Murder of Don Gash by Gail Gash investigated on Snapped

Oxygen is re-airing the Snapped investigation into the murder of Don Gash, a rural fire chief and pillar of his small community who was beaten to death and dismembered by his wife, Gail Nash, at their home in Henderson County, North Carolina.

Don and Gail had been high school sweethearts who had endured multiple difficulties and setbacks, including tragic deaths and financial problems throughout their 30-year marriage. However, by 2004, there were obviously cracks in their relationship.

The couple lived with their children in a rural area in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and Don had risen to be fire chief of the Etowah-Horse Shoe Fire Department.

On March 24, 2004, Gail beat her 48-year-old husband to death with a fireplace log. Don’s colleagues found his dismembered torso three days later in a plastic container near a barn on the couple’s property.

The rest of Don’s body parts were found by the police the next day scattered along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Buncombe County, NC.

At this stage, Gail had also been missing for several days, and the cops were concerned she had also been murdered. However, officers found her hiding in a crawl space in a shed across the road from her house.

Gail Gash said she killed Don Gash in self-defense

Gail confessed to killing her husband but claimed it was self-defense. The killer claimed that Don had raped her on the night of the murder, and she said she learned that he had sexually abused their daughter. These allegations remain unsubstantiated.

The killer told the cops that a struggle ensued where Don tried to suffocate her on the couch. She said she fought for her life, grabbed a log, and started beating him on the head.

She claimed her memory was fuzzy after that, but she remembers seeing her husband lying on the floor with blood coming from his nose and ears. Gail said she spent the rest of the night dismembering and disposing of Don’s remains.

Gail’s defense argued that the killing was self-defense. The prosecution argued that she murdered for money. Don had a life insurance policy worth $150,000 that named Gail as the sole beneficiary, and their 20-acre property was willed to their kids, Donn Gash and Jennifer Leslie Gash.

The police suspected that Donn Gash may have assisted his mother in killing and disposing of his father’s remains. However, no charges were brought against him.

Gail Gash convicted of second-degree murder in killing of Don Gash

Eventually, Gail took a plea deal, agreeing to plead guilty to second-degree murder. She was sentenced to between 15 years and 18 years in prison. 

Don’s family expressed displeasure with the plea deal. The victim’s uncle, Willie Gash, said, “I believe that the children had something to do with the murder. His wife couldn’t have done it alone. Justice would have been the truth coming out, not a plea bargain. She [Gail] is taking the rap for everything.”

Gail passed away from natural causes in prison in 2010. She was 56.

This episode of Snapped re-airs Friday at 6/5c on Oxygen.