AUSTIN, Texas — A man who was on trial for the death of a 70-year-old Florence woman has been found guilty of murder.
Tuesday night, a Williamson County jury convicted Joshua Gilbreath of killing Diana Lynn Pier on the evening of Aug. 4, 2022. On Wednesday, the jury sentenced Gilbreath to 60 years in prison.
According to an affidavit, Pier had been traveling back to Florence after meeting with a family member earlier in the day. According to the investigation, Gilbreath shot Pier as she approached him after her car pulled behind him. A witness who lived in the area documented the incident to police, claiming to see Gilbreath run from Pier's vehicle to his vehicle and speed off from the scene. After Gilbreath left, the witness walked up and saw Pier lying in a pool of blood with no pulse.
The affidavit stated that on Aug. 11, 2022, a man called Williamson County 911 dispatch asking to speak to a detective about the investigation into Pier's murder. An investigator called the man back and the man said a friend confessed to him that he had "shot a white woman." The investigator arranged an interview with the tipster.
During the interview, the tipster told detectives that on Aug. 6, 2022, he met with his friend – later identified as Gilbreath – at a bar in Pflugerville. Gilbreath told him that he needed to tell him something but couldn't tell him inside the bar. They went outside and got into the tipster's car. Gilbreath asked if they could put their phones on the roof of the vehicle.
Once their phones were on top of the vehicle, the tipster told detectives that Gilbreath confessed to shooting a "white woman in the Jarrell area," according to the affidavit.
"[Gilbreath] stated he pulled his vehicle over on a side road and a vehicle pulled over behind his vehicle. The woman got out of her vehicle, and he shot her when she approached him," the affidavit states.
Gilbreath was arrested by U.S. Marshals on Aug. 13, 2022, and was turned over to Williamson County thereafter. He faced a maximum penalty of life in prison prior to his sentencing.
