Porn on Weber’s computer may provide clues to killing

Keith Paul

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 9:33 a.m.

Child pornography found Thursday on the computer of fugitive murder suspect Timmy Weber re-enforces detectives' beliefs that an obsession with the teenage daughter of his slain girlfriend was the motive for the killings, investigators said.

While Metro Police found two images of child pornography and several pictures of clothed teenagers on Weber's computer, nothing was immediately found that helped police located the wanted 28-year-old man.

"There were no writings that detailed a plan, but the child pornography fortifies our belief that the motivation for the crimes was his fascination with the 14-year-old girl," Lt. Tom Monahan of Metro's homicide unit said.

Weber is accused of killing his 38-year-old girlfriend, Kim Gautier, and her 15-year-old son, Anthony Gautier, on April 4 in the woman's First Street home near Bonanza Road. Weber had a four- to five-year, on-again, off-again relationship with Gautier, but apparently moved into her home about three weeks before the slayings.

Weber is also accused of tying up Gautier's 14-year-old daughter April 4 and leaving her in a bedroom for an hour before returning and sexually assaulting her.

The girl was able to escape the April 4 attack when her 17-year-old brother, Christopher Gautier, found her bound in her room and freed her. The pair fled the home and contacted police.

Weber apparently returned to the scene of the crimes Sunday and is accused of attacking Christopher Gautier when the teen entered the home to get some items before the funeral of his mother and brother. The teen was not severely injured and was able to hit Weber in the head with a stick or a bat.

There was speculation Weber may have come back to attack the boy, but police believe Christopher Gautier may not have been the intended target on Sunday. Instead, police speculate, the target may have been the 14-year-old girl.

The girl even told police that "Weber has always paid a lot of attention to her and acted jealous of her contact with other young men," according to a police report.

Finding the two pornographic images of young girls engaged in sex acts and the pictures of other clothed young teenagers "fortified that his fascination or obsession with her is deep-seated," Monahan said.

None of the pictures was of the 14-year-old girl, police said.

The child pornography found on Weber's computer could lead to more charges, but he already faces two counts of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and burglary charges that could culminate in a possible death sentence. Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell said a panel of prosecutors will decide if Weber will face the death penalty.

The images of pornography and young girls do not put the police closer to finding Weber, but may help a jury understand a potential motive that could be put forth in court, Monahan said.

"It gives us a clearer understanding of his psyche. It puts the case in context," Monahan said. "People like to understand why people do things. This isn't a person who just snapped."

A police report states a receipt was found in the home from a drugstore dated April 4 -- the day of the slayings -- at 11:39 a.m. for the purchase of three rolls of duct tape. Gautier and her 15-year-old son were found bound with duct tape and when the 14-year-old was freed, she was also bound with duct tape.

A detective at Metro's Internet Crimes Against Children unit will continue searching Weber's computer's hard drive for more information -- a move that the department couldn't have made two years ago.

"We would have had to send it to the FBI and wait for it to come back," said Sgt. Tom Keller of the Internet Crimes Against Children unit. "We were able to get the computers and software to do this because of a federal grant."

A copy was made of Weber's hard drive and then a program was used to ensure it was an exact copy, Keller said. The computer was taken from Gautier's home last week and identified by her surviving children as belonging to Weber.

Police previously found a website Weber posted on the Internet that described himself. Under "My Online Life" he wrote, using poor spelling and grammar, "Daah ... checking out porn sites!!! No really, chating (sic), just basic surfing, nothing that will send me to prison ... well, unless they find out what I did."

Monahan said the site was posted more than a year before the slayings and didn't provide any clues to finding Weber.

Since Sunday, when Weber escaped a massive police search, there have been numerous reported sightings of the suspect, but none panned out.

Weber is a convicted burglar and could have broken into a vacant home to hide out, police said.

archive