Court documents show woman was killed in Franklin County after domestic dispute

PRESTON — Newly released court documents from Franklin County detail the events leading up to a woman’s death and a 55-year-old man getting arrested for murder.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Douglas James Gildemeister for murder after responding to a domestic violence incident on Monday.

RELATED | Man arrested for second degree murder in domestic violence incident near Preston

Gildemeister has been charged with felony second-degree murder and felony failure to notify law enforcement of a death. He is also facing a sentencing enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon.

The criminal complaint lists Gildemeister under a Lake Havasu, Arizona address; however, according to his social media profile, he is currently living in Preston. The criminal complaint says he shot and killed Gail Gildemeister, 58, and documents say he failed to report her death for at least 12 hours.

Gail’s social media account says she was married to Douglas.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, on Monday around 1 p.m., a deputy met with Douglas after he requested to speak with law enforcement about a dispute that happened on Sunday night.

Douglas was accompanied by a witness that is unnamed in court documents. Douglas told the deputy he and Gail got into a dispute and that she pulled a gun on him, and that’s when he shot her. Douglas was then detained without incident.

As the investigation continued, law enforcement questioned the witness. Douglas had texted the witness to take care of his dog on Monday. Douglas also told the witness he wanted to meet up and talk with him.

The witness said Douglas seemed “off.” Douglas picked up the witness in Preston, and while driving to the Taco Bus for lunch, Douglas told him that Gail had pulled a gun on him and that he had shot her, and that she was dead in their RV trailer that is located in Franklin County, court documents said.

The witness told law enforcement that after hearing this, he noticed a handgun resting on the floor of the truck near the center console. He said he then told Douglas not to touch the gun and asked if he had contacted the police. Douglas said he had not. The witness said he then told Douglas they were going to the police, documents said.


The witness told law enforcement that he did not know much more about what happened except that Douglas mentioned Gail accused him of infidelity during an argument.

The witness was not aware of any prior domestic issues between them and said the couple seemed to have a great relationship.

A deputy made contact with a second witness, and he said he was not involved in anything that happened to the victim. He said Douglas called him and told him that he and Gail had been drinking alcohol the previous night and got into an argument. He said Douglas told him that he had shot Gail and that she was dead.

The deputy asked that witness if Douglas had said anything to him about Gail pointing a gun at him. The witness said he did not but did say that she accused him of infidelity.

The deputy met with Douglas in an interview room, and Douglas said he did not do anything wrong. He said Gail pulled a gun on him and that she tried to “kill him,” court documents said. He then stated he wanted to contact an attorney and have one present before discussing further.

Douglas made some calls and, during those calls, made statements like, “I’m numb,” “I didn’t do anything wrong,” and “she tried to kill me.”

The deputy photographed Douglas and his clothing. The deputy noticed a fresh scratch on his left calf and a scabbed abrasion on his left forearm with dried blood on it. The deputy asked if he had showered or changed clothes since the incident, and he said he had not, documents said. The deputy then asked if he could swab his hands for gunshot residue, and Douglas said yes. It was sent to the lab, and it showed presumptive positive for gunshot residue.

The deputy was then advised by the sheriff who was at the scene, that they had found a deceased female inside the trailer and that she appeared to have been shot.

Idaho State Police investigators came and helped collect evidence at the scene. Search warrants were obtained for both the property and the truck.

During ISP’s investigation, they advised of several concerns with the position of the victim along with other forensic evidence that they felt did not corroborate with the suspect’s statements that Gail pulled a gun on Douglas or that it was self-defense, court documents said.

Both witnesses indicated that Douglas told them an argument and the shooting took place the night before reporting the incident. It is estimated that it was reported “approximately 12 hours later.” The incident remains under investigation, court documents said.

According to the Cache County jail roster, Douglas was arrested Monday by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and booked into jail just before 9:20 p.m.

He had an appearance in court on Tuesday at the Franklin County courthouse and was given a $500,000 bond. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 10 at 3 p.m. at the Franklin County courthouse.