Los Angeles Man Convicted by Vermont Federal Jury of Murder-for-Hire Against Business Partner
In Burlington, Vermont, a federal jury on April 18 convicted Serhat Gumrukcu, of Los Angeles, California, of murder-for-hire, conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The U.S. Department of Justice said the case was tried over five weeks before Chief Judge Christina Reiss; Gumrukcu, 42, has been held in custody since his arrest in May 2022, sentencing had not been scheduled, and based on the verdict he faces a statutorily mandated sentence of life imprisonment.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, the murder grew out of a failed oil commodities transaction: Gregory Davis had threatened legal action over Gumrukcu's role in the deal. Prosecutors said Gumrukcu, who was negotiating a multi-million-dollar biotech merger involving his alleged discovery of a cure for HIV, was particularly motivated to silence Davis. Gumrukcu relied on his close friend Berk Eratay to arrange, through a second intermediary, Aaron Ethridge, the hiring of hitman Jerry Banks. On January 6, 2018, Banks posed as a Deputy U.S. Marshal and abducted Davis from his home in Danville, Vermont; on January 7, Davis's body was found in a snowbank a short distance from his home.
Investigators quickly discovered emails and messaging showing the tension between Gumrukcu and Davis over the failed oil deal, and Gumrukcu made false statements in each of two interviews with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Cellphone location information, purchase records, banking records, emails and messaging led to the identification of the four conspirators who caused Davis's kidnapping and death.
Acting U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher said: "Serhat Gumrukcu tried to hide his role in the murder of Greg Davis by paying one man to pay another man to pay the hitman, who shot and killed Greg Davis on a January night in Vermont." FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli called Gumrukcu a ruthless criminal whose greed drove him to order the death of his own business partner. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Van de Graaf and Zachary Stendig prosecuted the case at trial. (Source: U.S. Department of Justice)
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于佛蒙特州伯灵顿市的联邦大楼、邮局与法院大楼，美国联邦地区法院佛蒙特区设于此楼（资料图）。图：CC BY-SA 4.0，via Wikimedia Commons / Photo: The Federal Building, Post Office and Courthouse in Burlington, Vermont, home to the U.S. District Court for the District of Vermont (file photo). Photo: CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
