Author John Glatt
In this book, John Glatt - who's written many true crime books - tells the story of Manhattan socialite Thomas Gilbert Jr., who murdered his father in cold blood.
Thomas Gilbert, Jr.
Thomas Gilbert Jr., called Tommy, has an illustrious ancestry in America - starting with Robert Treat, who founded Newark, New Jersey in the 1660s. Some of Tommy's forebears were also mentally ill, which foreshadows Tommy's own descent into paranoia and possible schizophrenia.
Tommy's parents, Thomas Gilbert Sr. and Shelley Rea Gilbert, were a wealthy New York couple with a luxurious lifestyle.
Tommy's father Thomas Gilbert Sr.
Tommy's mother Shelley Rae Gilbert
The Gilberts were thrilled when young Tommy was born in 1984, and the handsome intelligent little boy was pampered and sent to the best schools. Little Tommy was close to his dad and, at the age of nine, gave his father a 'World's Greatest Dad' statuette, which Tom Sr. cherished.
As a young teenager Tommy was a model pupil at Manhattan's elite Buckley School. Tommy was a straight A student, talented athlete, and student council member - later described as 'a golden boy' by a classmate.
Young Tommy was called 'a golden boy'
Tommy's outer façade was deceptive however, and he was becoming anxious and paranoid.....and developing an irrational fear of his father. A few years later, when Tommy was a junior at Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, he became convinced his roommate was 'contaminated.' Tommy then began obsessively washing his hands, was constantly 'losing' clothing because it was contaminated, and started showing signs of depression.
Despite his problems, Tommy applied to his father's alma mater - Princeton University - and was accepted. However, Tommy's fear and avoidance of his father escalated at this time, and he also became convinced the Princeton campus was contaminated. To cope, Tommy embraced Princeton's drug scene, and indulged in marijuana, LSD, and cocaine. Moreover, Tommy began injecting himself with anabolic steroids, to improve his performance on the football field.
When Tommy got older, he became a heavy drug user
When Tommy was caught using drugs Princeton suspended him, and Tommy's parents reached out to mental health professionals for help. Tommy started seeing a psychiatrist named Dr. Kevin Spicer, and told the doctor people were contaminating him, stealing his personality, and killing his thoughts. Dr. Spicer diagnosed Tommy with a depressive disorder and possible schizophrenia, and prescribed antipsychotic medication. Spicer also advised the Gilbert parents to hospitalize Tommy, but they didn't, partly because they were in denial, and partly because of the social stigma.
In subsequent years - as Tommy's behavior became more bizarre and dangerous - various doctors encouraged the Gilberts to hospitalize Tommy again and again. The Gilberts always resisted, though, saying Tommy would refuse inpatient treatment. In retrospect, this seems like a grave error, as institutionalization might have helped Tommy before it was too late.
During Tommy's suspension from Princeton, he lived the high life for a couple of years, surfing his way around the world at his parents' expense. Tommy hit the beaches in South America, Africa, and Brazil, then spent time in America's Deep South before returning to college.
Tommy partied at his parents' expense
When Tommy finally graduated from Princeton, he was expected to become a successful financier like his father, but this never happened.
Glatt elaborates about Tommy's youth, years at Princeton, subsequent elegant lifestyle in Manhattan and the Hamptons (paid for by his parents), refusal to get a job, and declining mental health.
Tommy had an active social life in Manhattan and the Hamptons
Glatt also includes details about Tommy's troubled relations with his friends and girlfriends. Though Tommy was peculiar, many women liked him for his good looks.
Tommy's girlfriend Briana Ressner
Tommy with his girlfriend Anna Rothschild
Tommy's behavior - suspicious and antagonistic - made it difficult for him to keep friends, and Tommy went over the top when he beat up his former roommate Peter Smith, then burned down the Smith family's historic house in Southampton.
Tommy's friend Peter Smith
Tommy burned down the Smith house in Southampton
Sadly, Tommy's parents repeatedly hired lawyers, covered for him, and paid his way out of trouble, and Tommy came to expect special treatment.
As 2015 approached, Tom Gilbert Sr. was experiencing money problems and reduced Tommy's allowance, the idea being that Tommy needed to (finally) support himself. Tommy then made plans to sell his parents' Hampton's mansion, worth over 11 million dollars - and decided to murder his father so he could proceed with his scheme.
Tommy planned to sell the Gilbert mansion
On January 5, 2015, at the age of 30, Tommy paid a visit to his parents' Manhattan apartment and asked his mother to go out to buy him a sandwich and a coke. Tommy then shot his father in the head as Tom Sr. was watching television in the bedroom. Tommy was arrested seven hours later.
Tommy being arrested for shooting his father
The tale of Tommy's subsequent competency hearings and eventual trial takes up the latter part of the book.
Tommy in jail
Tommy at one of his court hearings
Though Tommy pulled the trigger, there's room to disagree about Tommy's 'legal' guilt or innocence, since he was mentally ill. Once again, one must wonder what would have happened if Tommy - starting in his teenage years - had received the help he so badly needed.
Glatt did extensive research for this book and observes, "Golden Boy is without a doubt my most challenging true crime book." The author spent five years interviewing Tommy's family, friends, and acquaintances, and following the winding path through scores of court hearings and trial transcripts.
Glatt came to know Tommy's mother Shelley quite well, and observes,"[Shelley's] courage and dignity are amazing, and I cannot begin to fathom how difficult it must have been to lose a husband and then a son to this terrible disease." Shelley hoped her son would be hospitalized rather than sent to prison.
Tommy's mother Shelley supported him after he killed his father
The author was also assisted by Tommy's one-time girlfriend Lila Chase, who remained empathetic to her former beau through his arrest, hearings, trial, and afterwards.
In many ways this is a cautionary tale, about the dangers of over-indulging children while simultaneously neglecting their obvious problems. Families should take heed.
Tommy with his sister Clare and their parents, Shelley and Tom Sr.
Thanks to Netgalley, John Glatt, and St. Martin's Press for a copy of the book.
Rating: 4 stars
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