Kimberly Lynn Cates: Nurse, Mom Killed in Brutal Machete Attack

by Tina Kells | October 9, 2009 at 06:15 pm

3386 views | 6 Recommendations | 11 comments

The brutal machete attack that killed nurse Kimberly Lynn Cates, 42, over the weekend has left the sleepy town of Mont Vernon, New Hampshire stunned. Kimberly Lynn Cates and her 11-year old daughter Jaimie Cates were attacked in their home by four teenagers wielding knives and a machete. Kimberly Lynn Cates was killed in the attack and her daughter Jaimie was severley injured in the random home invasion. Father and husband David Cates, 44, was out of town on business when the four teens entered his home with murder in mind.

Led by an aspiring Mormon missionary, Christopher Gribble, 19, the group of four entered the Cates family home and began to hack mother and daughter to death. During the attack the toes of 11-year old Jaimie Cates were chopped off with the machete and had to be reattached at the hospital. The attack was extremely brutal and the only motivation identified by police appears to be a morbid curiosity about what it would feel like to kill.

Christopher Gribble described himself to friends as a "destroying angel" and his Facebook page paints a picture of a very disturbed young man. Gribble's three known accomplices: Steven Spader, 17; Quinn Glover, 17; and William Marks, 18; seem to have little in common on the surface but were drawn together by a desire to kill. They selected their target randomly and vowed to kill anybody they found inside.

New Hampshire police have arrested and charged Gribble, Spader, Glover and Marks with separate counts of murder, attempted murder and robbery. Police have not ruled out more arrests and/or charges in the future as the investigation into this horrific crime continues. The swell of support for Jaimie and David Cates from the community of Mont Vernon has been in stark contrast to the cold brutality of the crime as people rally to support the injured girl and her widowed father.

But with Cates standing barely 5 feet tall, Dow reckoned, “She didn’t have a prayer” when surprised in her bed Sunday morning and hacked to death with a machete and a knife, allegedly by two strangers, Steven Spader, 17, and Christopher Gribble, 19.

Spader and Gribble are also charged with the attempted murder of Cates’ daughter Jaime, 11, while their alleged accomplices, Quinn Glover, 17, and William Marks, 18, are charged with robbery.

Cates and her husband, David, 44, a systems engineer for the global defense company BAE Systems, were welcome additions to the town five years ago. Neighbor Pat Savio said close-knit residents expect nothing more than peace and quiet.

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BMichigan (not verified)

at 21:30 on October 9th, 2009

Why don't we know anything about the religious preference of the other slime balls? Not sensational enough for our fair media?

Ann Arbor One (not verified)

at 04:46 on October 11th, 2009

I just watched the video of the arraignment for these monsters. It made me sick. I am always amazed at how judges so freely refer to defendents as "sir". He (they) are anything but that. Sir implies respect and dignity for the person with whom you are speaking. This example exemplifies one of the many flaws in our legal system. Treat them the way they treated their victims. Can't imagine one reason why any of these monsters should be treated with respect. Hope they all get the dealth penalty!

Duh (not verified)

at 14:45 on October 12th, 2009

Have you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty? Doesn't seem so.... How about this, when someone is arrest why not assume they are guilty until they prove they are innocent? Why not just forgo a trial altogether in order to save tax payer money?

Duh #2 (not verified)

at 12:55 on October 14th, 2009

GREAT IDEA... let's fucking do it! Then maybe the sane people in this world can live in peace and let the mother fucking sick pig people rot in hell.

GPTexas (not verified)

at 10:28 on October 11th, 2009

I agree. Why mention the religion of one without the others? Obviously none believed in God or the commandment "Thou shalt not kill". They are evil and evil is the work of the devil. They should have been refered to as satanists.

r savannah, ga. (not verified)

at 19:10 on October 11th, 2009

it is disgusting to hear judges refer to these type barbarians as "sir" or "young man". if there is a death penalty in New Hampshire and the DA does not seek it, our system once again has failed. its just too bad they can't be sentenced to a slow agonizing death and have it carried out soon, not after 20 years of our tax money taking care of them.

judyscout (not verified)

at 12:27 on October 14th, 2009

Religion was pointed out only because he was a getting ready to leave on missionary work... If it was Babtist or Catholic missionary work it would have been mentioned... I dont think it was meant to make one feel it was Mormons being singled out as a bad religion... It was the fact that he was going to go off and 'serve' God.. regardless of the denomination, that people find shocking.

CR (not verified)

at 14:42 on October 14th, 2009

OH FOR THE DAYS OF WILD WEST WHEN PEOPLE LIKE THIS WERE HUNG IN THE STREETS FOR THEIR CRIMES....OR SHOT DOWN WHEN THEY FOUND THEM... IS THIS AMERICA??????????? SIR, THEY CALLED THOSE SCUM BAGS SIR.........YEAH RIGHT.......IF I COULD ONLY VOICE A WORD THAT WOULD DESCRIBE THEM. A GREAT NURSE, MOTHER, DAUGHTER ,FRIEND WAS HACKED TO DEATH FOR THE PLEASURE OF THESE DEMONS....A LITTLE GIRL WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN.. MAY GOD BE THE JUDGE AND HE WILL

Pathfinder (not verified)

at 14:03 on October 15th, 2009

An eye for an eye ...

Bob Smith (not verified)

at 19:10 on October 29th, 2009

Innocent until proven guilty, yes, but they gave testimonies to the police that is how they knew about the pact to kill whoever was in the house. Therefore, they could consider that a compassion. The "not guilty" plea is nothing more than a formality of them to go through the trial now. The the days of vigilante justice would certainly serve a purpose and send a strong message here. Unfortunately with groups such as the ACLU, acorn and others, the days of sending a clear message to criminals is gone. In fact they do receive a clear message Daily, but the messages that they will not be punished for their crimes. The only true victims other than this poor mother and her family on every law abiding citizen. On a daily basis of our civil rights are under attack and our government seeks to disarm every available means of us to be able to protect ourselves. Not only physically but in the court of public opinion as well. I know that they won't, but I pray that they will meet their just rewards in prison. And not just once, but every day for years to come.

lynns (not verified)

at 11:34 on November 13th, 2009

Eye for an eye? I could care less about their or anyones religious affiliation. Why don't we just cut their limbs off or hang them? Because then we would have to change the name of America to Saudi Arabia or Iran! I would hope we are a little more evolved and don't let religion dictate our responses like they do in those countries, otherwise we are one and the same. I don't logically understand that it's ok to kill someone who kills. Isn't it the same thing then? do we have to have a trial for the administrator of the lethal injection? and morally, how does he feel? If you are going to be referring to the bible, I missed the part where it says "Thou shalt not kill unless the person is a mass murderer" And as another five foot tall woman, even if I had a sub-machine gun under my bed, I daresay it would have been turned on me before I got to it...having weapons around her house would not have saved her, and if she had had a gun, I believe these horrible people would have used it on her daughter, and seen to her demise. Personally, I think that life in prison is a just and terrible fate for these four men. I once visited a prison for a day, and the feeling of oppression was awful. Imagine knowing that you will never leave those four walls...that will be torture enough and we will not have stooped to the punishments of other countries that we decry as unacceptable.