Case # 13CF0291
Date: September 15, 2017
79-YEAR-OLD MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE FOR SHOOTING AND MURDERING DOCTOR IN NEWPORT BEACH MEDICAL OFFICE
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was sentenced today to life in state prison for shooting and murdering his doctor in a Newport Beach medical office after being found legally sane.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Sentence |
|
Stanwood Fred Elkus, 79, Lake Elsinore |
Found guilty by a jury on Aug. 21, 2017, of:
Sentencing Enhancements Found True
|
Life in state prison without the possibility of parole plus 10 years in state prison |
Circumstances of the Case
- In 1992, Elkus was diagnosed with a narrow urethra by victim Dr. Ronald Gilbert.
- Gilbert recommended that the defendant undergo a procedure to widen his urethra and the operation was performed by two different doctors.
- Elkus developed an obsession with the procedure, believing that it had damaged his prostate and destroyed his sex drive.
- The defendant blamed the victim for the “failed procedure” and began plotting his revenge.
- At approximately 2:45 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2013, Elkus arrived at his doctor’s office in Newport Beach for an appointment while armed with a firearm.
- The defendant waited in an exam room until his doctor, victim Ronald Gilbert, entered.
- Elkus then pulled out the firearm and murdered Gilbert by shooting him multiple times.
- Other doctors heard the shots and ran to assist Gilbert. They called 911 and attempted to revive the victim, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Elkus gave the firearm to a medical staff member in the office and surrendered without incident.to the Newport Beach Police Department, who investigated this case.
At the sentencing today, six emotional victim impact statements were delivered to the court by friends and family members of Dr. Gilbert pursuant to Marsy’s law. The victim’s brother and lifelong friends spoke of how he was an inspiration to them, how he helped hundreds of people both personally and professionally, and how he had made a lasting impact on society by pioneering medical treatments that have helped people around the world. His wife, Elizabeth Gilbert, spoke about how not only she and her two sons had been robbed of a loving husband and father, but how the defendant had selfishly taken Ron’s life after he worked so hard and sacrificed so much in order to fulfill his life’s ambition of helping others through medicine.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy of the Homicide Unit prosecuted this case.