Missing
Zulma Lexandra Pabon
Pabon, approximately 2014; 2009 Nissan Altima; John Gibbs
Date and time person was reported missing : 06/06/2014
Missing location (approx) :
Chesterfield, Virginia
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Female
Ethnicity :
Hispanic
Age at the time of disappearance: 26 years old
Height / Weight : 5'6 - 5'8, 145 - 190 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Hispanic female. Black hair, brown eyes. Pabon has a tattoo on her ankle. Her ears are pierced.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Pabon was last seen leaving work at St. Francis Medical Center in Chesterfield, Virginia at 6:13 p.m. on June 6, 2014. She sent a text messAge at the time of disappearance: to a friend at 9:30 p.m., canceling plans they'd had to meet up. She has never been heard from again.
At 6:25 the next morning, Pabon's white four-door 2009 Nissan Altima with the Virginia license plate number JZN-1429 was seen driving away from her townhouse in the 5300 block of TerEthnicity : Arbor Circle. A photo of a similar car is posted with this case summary.
Fourteen minutes later, surveillance video showed John E. Gibbs II, her live-in boyfriend and the father of her four-year-old son, walking up to their home alone.
About twelve hours after that, a white late model truck and trailer picked up Pabon's car and hauled it away from where it had been parked near her home. Investigators don't know who was driving the truck and would like to identify that person.
Pabon was reported missing on June 9 after she didn't show up for work at the hospital. Her car wasn't found until June 16; it turned up in the Greenleigh Mobile Home Park in the 14100 block of Drumvale Drive, off Jeff Davis Highway, sixteen miles away from her home.
There was no sign of Pabon at the scene. She didn't know anyone in that area and had no reason to go there. Surveillance cameras captured imAge at the time of disappearance: s of a white newer model four-door truck towing a white four-door vehicle, possibly Pabon's, on Commonwealth Center Parkway at 6:15 p.m. on June 7.
Authorities stated Gibbs was not cooperative in the investigation in Pabon's disappearance. Although there was no reported history of domestic violence between them, Pabon told a friend she felt unsafe in their home and she was going to leave Gibbs in July and move into her own apartment with their son. A photo of Gibbs is posted with this case summary.
In February 2016, Gibbs was charged with felony child neglect after he left his and Pabon's son, then five, home alone on multiple times. He was convicted in November of that year.
The boy began experiencing behavioral problems at school and day care after his mother's disappearance, and at one point he threatened to kill students and teachers. On one occasion, Gibbs was observed striking him in the parking lot while picking him up after he was suspended from school.
Gibbs was sentenced to five years in prison for child neglect, with four and a half years suspended. In March 2017, nearly three years after Pabon disappeared, Gibbs was charged with her murder.
Investigators stated they'd placed him under surveillance after Pabon's disappearance and witnessed him drive to a construction site on Woods Edge Road off Interstate 95 the day after Pabon's car was found; he left a bag there, which police retrieved. It contained a sheet, a blanket and a Comcast remote control; a cadaver dog indicated the scent of human remains on the comforter.
Less than two weeks after Pabon vanished, Gibbs made an unscheduled trip to Flagstaff, Arizona. When he returned on June 29, he bought a 64-gallon trash can, muriatic acid and 23 bottles of drain cleaner. Authorities got a warrant to search Gibbs's computer and learned he'd searched online for how to drug someone with ether.
Although his defense argued Pabon had been abducted by gang members or committed suicide, Gibbs was convicted of murder in December 2017. The jury decided he would serve a term of 50 years in prison. He still maintains his innocence in her case.
It's uncharacteristic of Pabon to leave without warning, and she's described as a devoted mother who would never have abandoned her two children. Foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Other information and links : ncy
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