Joshua Gilbreath trial: Possible motive revealed in murder of elderly Florence woman
FLORENCE, Texas - The murder trial for a man accused of shooting and killing an elderly Florence woman has begun.
When Joshua Gilbreath entered court Tuesday, a Williamson County jury wasn’t the only thing waiting for him.
Gilbreath was facing Daniel Gonzales, a former friend of his, and the man whose tip to investigators brought about this murder trial. It was a critical point in the case, according to Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick.
"It was very brave, you have a young man who was obviously friends with the defendant, that knew what the right thing to do was, to come forward with the information that he had," said District Attorney Dick.
Gilbreath is accused of shooting Diana Pier two years ago.
On Tuesday, the jury was shown security camera video of Gilbreath and Gonzales at a Pflugerville bar two days after the murder. In the video, Gilbreath is seen showing Gonzales his phone. On it, according to Gonzales, was an e-mail notifying Gilbreath he was being fired from his accounting job. The two men later left the bar to talk more in a car with their phones outside on the roof. Gonzales testified that’s when Gilbreath claimed he shot a woman.
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Gonzales told the jury he didn’t believe the story until he read about the murder. The jury heard the 911 call Gonzales made to the dispatcher.
"He told me that he was on some County Road at night. He didn’t say what, he didn’t tell me what day it was, but he told me that he had been, I guess, pulled over and that a Caucasian lady got out of her car, I guess, to help him and that he shot her."
The shooting apparently happened around the time Gilbreath got his termination notice. Investigators testified they believe Diana Pier was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.
About four months before the murder, Gilbreath, according to Gonzales, expressed feeling depressed and trapped by his job, stating he was "in a box" like "in a simulation."
Gonzales testified Gilbreath told him, "Bro, you don’t even know. I’m crazy."
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Attempts, by defense attorneys, to claim insanity have not been successful.
"Insanity has a very specific definition, and so in a trial involving insanity, it's not something as simple as depression, being sad, down or at a low point in your life. It's going to require a very specific diagnosis from forensic professionals," said Dick.
Prosecutors say they have an expert ready to testify to counter any claims regarding insanity.
Defense attorneys tried to get the case dismissed. They argued two investigators with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office have past disciplinary issues. The defense claimed they were not given ample notification about those pasts.
The request for dismissal was denied.
The judge did say she will review the Internal Affairs reports and will decide later if that information will be admitted if the investigators testify.
Joshua Gilbreath
What happened to Diana Pier?
On August 4, 2022, deputies responded to a shooting in the 4500 block of County Road 245.
When deputies arrived, they found 70-year-old Diana Lynn Pier dead on the road.
According to an affidavit, a resident on County Road 245 saw a car stopped in the southbound lane in front of her house with the hazard lights on. She watched as another car, believed to be Pier, pulled into her driveway shortly after.
The witness then told police that "she witnessed a subject that ran from the rear of the victim's vehicle to the suspect vehicle that was still parked in the roadway which then left the area at a high rate of speed."
After she saw the car drive off, she ran to the road and found Pier on the ground in a pool of blood. Pier died from her gunshot injuries.
Joshua Gilbreath, 26, was arrested days later in connection to the shooting.