The privileged Princeton graduate who gunned down his millionaire hedge-fund father inside the family’s luxury Manhattan apartment after a fight over money is speaking out publicly nearly a decade after the grisly killing that horrified New York’s elite.
Thomas Gilbert Jr., once dubbed Manhattan’s "golden boy," resurfaced in mental health, and former girlfriend Anna Rothschild, who recalled becoming fearful after learning Gilbert had killed his father.
Glatt, who wrote the book "Golden Boy," described Gilbert’s worsening paranoia and detailed allegations that the Princeton graduate had become increasingly unstable in the years leading up to the murder.
During Gilbert’s 2019 sentencing, prosecutors argued he "threw the ultimate tantrum" after his wealthy parents gradually reduced the allowance and pushed him to become more self-sufficient.
Gilbert addressed the court for roughly 10 minutes and repeatedly referred to himself as "the defendant," insanity defense after prosecutors laid out what they described as a calculated murder plot, including purchasing a .40-caliber Glock months earlier from a seller in Ohio and attempting to stage the crime scene as a suicide.
The recent interview reignited longstanding questions surrounding Gilbert’s mental health.
Over the years, doctors reportedly diagnosed him with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mental health experts and people close to the case described Gilbert as increasingly unstable in the years leading up to the killing.
Despite those claims, prosecutors argued Gilbert’s actions before and after the murder, including sending his mother out to buy a Coca-Cola and later contacting a criminal defense attorney, showed clear awareness of wrongdoing.
Berrill said during the interview that mental illness and criminal responsibility are not mutually exclusive.
"He’s mentally ill, but still criminally responsible," the forensic psychologist said.
Nearly a decade after the killing shocked New York City, Gilbert remains behind bars serving a sentence of 30 years to life.
At his 2019 sentencing, Shelley Gilbert insisted her son was mentally ill and unable to fully comprehend his actions, according to The New York Times. She pleaded with the judge to place him in a psychiatric facility instead of prison.
"I know this is what my husband would have wanted for him," she said.
But jurors rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense, concluding he murdered his hedge-fund manager father with a close-range shot to the head using a .40-caliber Glock purchased months earlier from a seller in Ohio. Prosecutors said Gilbert then placed the weapon in his father’s hand in an attempt to stage the killing as a suicide before fleeing the apartment.
"Thomas Gilbert, Sr. was a beloved member of his family and business community when his own son murdered him in a cold-blooded killing," then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said following the conviction in 2019. "But now, thanks to my office’s prosecutors, the defendant has finally been held accountable and he will serve a life sentence for this unconscionable crime."
Gilbert was also convicted on charges of criminal possession of a weapon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.