Bio

Eugene Leo Gambetta was born in 1903, a native of Soledad, California. He married Thelma (later known by her maiden name, Ribail) in January 1945, and the couple lived together in an apartment in San Francisco. Following marital difficulties, Thelma left him in March 1948 and moved to Reno, Nevada, taking up residence at the Gibson Apartments with her sister, Lola LaPoint.

Murder Story

On July 14, 1948, Eugene Leo Gambetta rented a light gray Ford sedan in San Francisco and drove to Reno. After arriving that evening, he checked that the pistol he had previously hidden in the hedge across from Thelma Ribail’s apartment was still there and loaded. He spent the evening trying to locate Thelma but did not find her.

The next day, July 15, Gambetta saw Thelma driving a Lincoln sedan. He followed her, lost sight of her, and later found the Lincoln parked near her apartment. He then drove around Reno, visiting clubs and watching for her. He eventually saw her with another woman and a man, then returned repeatedly to her apartment area to wait.

At about 5:00 a.m. on July 16, 1948, Thelma and her male companion returned to the Gibson Apartments. Gambetta approached them with a gun and ordered the man to leave. An argument followed. Gambetta struck Thelma between the eyes with the butt of the gun, causing a bleeding wound. The gun discharged during the struggle, and witnesses heard the shot at about 4:55 a.m.

Gambetta then forced Thelma into his car and drove away. As they approached Sutro Street in Reno, Thelma said she would jump from the car. Gambetta warned her that he would shoot if she jumped. When she tried to escape, he shot her.

After shooting Thelma, Gambetta stopped the car, backed up to where she was, determined that she was dead, and placed her body in the back seat. He then drove around Reno for about an hour and a half. According to the court’s summary of his later statement, he returned to Thelma’s apartment intending to kill her sister Lola, but he could not get inside.

Gambetta then drove south from Reno, turned west on the Mount Rose Road, and stopped near the Callahan ranch cutoff. There, he moved Thelma’s body into the trunk of the car. He continued to San Francisco by way of Highway 50, Placerville, Sacramento, and the Golden Gate Bridge.

At about 5:00 p.m. that same day, San Francisco police arrested Gambetta while he was parked on the Great Highway facing the ocean. Officers had been told that he was wanted for kidnapping and murder and that he was armed. Gambetta admitted his identity and told officers that Thelma’s body was in the trunk. Police found a .32 caliber automatic pistol with cartridges on the front seat.

During the afternoon after his arrest, Gambetta gave three statements to officers that described the events. On July 20, 1948, the Washoe County district attorney filed an information charging him with murder. Gambetta waived preliminary examination, was arraigned the same day, and pleaded not guilty.

His trial began on August 9, 1948. On August 13, 1948, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and fixed the punishment at death. Gambetta appealed the conviction and the denial of his motion for a new trial.

On August 16, 1949, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the judgment and sentence. The court rejected his claims of trial error, including challenges to the admission of photographs, the pistol, cartridges, and his confessions. Rehearing was denied on September 26, 1949. Eugene Leo Gambetta was executed by lethal gas at Nevada State Prison on October 18, 1949. He was 46 years old.