Thomas Gilbert Jr., the Princeton graduate convicted of murdering his wealthy hedge-fund father inside the family’s Manhattan apartment, is speaking out from prison nearly a decade after the killing shocked New York society.
Gilbert is serving a sentence of 30 years to life for the 2015 murder of his father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., founder of Wainscott Capital Partners Fund.
The case drew national attention because of Gilbert’s privileged background and the financial dispute prosecutors said helped trigger the killing.
In a new Court TV prison interview, Gilbert continued to maintain his innocence despite being convicted by a jury.
TRENDING TODAY
“I just want to present my case,” Gilbert said, arguing that the public narrative leaves out facts he believes support his claims.
Prosecutors said Gilbert shot his father in the head inside the family’s luxury Beekman Place apartment after becoming angry over cuts to his weekly allowance.
At the time, Gilbert had reportedly been receiving around $1,000 a week from his parents while living an expensive lifestyle.
Authorities said Gilbert sent his mother, Shelley Gilbert, out of the apartment to buy him a Coca-Cola before shooting his father.
Investigators said he then tried to stage the killing as a suicide by placing the gun in his father’s hand.
Shelley Gilbert later called 911 and identified her son as the shooter.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Gilbert carefully planned the murder, including purchasing a .40-caliber Glock months earlier.
A jury rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense in 2019 and convicted him of murder and weapons charges.
At sentencing, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Melissa Jackson said Gilbert knew what he was doing when he killed his father.
The case also raised questions about Gilbert’s mental health.
Doctors reportedly diagnosed him over the years with conditions including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
His mother argued that her son was mentally ill and should have been placed in psychiatric care rather than prison.
But prosecutors said Gilbert’s actions before and after the killing showed he understood the crime and attempted to avoid responsibility.
The Court TV special revisits the case through interviews with Gilbert, investigators, psychologists, true-crime author John Glatt and people who knew him before the murder.
Former friends and acquaintances described Gilbert as a once-promising Ivy League graduate whose behavior became increasingly unstable in the years before the shooting.
The prison interview has renewed attention on one of New York’s most infamous family murder cases.
Nearly ten years later, Gilbert remains behind bars, still insisting that the story told in court was incomplete.
Why It Matters
The case remains one of New York’s most shocking true-crime stories because it combined wealth, privilege, mental illness claims and a brutal family murder. Gilbert’s new interview brings renewed attention to questions about motive, accountability and his failed insanity defense.
What Comes Next
Gilbert remains incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility while serving a 30-years-to-life sentence. His latest interview may renew public interest in the case, but his conviction and sentence remain in place.
A related report highlighted Thomas Gilbert Jr.’s new prison interview nearly a decade after he was convicted of killing his hedge-fund father.
Princeton grad who shot his hedge-fund father over a $1,000-a-week allowance cut now speaks from prison, claiming innocence nearly a decade later.
Thomas Gilbert Jr. sent his mother out to buy a Coca-Cola before pulling the trigger, then staged the killing as a suicide by… pic.twitter.com/neSI5ZFRs6
— Fox News US (@FoxUSNews) May 27, 2026
