Couple From Kensington Murder-Suicide Had History of Domestic Disputes

It was business as usual in the Kensington Shopping Center on Wednesday as the regular lunch hour rush brought customers in and out of restaurants for a quick meal.

The only sign of  was a makeshift memorial of flowers hanging from a railing outside of , where Heather Lynn McGuire, of Rockville, was tossed out of a van after police suspect her estranged husband Phillip Joseph Gilberti, of Rockville, shot her in the back of the head. Customers glanced at the memorial as they entered the eatery.

It was chaotic on Tuesday, according to witnesses who spoke with WUSA9, when the 36-year-old McGuire, covered in blood, struggled to leave the van during an argument at Connecticut and Knowles avenues. Gilberti, 51, pulled her back in the van and fired the fatal shot. It was all caught on a surveillance camera from the across the street.

As Gilberti fled the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m., witnesses began calling 911 and tried to resuscitate McGuire, but she was already dead. Within minutes, police arrived at the scene and a manhunt for the shooter began.

Nearly 12 hours later, after several leads to a local business and an Aspen Hill home, police were tipped off to Gilberti's presence in a College Gardens home in Rockville. .

Although the manhunt was over, Kensington residents reflected on a man they remembered as a troubled teen.

Gilberti's past

Kensington Patch readers wrote in about Gilberti or the man they knew as Phil Holcomb. They remember him growing up in the Rock Creek Hills neighborhood of Kensington, and according to a classmate, he was a fan of boxing and was known for his combative personality.

Tom Huggins, who owns in Kensington, told WUSA9 that Gilberti showed up to his shop Tuesday after the shooting, ditched his van and fled on foot from there.

"He's [a] powerful guy [who] acts before he thinks," Huggins told WUSA9. "He's [a] 260-pound bully."

High school friend Tony Rosakis told ABC7, "We were all pretty much in fear of him."

Police later found Gilberti on Tuesday night in Rosakis' home, where Gilberti ended his own life. Montgomery County Police Department spokeswoman Janelle Smith told Patch on Wednesday that no one other than Gilberti was in Rosakis' home at the time of his death.

that Gilberti wasn't the only one at fault for the couple's tumultuous relationship because McGuire, despite filing several restraining orders against Gilberti, always went back to him.

A history of crime

Gilberti had a history of violence — 24 cases are listed in the state's system since 1984 for assaults, drugs and steroids. As of Tuesday, two cases remained open — one for a yearlong peace order McGuire filed in November 2011, and the other for the couple's divorce proceedings. Gilberti spent time in a Las Vegas jail after he was sentenced to 10 years for attempted murder in 1996.

But McGuire had her own trouble with the law. Within Maryland court records, she had 29 cases — from drug and traffic violations to a domestic violence claim filed by Gilberti, and a case of leaving a child unattended.

But did the system fail McGuire, who only days before her death had gone to face Gilberti in court after he violated the peace order?

Police had arrested him twice the previous weekend, according to WUSA9.

Yet, a computer glitch set him free, the news outlet reported Wednesday.

Judge Barry Hamilton set a $57,000 unsecured bond after he heard the case, because the computer system was down and he couldn't see Gilberti's criminal record. The soon-to-be killer was back on the street.

In court records, McGuire said Gilberti told her that "I don't need a gun. ... I can just snap your neck."

"The judge who made the ruling is a good judge. He's a good judge," Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy told WUSA9. "Unfortunately, it's come to my attention that the computers were down in the courthouse and some of the criminal history was not available."

McCarthy told WTOP that a protective order can usually work in a domestic violence case, but — as in this case — it's not always successful.

However, he still encouraged victims to report domestic violence to police because reaching out to a third party helps "to break the bond of control their abuser [often] holds on them," he told WTOP.

McGuire was the mother of six children, three with Gilberti and three from a previous relationship. The three children with Gilberti are in foster homes.

Her family has set up a memorial fund to help her children. Donors can call or visit any branch and ask to donate to the "Heather McGuire Memorial Account" or you can donate at The Mullen Children Fund.