Weber on sentencing: ‘I am prepared to die’

Erica D. Johnson

Thursday, May 8, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.

The convicted double murderer described by a judge as "the purest form of evil" wrote in court documents that he was prepared to be executed.

Timmy "T.J." Weber wept as District Judge Joseph Bonaventure lit into him Wednesday moments before formally sentencing him to death for the April 2002 slayings of his girlfriend, Kim Gautier, 38, and her 15-year-old son, Anthony.

"I thought I'd seen the worst in society," the judge said. "I think yours is the most horrific, despised, most unfathomable crime I've ever seen."

Weber, 29, who came under criticism for showing little emotion during the trial, declined each of the three times Bonaventure asked him if he wanted to make a statement.

But in Weber's response declining a formal interview with the Parole and Probation Department, which Bonaventure read aloud, Weber seemed resolved with his fate.

"I expected to receive the death sentence and I am prepared to die," he wrote.

Bonaventure sentenced Weber to death for the torture and murder of Anthony Gautier and life in prison without the possibility of parole for Kim Gautier's killing.

Weber was also sentenced to eight additional life sentences for 15 other counts in the case, which included the rape of Kim Gautier's 14-year-old daughter the day of the killings and the attack on Gautier's surviving son, Chris, and his guardian days later.

Weber won't be eligible for parole for more than 96 years.

The Gautier family did not attend the sentencing. Two jurors from the trial attended, but declined to comment.

Bonaventure, who said Weber was "stoic" throughout the trial, said Weber's lack of emotion and lack of remorse shows there is no hope for him.

"You are the undiluted malignancy of society," he said. "That which creeps around inside you is all that is wicked and destructive."

During the trial, prosecutors alleged Weber's crime spree was motivated by his obsession with Gautier's daughter, whom he had been molesting since she was 9.

After the killings, Anthony Gautier was found lying face down on his bed with his arms duct-taped behind his back and his head wrapped in duct tape. He was held down by two dumbbell weights on his back; a plastic bag was on his head and a T-shirt had been stuffed down his throat.

Kim Gautier's naked body was found in a plastic tub in a bedroom closet. Forensic experts said she'd been hit in the head with a blunt object.

The jurors who convicted Weber on all counts had already determined the split sentences for the murder charges.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Daskas on Wednesday asked Bonaventure to impose consecutive sentences on the remaining counts, in case Weber's death sentence was ever overturned.

Daskas said he doesn't anticipate that will happen, but said that it is better to be cautious.

"We want to ensure that the court imposes enough time on the remaining counts that Mr. Weber never sees the light of day," he said. "You can't predict what will happen down the road."

But Deputy Public Defender Joseph Abood had argued for more lenient, concurrent sentences on some counts, saying the jury's decision had already ensured that Weber would die in prison.

"The jury has ensured that Mr. Weber will never see the light of day," he said. "He will likely be executed. It's a done deal."

Abood said he was afraid that the horrific details of the slayings would taint the sentences on the other counts. He asked Bonaventure to consider each count individually.

Abood maintained that the sex between Weber and the teen was consensual and said the teen partook in the sexual behavior because she was gaining financially from Weber.

Abood said defense attorneys intend to file another motion in an effort to prevent the state from carrying out the death penalty.

"It's no surprise that we oppose the death penalty," he said. "We feel the imposition of the death penalty robs us of our humanity. We feel it's wrong."

Chris Gautier's paternal aunt, Catherine Smith, and his paternal grandmother, Peggy Traschetti, were the only family members who attended the sentencing.

They said they were satisfied with the sentence and glad the painful ordeal had finally come to an end.

"Everyone can now rest in peace," Catherine Smith said. "(Weber) got what he deserved. The judge said it all. He is evil."