FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEWS RELEASE
January 11, 2012
For More Information, contact:
Luther Strange
Joy Patterson (334) 242-7491
Alabama Attorney General
Suzanne Webb (334) 242-7351
Page 1 of 1
AG ANNOUNCES 20-YEAR SENTENCES FOR ANDALUSIA MAN
CONVICTED OF MANSLAUGHTER FOR TWO DEATHS FROM WRECK
(MONTGOMERY)— Attorney General Luther Strange announced that an Andalusia man
has been sentenced to two terms of 20 years imprisonment for the deaths of two women in a 2007
automobile crash in Covington County. David Worth Wiltshire, 49, was convicted of two counts of
manslaughter by a jury in Covington County Circuit Court on November 16, 2011. The victims are
Christie Wright Still of Evergreen and Deanna K. Ingram Van Gieson of Theodore.
At a hearing yesterday before Covington County Circuit Judge Charles Short, the Court
ordered the defendant to serve 20 years for the death of each victim. In addition, Wiltshire was
fined $5,000 and ordered to pay $1,000 to the Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Fund.
“It is appropriate that this defendant will serve many years in prison for the tragedy that
resulted from his reckless criminal actions,” said Attorney General Strange. “I am pleased that this
judge and jury have held him responsible for the decisions and actions he took that tragically cut
short the lives of two women.”
Witnesses testified that Wiltshire was driving recklessly and speeding on U.S. Highway 84
in the city of River Falls on March 1, 2007, when his vehicle crossed over the centerline into the
westbound lane and struck a vehicle driven by Van Gieson. Still was a passenger in Wiltshire’s car
and she died at the scene. Van Gieson died two days later at Andalusia Regional Hospital. State
troopers calculated that Wiltshire was driving 73 miles per hour and that the other vehicle was
going 45 miles per hour.
The Attorney General’s Office presented evidence at trial to show that Wiltshire was
driving under the influence of a controlled substance, driving with a revoked license, driving
recklessly, speeding, and on the wrong side of the road. One witness testified that he had swerved
to keep his car from being hit by Wiltshire before crashing into Van Gieson’s vehicle.
The case was initially presented to grand jury by the Covington County District
Attorney’s Office with an indictment returned in September of 2007. The prosecution was
subsequently handled by the Attorney General’s Office at the request of the District Attorney’s
Office.
Attorney General Strange commended those involved in bringing this case to a successful
conclusion, noting in particular Assistant Attorneys General Ben Baxley and Kelly Hawkins of the
Violent Crimes Division and special agents of the Investigations Division. He also thanked the
Alabama State Troopers, the Covington County District Attorney’s Office and the Andalusia Police
Department.
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501 Washington Avenue Montgomery, AL 36104 (334) 242-7300
www.ago.alabama.gov
