Woman Escapes Storage Container Where She Was Held by Man Who Fatally Beat Her Mother-in-Law 'To a Pulp,' Says Sheriff

• A naked and battered Florida woman was found on a desolate road after escaping from a storage container where she was being held
• A man her family knew allegedly came to her home, demanded money he was owed, fatally beat her mother-in-law before taking the woman to his house where he raped her
• Authorities allege that he placed the victim in a storage container where she thought she was going to suffocate and die

A Florida woman who was kidnapped, brutally attacked and held captive in a storage container managed to escape — and now the man who allegedly assaulted her and is also suspected of having killed her mother-in-law is in custody, authorities say.

On Monday, April 28, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call at about 5:20 p.m. from a passerby who found a victim of a “brutal attack” on Douglas Ferry Road, Sheriff Kevin Crews told reporters at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Per Crews, when deputies arrived on the scene, they found “a lady in distress” who was still naked and was in need of medical attention.

The victim allegedly told deputies that David Earl Gipson, of Caryville, came to her house on Sunday and claimed that her husband and brother-in-law “are thieves and owe me money and I’m here to take it.”

After removing some items from the home, he allegedly attacked the woman, handcuffed her and removed her clothing. While she lay helplessly on the floor, she claims he began beating her 74-year-old mother-in-law, Lettie Cooper Collins, whose eyes were left swollen shut from the attack. 

Gipson, 40, then allegedly dragged the woman to a vehicle, put duct tape on her mouth, put a gun to her head and forced her to have sex with him, telling her that he would kill her.

When he got to his house, he allegedly dragged her to a shed and put her in an “oversize tool box, if you will,” Crews told reporters, adding that the suspect then “put a rope around her neck and tucked her legs up underneath her” while she was still handcuffed and naked.

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“If you can picture what a hog tie looks like, that’s what he did to her. She stated she got very hot and thought she was going to suffocate and die,” the sheriff said.

Several hours later, she managed to free her legs and kicked plywood and other debris off the box and escape. Still handcuffed, she used a tree to scrape the duct tape off of her mouth, Crews recounted, noting that “she got out of the shed and then ran for her life.”

After making her way to the edge of a roadway, a passerby stopped when he saw her and immediately called 911.

After being called to the scene, deputies found Collins dead on a bed inside the home where the woman had been kidnapped. “She was beat to a pulp,” Crews claimed.

Authorities believe the attack took place throughout Sunday night.

After an “around the clock” search, Gipson was apprehended in a wooded area just north of Douglas Ferry Road, the sheriff confirmed.

“First of all, on behalf of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office we are all so sorry that this horrific event has happened to this family,” Crews said on Thursday, per the WCSO. “May all our prayers be with this family at this time as we continue to work through this investigation for a successful prosecution.”

On Wednesday, Gipson was charged with aggravated battery, sexual assault and false imprisonment, before he received additional charges of homicide, aggravated battery and abuse of a corpse on Thursday, according to online court records. 

Gipson has 33 previous felony charges dating back to 1999 and has been to prison eight times in his adult life, the sheriff said, with online court records showing that he was found guilty of arson, resisting an officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. 

According to authorities, Gipson is being held without bond while he awaits trial. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf.