Police near Jackson have arrested a man witnesses say was last seen with an East Lansing woman who was found dead Wednesday night in Meridian Township.
Paul David Gibbs, 48, was wanted by police for questioning in the death of Tammie Sue Dubay, 35. Dubay, who went missing, was last seen with Gibbs Tuesday night at about midnight outside her apartment complex located at Deerpath Lane and Haslett Road, according to East Lansing police.
Her body was found at approximately 6:41 p.m. on Wednesday after Meridian Township Police responded to a call near the intersection of Cornell Road and Orlando Drive in Haslett.
Police had issued reports Wednesday, before the body was found, noting that Dubay had "disappeared" and was "endangered." East Lansing Police said they believed Dubay was taken involuntarily.
An autopsy performed Friday revealed Dubay had been strangled to death 16-18 hours before her body was found.
"She was strangled with some kind of rope or cord or something like that," said Dennis Jurczak, the Ingham County chief deputy medical examiner.
"It doesn't appear that she was killed there, she was killed somewhere else and the body was dropped off."
Gibbs, an "acquaintance" of Dubay's, according to police, was spotted by Jackson-area farmer John Gumbert on Saturday morning and arrested shortly thereafter by Blackman Township police.
"He was taken into custody without incident and Meridian Township was notified," Blackman Township Police Sgt. Rich White said.
Gumbert, of Rives Township, notified police of Gibbs' presence after he recognized his truck.
"I was just coming up one of our farm lanes up toward my house, and he went by right in front of me on the road. So I picked up my phone and called 911 and they just told me to follow him until they could get to him.
"And boy, did they get to him, there were police cars absolutely everywhere."
Gumbert said he followed Gibbs for about six miles as both vehicles headed towards Jackson while he remained on the line with the 911 dispatcher.
"The 911 operator told me to keep following him and they kept me on the phone and I kept telling them which direction he was going on what roads," Gumbert said. "As we got closer to town, the first two police cars were sitting there were waiting for him, and then I backed off.
"They got behind him and got maybe another half-mile or so and there must have been eight or nine more police cars. He turned onto another road and they were all behind him and turned their lights on at the same time and arrested him, or whatever."
Gumbert said Gibbs didn't seem to speed up or attempt to elude the officers, though he believed he knew they were all following him.
"It all kind of happened in slow motion," Gumbert said.
