The Disturbing Small Town Murder That Came Out Of Georgia
For those of you who are true-crime fanatics, we have quite the tale for you. Back in the 1960s in Cordele, Georgia, a serial killer walked among the town. Once described as “kind” and “religious,” this serial killer was one of the least suspected people within the town of Cordele. Not for the faint of heart, read on to discover the disturbing small town murder that changed Cordele, Georgia forever.
Something happened in the town of Cordele, Georgia in the 1960s that rocked the community to its core.
Despite the fact that this small town has quite a bit of history and charm, a serial killer once walked among them. Janie Lou Gibbs began her string of murders in the 1960s, which all included her own family members. The most perplexing thing about this case was the fact that Janie, in her twenties at the time, was an avid church-goer as well as an integral part of the Cordele Community.
A few months after Janie's husband's death, her younger son Marvin became significantly ill as well.
Physicians thought it strange that Marvin was showing the same symptoms that his father did prior to passing months back. The illness seemed to be liver-related, and when Marvin passed, was ended up being ruled as Hepatitis-related.
While the town grieved for poor Janie, nobody questioned the "string of bad luck" that had happened leaving her without her husband or her son.
Janie collected on not one, but two life insurance policies and ended up donating a large portion of it to the church. The community was thrilled at the fact that Janie would still be willing to share with Cordele in her time of need. But alas, Janie still had two more sons to take care of.
Until her other son became ill as well--a seemingly healthy and strong boy.
Lester Gibbs became sick and suddenly died within two years of both his father and brother passing. Still nobody questioned Janie Lou Gibbs, but just considered her to be the most unlucky person in the small town of Cordele.
Before anything happened to the last son, Robert, he and his girlfriend became parents to a baby boy.
Raymond, Robert, and Robert's wife all lived together in Cordele and Janie was thrilled to show off her grandson to anyone who came around. Yet, at the end of the summer, baby Raymond became very ill and ended up passing suddenly. The autopsy revealed nothing abnormal. Then, a month after his son passed, Robert too, passed due to kidney failure. The hospital finally called the crimes lab to investigate, which eventually lead to the arrest of Janie Lou Gibbs.
The other bodies from the Gibbs family were soon exhumed and autopsies were performed, which lead to one conclusion--poison.
Each body had severely high levels of arsenic. Janie was slowly and methodically putting rat poison into the food and coffee of her family members. At the Crisp County Police Station, Janie Gibbs had only one thing to say: "I don’t question God’s work. The Bible says they will get their reward; and I’m sure they will."
Janie became one of Georgia's only female serial killers, and was sentenced to life in prison.
After being denied parole 17 times, the state finally granted Janie medical reprieve after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. She died in 2010 without ever providing an adequate answer as to why she murdered her family.
A New Jersey native with over 15 years of writing experience, Marisa has studied at both New York University and Florida International University. She has lived all over the country, including a decade stint in South Florida. Marisa is well-versed in exploration as she travels a good majority of the year in her self-converted Sprinter van. Her articles have been featured in various notable publications over the years, she has a published collection of short stories, and three completed screenplays under her belt.
