Princeton grad who shot hedge-fund father claims innocence from prison

The privileged Princeton graduate who shot his millionaire hedge fund father to death in his family’s luxury Manhattan apartment after they fought over money is speaking publicly almost a decade after the grisly murder that horrified New York’s elite.

Thomas Gilbert Jr., once referred to as Manhattan’s “golden boy,” has resurfaced. a new Court TV prison interview Moments after the 2015 shooting, he strangely maintained his innocence despite overwhelming evidence and his mother identifying him as the killer.

Gilbert, who is currently incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeared gaunt and withdrawn during the interview, occasionally mumbling short answers before abruptly cutting the conversation short.

“I just want to present my case,” Gilbert said in an interview with Court TV. “This narrative overlooks many facts of the case, particularly regarding my innocence.”

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However, prosecutors long maintained that the facts were infallible.

Gilbert is serving a 30-year prison sentence for shooting his father, wealthy hedge fund founder Thomas Gilbert Sr., to death by shooting him in the head at the family’s luxurious Beekman Place apartment after becoming enraged by cuts to the $1,000 weekly allowance that financed his lavish lifestyle.

Authorities said Gilbert sent his mother outside the apartment on an odd mission to get her a Coca-Cola, then pulled the trigger and put the Glock gun in his father’s hand, trying to make the killing look like a suicide.

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Thomas Gilbert Jr. attended the School of American Ballet gala on Monday, March 3, 2014 in New York, USA. (Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Boy, he was crazy,” Shelley Gilbert said in the 911 call highlighted on Court TV’s special. “But I didn’t know he was that crazy.”

Gilbert’s father was the founder and manager of New York-based Wainscott Capital Partners Fund and was well known in Manhattan financial circles.

The Court TV special revisits the murder through interviews with Gilbert himself, retired NYPD detectives, forensic psychologists, true crime writer John Glatt author John Glatt, and former friends and acquaintances who watched the once-promising Ivy League graduate unravel in the years before the murder.

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Tommy Gilbert and Anna Rothschild attend the 2014 Animal USA Event held at The Jane Hotel on January 29, 2014 in New York City. (Photo: Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images)

Among those interviewed was retired NYPD Detective Joseph Cirigliano, who was one of the first investigators to respond to the Beekman Place apartment following the shooting. The special also includes forensic psychologist Dr. McConlogue, who discusses Gilbert’s mental health. NG Berrill and his ex-girlfriend Anna Rothschild, who recalls being frightened after learning Gilbert had killed her father, also appeared.

Glatt, who wrote the book “The Golden Child,” described Gilbert’s worsening paranoia and detailed allegations that the Princeton graduate had become increasingly unstable in the years leading up to the murder.

During Gilbert’s sentencing in 2019, prosecutors argued that he “threw the biggest tantrum” after his wealthy parents gradually reduced his allowance and forced him to become more self-sufficient.

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Gilbert spoke in court for about 10 minutes, repeatedly calling himself the “defendant.” According to The New York Times.

“The defendant expresses remorse,” Gilbert said at the time.

Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Melissa Jackson rejected the defense’s arguments that Gilbert was legally insane.

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20 Beekman Place, real estate in New York City. Thomas Gilbert Jr., the 70-year-old founder and chairman of Wainscott Capital Partners, was at the victim’s multimillion-dollar apartment with his son, Thomas Gilbert Jr. He was shot in the head during a violent encounter with (Photo: Marcus Santos/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” Jackson said at the 2019 sentencing, according to The Times. “You weren’t crazy when you killed your father. You weren’t crazy then. You’re not crazy anymore.”

The jury rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense after prosecutors laid out what they described as a calculated murder plot, including buying a .40-caliber Glock from an Ohio dealer months earlier and attempting to frame the scene as a suicide.

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The latest interview has revived long-standing questions about Gilbert’s mental health.

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Over the years, doctors reportedly diagnosed him with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Mental health experts and people close to the case said Gilbert had become increasingly unstable in the years before the murder.

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Building at 20 Beekman Place, New York City. Thomas Gilbert Jr., the 70-year-old founder and chairman of Wainscott Capital Partners, was at the victim’s multimillion-dollar apartment with his son, Thomas Gilbert Jr. He was shot in the head during a violent encounter with (Photo: Marcus Santos/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Despite these allegations, prosecutors argued that Gilbert was clearly aware that his actions before and after the murder, including sending his mother to buy Coca-Cola and later contacting a criminal defense attorney, were wrongdoing.

Berrill said during the interview that mental illness and criminal liability are not mutually exclusive.

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“He is mentally ill but still criminally responsible,” the forensic psychologist said.

Almost a decade after the murder shocked New York, Gilbert remains behind bars, sentenced to 30 years in prison.

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Shelley Gilbert insisted at her 2019 sentencing that her son was mentally ill and could not fully understand his actions, according to The New York Times. He begged the judge to place him in a psychiatric clinic instead of prison.

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“I know this is what my husband would want for her,” she said.

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Thomas Gilbert, Jr. He is taken to Central Booking in Manhattan Criminal Court. Gilbert is accused of killing his father, hedge fund owner Thomas Gilbert Sr. (Photo: Jefferson Siegel/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

But jurors rejected Gilbert’s insanity defense and concluded that he killed his hedge fund manager father by shooting him in the head at point-blank range using a .40-caliber Glock he had purchased from a dealer in Ohio months earlier. Prosecutors said Gilbert then put the gun in his father’s hand in an attempt to make the killing look like a suicide before fleeing the apartment.

“Thomas Gilbert, Sr. was a beloved member of his family and business community when his own son killed him in a cold-blooded murder,” then-Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance said following the 2019 conviction. “But now, thanks to prosecutors in my office, the defendant has finally been held accountable and will face life in prison for this unconscionable crime.”

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Gilbert was also convicted of criminal possession of a weapon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.