Woman Sentenced for Red Lake Murder   

Minneapolis  -  Carol Louis Gillmore was sentenced today in federal court for second degree murder and arson in connection with the beating death of a Red Lake man.  Gillmore, age 38, was sentenced to 396 months in prison.  She had been found guilty in March of 2006 following a bench trial before United States District Court Judge Donovan W. Frank.

        Court documents state that on the morning of February 14, 2002, the Red Lake Fire Department responded to a report of smoke emanating from a residence on the reservation.  When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found the house ablaze.  They broke into the residence and discovered the victim’s body in the living room.  Firefighters determined that the victim had not died as a result of the fire, so after the blaze was extinguished, they secured the residence and notified law enforcement.

        Upon their arrival at the house, law enforcement investigators began an analysis of the crime scene.  In the backyard, they located a blood trail leading from the back door of the house to a parking area.  Inside the home, they found a clock that had stopped just before 10:00 p.m., leading them to conclude that the fire had been ignited around that time.  In the living room, they discovered a hammer, a kitchen knife, and a portion of a newspaper on top of the victim’s body.  Court documents indicate that investigators found a small area on the newspaper where they believed the fire had been set.  A significant amount of blood also was found around the victim and on the furniture in the immediate area.  An initial examination of the victim revealed he had suffered significant trauma to the back of the head, injury to the face and head, and a slit throat. 

        Additional trial evidence indicated that at approximately 9:25 p.m. on the evening of February 13, 2002, the victim had been on the phone with a friend when he was interrupted by someone at the door.  The victim’s friend later told police he had heard the victim say, “Hi, Carol,” before ending their phone conversation.  Investigators suspected that “Carol” was Carol Gillmore, a resident of the Red Lake Women’s Shelter.  Employees of the shelter told police that blood had been spotted on the door frame of Gillmore’s room.  In addition, shelter logs indicated that Gillmore had left the shelter at 9:00 p.m. on February 13, 2002, and had returned at 10:10 p.m. that same day.  Officers then went to Gillmore’s room and found blood on the frame of her door.  They also discovered blood in the communal shower and on the communal washing machines.      

        The trial court determined that Gillmore had intentionally killed the victim, inflicting more than seventy injuries to him with a hammer and a knife.  The court held that the attack was unprovoked and motived by Gillmore’s desire for money, which she intended to use to buy drugs.  The court concluded that Gillmore committed the arson in an attempt to cover up her murder of the victim.    

        This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Red Lake Police Department, and the Minnesota State Fire Marshal.  Assistant United States Attorneys Clifford B. Wardlaw and David M. Genrich prosecuted the case.

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