When Love Kills

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The tragic unraveling of a young marriage ending in the grievous murder of Gabrian "Gage" Clevenger by her estranged husband Alec Blair is the somber narrative that I, Thomas, will walk you through on Human Wreckage True Crime Podcast. With the expert insight of forensic psychologist Dr. Robert Stinson, we explore the psychological underpinnings that culminated in a crime of passion, marked by a chilling 14-stab wound fatality. A denied protective order, a haunting letter of professed love from the murderer, and the gut-wrenching impact statement from Clevenger's mother are just a fragment of the complex emotional mosaic we piece together, delving into the dark consequences of unrequited love and domestic violence.

This episode promises to not only recount the sorrow-laden courtroom testimonies that lasted over two grueling hours but also bring to the fore the legal debates surrounding Blair's sentencing. As he faces a 45-year to life sentence, we discuss the gravity of the evidence against him and the prosecution's push for life without parole. Listeners are invited to bear witness to a chilling tale that serves as a stark reminder of the imperishable scars domestic abuse imprints on the lives it touches, drawing attention to the vital conversations we must continue to have about the safety and protection of those endangered by intimate partner violence. Dr. Stinson's professional assessments provide a compelling backdrop to this harrowing story, giving us a rare glimpse into the mind of a man lost in a twisted perception of love and possession.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Alec Blair, who spent most of his murder trial
smiling, will have to wait atleast 45 years before he has any
chance to get out of prison.
Welcome to this episode ofHuman Wreckage True Crime
Podcast.
My name is Thomas.
When a person cannot accept,when love is over and it is time
to move on, often can lead totragedy.
This is one such case.

(00:21):
Let's get into it.
22-year-old Alec Blair wassentenced to 45 years to life

(00:45):
for the stabbing death of hisestranged wife, 22-year-old
Gabrian Gabe Clevenger.
Blair stabbed her 14 times.
Less than a week before herdeath, clevenger was denied a
protection order by a domesticrelations court magistrate.
Phil Nomoff, richland CountyCommon Pleas Judge, said he

(01:05):
agonized over the sentence.
You could have some life left,the judge said, noting Blair
will be 67 when he is firsteligible for parole.
I struggled with this for days.
This is hard and I have to putmy feelings aside.
I must temper my anger withwhat is just.
I gave you what I feel is thejust sentence in this matter,
based on the law.
What I feel is the justsentence in this matter, based

(01:26):
on the law.
The emotion-packed hearinglasted more than two hours,
mainly because of the testimonyof Dr Robert Stinson, a forensic
psychologist, who spent threehours examining Blair.
Blair, flanked by two sheriff'sdeputies, did not enter the
courtroom until just before thehearing began.
Along with aggravated murder,blair pleaded guilty to three
counts of murder four counts ofkidnapping, two counts of

(01:46):
felonious assault, two counts ofabduction and single counts of
tampering with evidence andgross abuse of a corpse.
The first sign something waswrong was when a friend of
Clevenger became concerned thatshe did not show up for work at
Bob Evans' restaurant.
Authorities have only Blair'sword for what happened.
Authorities have only Blair'sword for what happened.
He led them to a field onBowman Street Road near a cell

(02:07):
tower in Jackson Township whereClevenger's body was found.
Blair had lured Clevenger intohis vehicle with the promise
they would go to the countycourthouse about a divorce.
The stabbing happened in thedriveway of Blair's home in the
900 block of Taylor Town Roadeast of Shelby.
Blair went inside his house topick up his lunch before work,

(02:32):
while inside he also grabbed aknife.
After dumping her body, blairwent to his job.
A ping on Clevenger's phonelinked it to an area near
Blair's place of employment.
The gallery and court got tohear from Blair on Friday
through a letter read by defenseattorney Terry Hitchman.
I asked if he could get throughit without turmoil.
Hitchman told the court beforereading the statement for his
client.
Blair wrote that he still lovesClevenger and sometimes wishes
he could wake up beside her.

