In August 1996, Jeffrey Wolfe and his girlfriend Brooke Weber drove from Houston to Jackson County, Mississippi, to collect on a marijuana debt of between $12,000 and $20,000 from Gary Simmons.
When they arrived at Simmons’s house, Simmons and his then brother-in-law Timothy Milano informed Wolfe that they didn’t have his money or the drugs. An argument ensued, which culminated in Milano shooting Wolfe with a .22 caliber rifle.
Simmons then tied up Weber and threw her in a footlocker. He later let her out only to rape the 18-year-old, telling her that her life depended on how well she performed sexually. After the sexual assault, he forced her back into the footlocker.
Simmons ran a grocery butcher store, and he used the knives from his work to dismember Wolfe in a bathtub. He and Milano then disposed of the remains by scattering body parts in the bayou.
The police would later discover the body parts floating in the water, and were able to recover approximately 80% of Wolfe’s remains. Simmons had mistakenly thought that alligators would eat the remains, thereby hiding the murder.
Brooke Weber managed to escape from Gary Simmons
Meanwhile, Weber managed to escape from the footlocker by repeatedly kicking at the lid; she ran to a neighbors house where she raised the alarm.
Milano was arrested almost immediately at his Pascagoula apartment. Simmons fled to his ex-wife’s home in Mobile, Alabama, where he made video confession. He subsequently turned himself in.
In June 2012, at 49-years-old, Gary Simmons was executed by lethal injection. His final words were, “I’ve been blessed to be loved by some good people, by some amazing people. I thank them for their support. Now, let’s get it on so these people can go home. That’s it.”
Milano was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the murder.
More from Investigation Discovery
Follow the links to read about more shocking murders and murderers profiled on ID.
Ted Bundy was one of America’s most notorious and prolific serial killers who murdered approximately 35 women throughout the country. Bundy relied on his good looks and charm to lull his victims into a sense of false security; he then abducted and murdered them.
Christian Olsen was still a teenager when his girlfriend, Kelly Sifuentez, who was over 20-years older than him, persuaded him to murder her 63-year-old mother. A few months later, Olsen then murdered an elderly neighbor and stole her credit cards.
The Body in the Bayou airs 8/7c on Investigation Discovery.
Crazy how an argument can spiral into murder, assault, and dismemberment!