A Missouri inmate scheduled for execution next month has been hospitalized due to a “medical emergency,” according to a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections.
David Hosier, 69, who is set to be put to death on June 11 for the 2009 killing of a Jefferson City couple, Angela and Rodney Gilpin, was diagnosed with heart failure by a prison doctor this week, said his attorney Jeremy Weis.
Hosier’s sister, Barbara Morrill, stated that he also suffers from atrial fibrillation, which causes an irregular heartbeat.
Morrill described her brother as having fallen ill about a week ago, with worsening symptoms including leg swelling and severe pain. She expressed concern over the delay in moving him out of his cell.
“He’s in a lot of pain,” she said. “He can’t walk. He can barely talk.”
Karen Pojmann, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Corrections, declined to provide further details, citing privacy requirements.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Hosier’s spiritual adviser, the Rev. Jeff Hood, highlighted the severity of Hosier’s condition.
“His family has been informed that he is in acute heart failure,” Hood said.
It remains unclear whether the state will postpone the execution.
Hosier has consistently maintained his innocence, although police and prosecutors argue that the evidence against him is overwhelming.
Hosier’s father, Indiana State Police Sergeant Glen Hosier, was killed in the line of duty in 1971 when David Hosier was 16.
On the night of his father’s death, David was awakened by a trooper and was subsequently sent to military school. He later served in the Navy before settling in Jefferson City, Missouri.
Hosier acknowledged having an affair with Angela Gilpin in 2009 but denied any involvement in her subsequent murder, as well as the murder of her husband.
The couple was found shot to death near the doorway of their apartment shortly after Angela ended the affair and reconciled with her husband.
“How can you find a person guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and sentence that person to die when you have no witnesses to a crime, you have no fingerprints to tie this person to a crime, you have no DNA that ties this person to a crime?” Hosier asked.
Court records and investigators have pointed to significant circumstantial evidence linking Hosier to the crime.
Police found an application for a protective order in Angela Gilpin’s purse, along with a document in which she expressed fear that Hosier might harm her and her husband.
Detective Jason Miles said Hosier had made threats against Angela Gilpin in the days leading up to the murders. Police eventually tracked Hosier to Oklahoma using cellphone data, leading to a chase and his eventual apprehension.
In Hosier’s car, officers discovered 15 guns, a bulletproof vest, 400 rounds of ammunition, and other weapons, including a submachine gun believed to have been used in the killings. A note found in the vehicle warned against dishonesty in relationships.
Hosier said he was not fleeing to Oklahoma but was on a drive to clear his mind. He explained that he had many guns because he enjoyed hunting and did not recall the note found in his car.
The Missouri Supreme Court upheld Hosier’s conviction in 2019.
Hood, the spiritual adviser, criticized the law enforcement community for supporting the execution of Hosier, especially given his father’s service and sacrifice.
“The difficulties of David’s life are a product of having to experience the death of his father in the line of duty,” Hood said. “How can they say, ‘Leave no family member of the fallen behind,’ and cheer on the execution of David Hosier?”