(02:53):
He called the situation ahorrible nightmare.
I wish it wasn't real.
He wrote.
I have to deal with this everyday for the rest of my life.
Blair wrote that he tried tolet go of Clevenger, his wife of
about eight months, but couldnot.
Every little thing reminded meof her and it drove me crazy.
He wrote.
Blair acknowledged he deservedto be punished and would accept

(03:15):
whatever the judge decided.
The defendant also said hedeserves to be hated by
Clevenger's family and friends,some of whom held signs outside
the courthouse.
Only one family member gave avictim impact statement Love
Lance.
Clevenger's mother wrote aletter which prosecutor's office
victim advocate Janelle Fossread to the court.
Lance wrote that she thoughtthe worst day of her life was

(03:38):
the day she lost her daughter,but later changed her mind.
The worst day was coming intothe courtroom and seeing you.
Lance said, noting Blair wassafe and well protected.
I now know the definition ofhate.
Lance wrote God has alreadyhanded your deed to the devil.
You are a monster.
Prosecutor Gary Bishop askedNomoff to consider sentencing

(03:58):
Blair to life without parole.
He stabbed her 14 times, bishopsaid he nearly severed her head
from her body and dumped her ina field.
This was a simple case of ragebrought on by petty jealousy.
Bishop said Blair planned themurder, appealing to Clevenger
with the promise of dealing withtheir divorce.
He did this because she movedout.
The prosecutor said she gottired of his threats and his

(04:21):
intimidation and his bullying.
Through Dr Stinson, attorneyHitchman tried to offer
mitigating factors for Blair'sactions.
Stinson said he did not addressBlair's criminal responsibility
, instead focusing on whatcontributed to the murder.
The doctor said Blair had shownanger management issues, in
part because of financialconstraints and problems with

(04:42):
Clevenger.
What happened late in therelationship?
He was blindsided by Gabrian'sdissatisfaction, stinson said At
that time Alec was devastated.
His efforts to make thingsbetter made things worse.
Once they separated, thingserupted and went downhill quick.
Stinson said Blair's family hada history of depression and
anxiety.

(05:02):
Blair was going to getcounseling around the age of 15,
but his mother did not want himput on medication.
Prior to the murder Blair hadtried to make an appointment for
a mental health assessment.
He was not able to schedule onebefore he killed Clevenger.
Stinson listed three mitigatingfactors behind the murder.
He said Blair suffereddepression and anxiety, pointing

(05:24):
out he had carelessly usedsleeping pills.
The doctor said Blair showed avery low risk of committing more
violence and cited his age.
At the time of the murder Blairwas 21.
Stinson said the brain is notfully developed until people are
in their mid-20s or even 30s.
I don't offer these factors asexcuses for his behavior.
The doctor said Hitchman made asentencing recommendation of 35

(05:48):
years to life.
He said Blair has been a modelinmate at the county jail and
has led a small Bible group.
The defense attorney addedBlair cooperated with law
enforcement and had no priorrecord.
There was a grip on him ofanger, of rage, of passion, of
disappointment.
Hitchman said Is this the mosthorrific form of aggravated

(06:08):
murder?
I'm not going to debate that.
Nomoff drew the hearing to aclose.
Mr Blair, we were all youngonce in life, he said, referring
to brain development.
We all went through turmoil.
We handled things differently.
I guess Nalmoff credited Blairfor showing remorse and pleading
guilty as charged.
Instead of dragging the caseout, he made the plea without

(06:31):
guarantee of a lighter sentenceStill.
The judge said he consideredlife without parole because of
the brutality of the murder.
Deep inside, I feel like Ishould give you life without
parole, but it wouldn't be theright thing, nelmoff said In his
earlier comments.
Blair seemed to accept his fate.
I will never, ever forgivemyself and I don't expect anyone

(06:51):
else to, he said.
Is he evil?
Mental health Results of abroken heart?
Maybe just a selfish person whoonly worries about what they
need or feel?
We will never know.
Thanks again for listening.
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It means a lot to us.
Take care of yourself Till nexttime, thank you.