Horrific conditions led to baby's death in Whitfield County, investigators say

Tiffany Dianne Gibson
Tiffany Dianne Gibson

A 5-year-old girl walked into her baby brother's room and, through the dried feces, flies, vomit, urine and wet sheets, found him unresponsive. Investigators say she then alerted her mother, who called 911.

It was too late. The child, 19-month-old Terry Gibson, was dead.

The Whitfield County Sheriff's Office arrested the mother, 27-year-old Tiffany Dianne Gibson, on two counts of first-degree cruelty to children about a week later, on Jan. 25. They said Gibson's neglect for both her children led to her baby's death.

photo Tiffany Dianne Gibson

This week, the Georgia Division of Family and Children's Services released a report related to their investigation into the case. It reveals a home that, their investigators say, was filled with filth, a home where a baby couldn't get adequate food or a timely diaper change.

According to the report, Gibson said she put her baby to sleep around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 15. She checked on the baby four times throughout the night and morning that followed. At 9 a.m., she fed him crackers and changed his diaper.

When she checked on him at 2 p.m., she said, he was dead.

Investigators said there were two main issues with Gibson's narrative. First, she told DFCS and the Whitfield County Sheriff's Office different times for when she checked on the baby. Also, an unnamed witness inside the house said Gibson actually did not check on the baby at all between 9:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. the next day.

After the baby was found dead, investigators for the sheriff's office and DFCS found a home in disarray. The refrigerator held nothing but a bottle of tequila and some condiments. Sheets were stained and soiled, with dried fecal matter stuck to the mattress. The baby's room contained fecal matter, vomit and urine.

Carpet in the hallway had been pulled up. And underneath, plywood was marked with urine stains, probably from a dog. The baby's diaper was full, and DFCS members do not think Gibson had changed it in a long time.

"The smell was bad throughout the house," an investigator wrote. "Terry's room was worse."

Investigators had been to the house before. In June 2015, the baby's father, Josh Gibson, was arrested on a probation violation charge. According to a report, he sold methamphetamine to an undercover officer. After receiving a search warrant, officers found methamphetamine inside the home.

Even so, according to DFCS, the living conditions of the home were not a concern at the time. The house was not filthy when Josh Gibson was there. A witness told DFCS that Josh Gibson had been a stabilizing presence in the home, before his arrest.

"(Tiffany Gibson) denied having knowledge of Mr. Gibson's methamphetamine dealings," an investigator wrote.

The Gibsons' living situation had previously been reported to Family Menders, a behavioral health services office. According to the report, a member of that office visited the home Jan. 4, 11 days before the baby died. The Family Menders representative did not report concerns to DFCS, though the representative did talk to Tiffany Gibson about having trash inside the home, as well as the possibility that she was exposing her children to airborne disease.

Tiffany Gibson was released from the Whitfield County Jail in January. A jail officer said her bond is not public information.

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