Who Is Michael Gilman? New Details On The Unsolved Murder Of The Paradise Valley Man
Michael Gilman was brutally murdered, but his crime remains a mystery.
abc15 His brutal murder marred his wealthy Paradise Valley community, but five years later, his murder remains unsolved. Who is Michael Gilman?
On April 29, 2014, Michael Gilman was found dead in his home on 54th Street and Lincoln Drive in the tony Phoenix suburb of Paradise Valley, AZ.
According to ABC15, Gilman, who was stabbed more than 50 times in his driveway, was a well-loved member of his community, and his murder sent shockwaves throughout the whole of Paradise Valley.
Despite the shocking nature of the murder, the crime remains unsolved.
Let’s look at what we know about Michael Gilman, in the hopes that there may, potentially, be some leads more than five years after his shocking death.
1. He mentored many people in the Paradise Valley area.
According to ABC15, when news of Michael Gilman’s death hit the Paradise Valley area, several people came forward to claim that he’d helped them out along the way.
One such person was Miami businessman Charlie Venturi, who told the outlet that Gilman was nearly single-handedly responsible for his career when he was first starting out.
"It's one of the most bizarre and strange things to, unfortunately, happen in my life," he said, adding that Gilman’s murder “made no sense” and that he didn’t have a clue as to who could possibly want him dead.
"This person came out of the shadows solely brutally targeting him and then disappeared," Venturi told the outlet. "Nothing is typical about the crime. There doesn't even appear to be any motive."
2. Police initially thought that two people were involved in his murder.
According to AZ Central, when Paradise Valley police first began investigating the Michael Gilman murder — one of only three of its kind to hit the area since 2004 — they initially suspected that there were two people involved in the stabbing.
Paradise Valley police said that the suspects stole Gilman’s vehicle after they stabbed him to death, which could be a possible motive in the stabbing, but far from the entire story. In addition, when police finally caught up with Gilman’s stolen vehicle, they discovered that it had been set on fire to destroy any evidence.
“Detectives discovered speed-enforcement camera footage that shows Gilman's vehicle traveling north on Scottsdale Road before heading east on Shea Boulevard. Gilman's vehicle was closely followed by another vehicle that police believe belongs to the second person involved in the crime,” the outlet reported.
3. Police increased the reward in the hopes that someone would come forward with information, but no one has come forward yet.
According to the Paradise Valley Independent, when the third anniversary of the Michael Gilman murder came up, the Paradise Valley police department teamed up with Silent Witness to offer an increased reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
“As we approach the third-year anniversary of Paradise Valley resident Michael Gilman’s homicide, we would like to renew interest in the case by asking your assistance in publicizing as much as possible,” Paradise Valley police said in a prepared statement to the outlet. “We are certain someone out there knows details about this case and we’re hoping they step forward and make this right for the Gilman family.”
As of this writing, the reward pot stands at more than $20,000. However, no one has even come forward to attempt to claim it. It’s unclear why there is so much silence — and lack of knowledge — surrounding this case, but anyone with any information is encouraged to call 480-948-6377 or log onto www.silentwitness.org.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. Find her online at www.bernadettegiacomazzo.com and www.longlivetheuprising.com.