time served before his conviction on the abuse charge.
He previously dated the infant’s mother, Ariel Reich-Wille. While she was out of town, Gibson volunteered to watch her two children, including Reich, at his apartment.
On the scene, Gibson told first responders that he did not know how Serenity died. He said he checked on her several times throughout the course of the evening, during breaks in playing a League of Legends online video game.
Later, he told Riley County Police Department Detective Brian Johnson that he lied to put himself in a better light.
A medical examiner found bruises and contusions on Reich’s scalp and upper back during an autopsy. The results also showed moon shaped marks on the back of Reich’s head as if a fingernail was pressed into it. The medical examiner concluded Reich died from asphyxiation from having some force applied to the back of the head and having her face pushed into something which caused her to stop breathing.
Reich also had multiple rib fractures which had started to heal, indicating they happened sometime before her death.
When first questioned, Gibson denied having anything to do with the death. During an interrogation a few days after the death, Gibson told detectives he had trouble sleeping for two nights prior to the incident and had just fallen asleep when she began to cry. Gibson said he “went to a dark place that he thought he had left a long time ago,” and pushed the infant’s face into the mattress top for a minute.
During the four-day trial, a psychologist for the prosecution told jurors Gibson had PTSD, major depressive disorder and borderline personality disorder, which may have stemmed from his four years of service in the Army and one year of service in Afghanistan.
Prosecutors argued that his mental illness was not an excuse for his actions, but his anger and troubles with his emotions may have contributed to Reich’s death.
Judge Richard Smith denied the defense’s motions for an acquittal and retrial.
“The evidence is overwhelming,” he said. “The injuries were clearly by an adult, and Mr. Gibson was the only one in the room, or even in the apartment. I don’t think the second jury had any struggle in reaching a verdict, as I had no struggle with ruling on the motions.”
Gibson said that he felt there was some evidence overlooked in the trial, and maintains he only played video games when she was sleeping.
“I did volunteer to be her father,” he said. I was the only man in her life. I loved her like my own. I loved her, that’s all there is.”
That's the general area of Kansas I just moved from. What a beautiful little baby. I agree with 
