The Murders of Tammy Gardner and Gabriel Gabrielli

Written By Kiley Baumgartner

For this case, I watched an episode of American Monster. It’s season 9 episode 9, titled ‘You Got Me Mean.’

Two people, both parents, are killed in the middle of the night.

Background

Tammy Gardner had grown up in a large family. Sadly, both of her parents died when Tammy and her younger brother, P.J. were young. By 18, Tammy had dropped out of school and was the legal guardian of her brother. Tammy had to grow up quickly, and was working to make ends meet.

In 1986, Tammy met her future husband, Scott Gardner. They got married in 1989, and had a daughter, Meredith in 1994. Tammy didn’t want to go back to work after having their daughter, so she opened a daycare in her home. Things seemed to be going very well for the Gardner family.

Tammy Gardner

A New Relationship

By 2001, Tammy’s daycare was flourishing, and Scott was working about 10-11 hours a day.

Tammy told Scott that she wanted to see her step-sisters more, so they started to go out to the bars. It started off with one night a week, but soon Tammy was also going out on the weekends. Scott said Tammy changed, and he was frustrated with her coming home so late.

In 2003, Tammy met a man named Clifford Wright. They had met at a bar called Tailgates, and hit it off quickly. Clifford was much different than Scott, and was described as a bad boy. He wore a large trench coat, cowboy boots and loved motorcycles.

By 2004, Scott and Tammy were fighting constantly. One day Tammy called the police, and told them that she felt threatened by Scott. Scott said he had and never would’ve laid a hand on Tammy, but he was removed from the house. Scott moved out, they divorced, and Clifford moved in.

The Bad Boy

In August 2004, Clifford was arrested for stealing jewelry from his sister-in-law. He spent a year in prison, and returned to Tammy’s house in 2005. The word spread that Clifford was living there, so Tammy had to decide between her daycare and him. Tammy chose Clifford.

Tammy and Clifford were on and off for about a year. Meredith said the relationship was abusive and toxic. Tammy was seen out in public covered in bruises and black eyes.

Meredith said she had received a phone call one day from Clifford that Tammy was in the hospital. Tammy had jumped out of a moving car to get away because Clifford was beating her up so badly.

On July 1, 2006, Tammy kicked Clifford out once and for all. On July 4, Tammy met a new man named Gabriel Gabrielli. They had met at a Fourth of July barbecue.

Gabriel was a father of 5, and had recently separated from his wife, Diane. Diane said she had to kick Gabriel out because of his substance abuse and alcohol problem.

Gabriel and his ex-wife, Diane

The Voicemails

Tammy and Gabriel had hit it off right away, and made plans for the next night, July 5. They went out to Good Shots bar, which was owned by one of Tammy’s friends.

While they were at the bar, Clifford called Tammy about 43 times in the span of an hour. Clifford told Tammy that he was outside watching her and her new boyfriend. In one of the calls, Clifford can be heard telling Tammy that she had made him mean. He would then call back, and say he was just kidding or just pulling her leg.

Tammy did call 911, and told the dispatcher that Clifford was watching her, and that she was afraid to go home. In the early morning hours of July 6, 2006, Clifford was arrested and charged with aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor. He was released 2 hours later.

After he was released, Clifford showed up in Tammy’s neighborhood. Scott contacted Tammy to let her know that Clifford was around.

A Missing Person

On July 9, 2006, Meredith attempted to call Tammy several times. In the last call, Meredith can frantically be heard asking her mom where she was.

Meredith told Scott, who then went over to Tammy’s house. He noticed one of the basement windows was open. Since he was the ex-husband, he didn’t want to enter the house. Scott called Rose, the friend of Tammy’s that owned Good Shots. Rose entered the house, and reported that Tammy’s purse was still there, but the van and Tammy were missing.

Scott called the police. Inside the home, the police found blood in the master bedroom. There was a fresh odor of cleaning product, and fresh vacuum marks in the carpet.

Tammy’s friend Rose told the police that Tammy, Gabriel and a friend of Tammy’s named Kelly had been at the bar until about 1:30am. Kelly said she had last heard from Tammy at about 1:45am when she called her to tell her she was home.

The Prime Suspect

Diane, Gabriel’s estranged wife and Scott were both interviewed by the police. They were both eventually ruled out as suspects.

Clifford was interviewed by the New Castle PD. He immediately told the police that Tammy had been depressed and drinking almost everyday when she got home. He told the police that he had been at Tailgates bar until about 1:40am. He said he hadn’t seen or spoken to Tammy at all.

A BOLO (be on the lookout) was put out for Tammy’s red minivan. On July 13, a construction worker located the van, and called 911. It was found only a few miles from Tammy’s Woodcreek home.

The police noticed that there were birds circling the van. Inside, the police found Tammy and Gabriel’s bodies. The killer had also attempted to set a fire, but the windows had been closed, so it was put out quickly.

The medical examiner was able to determine that Tammy and Gabriel’s had died from multiple blows to the dead. They said that the murder weapon was most likely a hammer. There were no defensive wounds, so it was pretty clear that they were attacked while they slept.

Clifford’s Story

Clifford was interviewed again by the police. During the interview, Clifford blurted out that he was not jealous. The police told him that they had never said anything about jealousy.

Clifford told the police that he had been at the bar, and slept over at his friend, Raheem’s house. Clifford told the police that Raheem was a drug dealer, and had paid him to deal some cocaine.

Clifford said he had returned to Raheem’s house around 2am, but Raheem and his girlfriend said Clifford didn’t return until about 7am.

Clifford’s cell phone records placed him near Tammy’s Woodcreek house and near where the minivan had been located. After Clifford was confronted with the evidence, he ended the interview. He was charged with 2 counts of delivery of cocaine. He was sentenced to 18 months, which the police were happy about while they looked for more evidence against him.

The Conviction

While Clifford was in prison, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut, and confessed to murdering Tammy and Gabriel.

Clifford told his cellmate, Robert Mann, that he snuck into Tammy’s basement window that he had left open. He also said he killed them with a baseball bat while they slept.

On January 22, 2008, Clifford was charged with the murders. In October 2009, his trial began, and he pled not guilty.

Robert Mann testified, and Clifford was found guilty of the murders. He was sentenced to 4 life terms plus 147 years due to the brutality of the murders.

Clifford’s latest appeal has been denied.

Clifford Wright

Kiley Baumgartner
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