By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great local journalism.
‘We knew she was going to die:’ Friend of Dawson County woman who was shot speaks out
Police lights

As the murder of Amy Alexandria Gibson continues to shock regional and national audiences, Gibson’s close friend is anything but surprised.

“We knew she was going to die,” said Kristi Peterson, a friend of Gibson since middle school. “I literally said ‘if you don’t make it, I will spend the rest of my life making sure your truth is told.’”

There was a history of police involvement and domestic violence between Gibson, who went by Alex, and her husband, Jeremy, who shot her multiple times on the evening of July 29.

Just after midnight on May 29, 2019, Jeremy Gibson called Dawson County Sheriff’s Office to report that he had just been the victim of domestic abuse. Alex was arrested by Sgt. Larry Busher and charged with family violence.

On May 30, 2019, the day after the incident is alleged to have taken place, Alex went for an examination at Keating Family Medicine in Dawsonville. According to the resulting report, “Ms. Gibson presents to the clinic today for evaluation after recent spousal abuse incident. … She is also requesting a drug screen as her husband has accused her of using drugs.”

Alex tested negative for the full battery of drugs, including amphetamine, barbiturates, benzodiazepine, cocaine, marijuana, methadone, opiates, PCP, oxycodone, methamphetamine, and MDMA. The report also noted that Alex had visible bruising on her throat and upper and lower extremities, “most prominent on right arm and around neck.”

Around this time, Jeremy called Dawson County News to praise the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office. He spoke with a member of the staff hoping the paper would publish an article about how his wife had been dating a man from South Carolina who had gotten her addicted to meth. This man and several police officers that this man knew had been harassing him, Jeremy alleged on the phone call. He also claimed that the Sheriff called the man and ended the harassment.

The Sheriff’s Office was unable to comment as to whether or not any such incident ever occurred.

In a petition for a temporary protection order filed June 3, Jeremy Gibson alleged that his wife Alex “got out of bed, started having an episode, and hitting me and pushing me” after he confronted her about some suspicious text messages he found in her phone. “She gave me two black eyes,” the petition continues. The petition also requested that Jeremy be given sole custody of their two children and Alex not be allowed within 500 yards of Jeremy, not be allowed visitation with her children, be required to pay child support to Jeremy, and not be allowed to own a firearm.

Alex filed a counterpetition on June 25 that challenged the events. According to Alex’s counterpetition, she was “awakened when Petitioner [Jeremy] yelled and hit Respondent [Alex] on her eye with an iPhone. Petitioner [Jeremy] was upset about a picture he found on Respondent [Alex]’s iPhone. Petitioner [Jeremy] proceeded to place his knee on Respondent [Alex]’s thigh, one of his hands on her chest, and his other hand around her neck. Petitioner [Jeremy] screamed and strangled Respondent [Alex].

The counter petition also claimed that Jeremy “committed other acts of family violence,” and that “within the last eight (8) months, Petitioner [Jeremy] has slapped the parties’ minor child … in the face, slammed him into a cabinet, and spanked him so hard on his bottom that there were bruises.”

On June 5, Alex filed for divorce from Jeremy.

On July 15, just two weeks before Alex was shot and killed, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office responded to a child custody exchange. Deputy Adam Gregory met with Jeremy Gibson, who stated that “his daughter …  did not wish to go with her mother. He stated that she was scared and claimed she was being abused by Mrs. Gibson,” Gregory wrote in his report.

Deputy Gregory asked the daughter why she didn’t want to leave with her mother. The child responded that her mother would pinch her and put her in timeout for no reason.

In his report, Deputy Gregory seemed skeptical of the claims, writing that he noticed the daughter “look at Mr. Gibson before answering each question. I then checked [the daughter] for any injuries however there were none at the time except for her lip being sewn from a previous dog bite.”

He concluded the report by saying that he “did not see any reason for concern for [the child]’s safety.”

It is exactly this long history with law enforcement that troubled Gibson’s friend Kristi Peterson.

“No one would help,” Peterson told reporters. “We asked for help. We asked for help here [at the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office], we asked for help from DFCS, we asked for help from the attorney, and I told her attorney on a phone call, I said ‘I don’t think you guys understand how dangerous this man is. I don’t think she’s going to survive this.’”

“We all knew it,” said Peterson. “When she didn’t respond to us that night, I was like ‘something’s wrong.’”

Peterson went to her teenage child for support. “I went and got him and said ‘Alex is missing. You’re going to sit with me because this is it.’ And we just waited for them to call and tell me it was, and they did.”

 Jeremy Wade Gibson was charged with five felonies on July 31. The charges include two counts of murder, one count cruelty to children in the first degree, one count aggravated assault/family violence, and one count possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of a crime.

See original story from Dawson County News here. Story by Joshua Demarest.