The brother of an Orchidland woman who was killed in 2008 by her husband said his sister “didn’t deserve to be buried in her yard, like a dog.”
The brother of an Orchidland woman who was killed in 2008 by her husband said his sister “didn’t deserve to be buried in her yard, like a dog.”
Lorence Jove Jr., the younger brother of Dawn Mancilla Gambsky, made the statement today in the sentencing hearing of 46-year-old Alexander Malani Gambsky. Gambsky, who pleaded no contest to manslaughter for the slaying of his 34-year-old wife, was sentenced by Hilo Circuit Judge Greg Nakamura to 20 years in prison.
In a deal with prosecutors, a second-degree murder charge was reduced.
Dawn Gambsky’s skeletal remains were found by police executing a search warrant Aug. 8, 2008, in a shallow grave in the backyard of the home she shared with her husband on 37th Avenue in Orchidland Estates.
An autopsy indicated the presence of traumatic injuries to the body, which was identified by dental records.
Friends of the woman, who sold clothing for pets on the Internet, reported her missing in July 2008, telling police they hadn’t seen her for about six months.
Gambsky, who was living in the house with another woman, told police his wife had left and he didn’t know where she was or how to contact her.
Court documents state Gambsky’s then-girlfriend told police Aug. 4, 2008, that he told her his wife committed suicide by hanging herself in the carport in mid-January that year, and he found her body suspended by the rope. He allegedly said he buried her body and didn’t report the suicide in fear of wrongful prosecution for murder.
County Prosecutor Mitch Roth asked the judge to follow the plea agreement and sentence Gambsky to the 20 years, a punishment he described as “just.”
“Your Honor, when police told (the) defendant they thought Dawn was dead, with indignation, the defendant told the police, ‘You’re gonna owe me an apology. You’re gonna owe me an apology when you see her alive,’” Roth said. “(The) defendant has yet to give an apology not only to the police, but to the friends and to the family of Dawn Mancilla Gambsky.”
Brian De Lima, Gambsky’s court-appointed attorney, conceded a crime had been committed “that has affected many people,” but said Gambsky was taking responsibility by pleading no contest to manslaughter due to “extreme emotional or mental disturbance for which there is a reasonable explanation.”
“Mr. Gambsky read the police report. He read the forensic anthropologist’s report … that the death was undetermined but likely the cause (was) homicidal actions,” he said. “So he understood that there were problems in the state’s case, but he insisted on entering a plea that would warrant a 20-year term of incarceration.”
Jove, a Tucson, Ariz., police sergeant decorated for valor after shooting and killing a gunman in a hostage situation, appeared at times to fight back tears as he addressed the court.
“I’ll never forgive myself for not being able to protect her and not being able to be there for her. And obviously, I’ll never be able to forgive her husband, that did this,” he said. “… I’ll never have closure. My heart will always hurt. I’ll never hear her voice, see her face. I have a 12-year-old daughter that will never see her aunty. She’s just gone and it’s not fair. No amount of time will ever take care of that.
Jove described Gambsky as “too much of a coward to come forward and tell us she was done.”
“Not only was there no responsibility taken. There was no care. There was no love. There was no respect. There was nothing that was given back to us. And we’ll never know what happened to her. All we know is that she’s gone and her final moments were violent. And there was fear,” he said.
Pam Mancilla, the slain woman’s mother, told the court her daughter’s death at the hands of her husband was “the last thing in the world I would ever have expected.”
“She was married to this man for 15 years; she was so in love with him,” she said. “… Everybody loved my daughter. She had a good heart.”
When given the opportunity to address the court, Gambsky replied, “No, sir.”
How Dawn Gambsky died has never been made public. Police declared Gambsky’s death a murder in 2009 and forwarded the case to prosecutors. Alexander Gambsky was the only suspect, but the case wasn’t prosecuted for six years because prosecutors felt there wasn’t enough evidence to find Gambsky guilty of murder beyond a reasonable doubt.
“We looked at it and said this is very provable; we just need to do a little bit more work,” Roth, who was elected in 2012, said afterwards. “So we got together with police. We did a lot more investigation and we were able to get the indictment. You know, it would have been a gamble going to (a murder) trial, but we believe we could’ve proved it beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Jove said afterwards praised police and prosecutors, saying he was happy justice was “finally being served,” but believes Gambsky should apologize or at least explain what happened.
“To not get an explanation and not even an apology, not even a two-second look over and ‘I’m sorry.’ There was no eye contact,” he said. “… In my opinion, there was no remorse. And that will weigh heavy on all of our hearts for the rest of my life.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.