Florida man accused of sexually assaulting woman, locking her in storage container arrested

CARYVILLE, Fla. - A Florida woman is recovering after deputies say she escaped from a storage container after being brutally attacked and sexually assaulted.

Florida woman attacked, locked in a storage container

The backstory:

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, a passerby on Douglas Ferry Road called the telecommunications center on Monday around 5:20 p.m. saying he found a woman who was the victim of a brutal attack.

The caller stated that the victim had been severely beaten and needed medical attention.

When emergency personnel arrived, the sheriff said the victim was still handcuffed and had duct tape around her neck.

According to emergency medical services and law enforcement officers who went to the scene, the victim told them that David Earl Gipson, 40, of Caryville, showed up at her house and knocked at the door. He told her that her husband and brother-in-law were thieves and owed him money, and he was irritated.

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That’s when the victim said he began taking items from her house. Then he knocked her to the ground, handcuffed her and removed her clothing.

While she was on the ground naked, the victim said Gipson began attacking her mother-in-law.

She said Gipson struck her several times in and about the head.

The victim said the last time she saw her mother-in-law, her eyes were swollen shut and there was blood all over her face.

Dig deeper:

Gipson then dragged the victim out of the house, put her in her mother-in-law’s vehicle and duct-taped her mouth, according to WCSO.

Gipson then drove her to his house, where the victim said he sexually assaulted her and said he could kill her.

Then, deputies say he took her to a shed and put her inside an oversize toolbox or storage container. The sheriff’s office believes that the attack lasted throughout most of Sunday night.

"She was naked. Still handcuffed and duct-taped around her mouth," Sheriff Kevin Crews said during a press conference. "He put a rope over her neck and tucked her legs up underneath her. If you can picture what a hog tie looks like, that’s what he did to her. She stated she got very hot and thought she was going to suffocate and die."

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After several hours, the sheriff said the victim was able to get her legs out from underneath her body and kicked plywood and other debris Gipson had placed on top of the box to keep her in the box.

"She got out of the shed and then ran for her life," the sheriff stated. "At one point she told us that once she was away from the house, she used a tree to remove her, she’s handcuffed behind her back, she used a tree to remove the duct tape from around her mouth. At that time, she made her way to the edge of a roadway where a passerby saw her. He stopped, picked her up and immediately called 911."

Pictured: David Earl Gipson. Courtesy: Washington County Sheriff's Office

Florida woman found dead

The sheriff said that the car Gipson took the victim in was a 2001 PT Cruiser that belonged to a woman identified as 74-year-old Lettie Cooper Collins, the victim's mother-in-law.

Deputies went to Collins’ home where they found her dead.

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The sheriff said he looked at Collins’ body and he believed she was ‘beat to a pulp.’

Warrants issued for David Earl Gipson

A warrant was issued for Gipson on charges of sexual battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment. The sheriff said they were also seeking murder charges.

Gipson had about 33 felony charges beginning in 1999 and ended with a stint in the Washington County Jail in March 2025.

He’s been charged with burglaries, armed burglaries, and arson. The sheriff said Gipson has been to prison eight different times.

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Courtesy: Washington County Sheriff's Office

The search for David Earl Gipson

During a press conference on Tuesday, the sheriff vowed to work around the clock until they put handcuffs on this "scumbag" and make him answer for what he has done.

Gipson was located and arrested on Tuesday.

While the sheriff did not disclose the condition of the victim, he did say she was expected to survive.

What they're saying:

In a post on social media, the Washington County sheriff stated, "First of all, on behalf of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office we are all so sorry that this horrific event has happened to this family. We had a tremendous amount of support in the capture of David Earl Gipson. Each of these agencies…played a critical part in his apprehension. I cannot THANK each of these agencies enough for their efforts- the members of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Washington County Emergency Medical Services, the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Medical Examiner’s Office, FDLE, Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the Northwest Florida Reception Center K-9 Unit, Holmes CI K-9 Unit, the United States Marshal Service, the Florida Highway Patrol and the Florida Wildlife Commission. This morning, I promised the residents of our county that we would work around the clock until we had Gipson in custody. Gipson was apprehended in a wooded area just north of Douglas Ferry Rd. off Pate Pond Rd. I would also like to thank the community for your support for me and my entire staff and patience during this tragic event. May all our prayers be with this family at this time as we continue to work through this investigation for a successful prosecution."

The Source: This story was written with information posted by the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

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