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Gainey family asks Texas Rangers to review Port Aransas man's death, alleges police failures
Summary
Family members of Peter Gainey urged the Port Aransas City Council on July 16 to ask the Texas Rangers to review his death and the handling of the investigation by the Port Aransas Police Department, alleging ignored evidence, conflicting timelines, and possible misconduct.
Matthew Gainey, the deceased man's brother, told the Port Aransas City Council on July 16 that his family is “deeply concerned with the circumstances surrounding Peter's death,” described what he said were gaps in the police inquiry and said the medical examiner later changed the cause of death from natural to "unknown" after outside pathologists reviewed the evidence.
"When EMS arrived, Peter had full rigor mortis, established lividity," Matthew Gainey said, describing the scene and saying his family had asked police to collect Peter's phone and local surveillance footage but that those requests were ignored and the body was released for cremation.
In a second public comment, Catherine Gainey, who identified herself as Matthew's wife, recounted discrepancies in the timeline provided by the deceased man's spouse, said several potential witnesses had not been contacted by the Port Aransas Police Department (PAPD), and urged the council to request a Texas Rangers review of both the death and how the PAPD handled the investigation. "We have uncovered what looks out to be extreme incompetence, if not outright corruption by PAPD," she said.
Catherine Gainey also told the council the family had documented statements and affidavits they say show conflicting accounts; she said the family was told the spouse stood to collect roughly $3,500,000 in life insurance proceeds, that $1,000,000 of that amount had been increased during an alleged affair, and that the family had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars pursuing its own inquiries. The family also told the council that a claim by PAPD Chief Stokes that the Texas Rangers conducted an independent review was denied by an official identified in the record as Ranger Shane Staley.
The family said the Nueces County medical examiner initially listed a natural cause but later changed the manner and cause to unknown after three pathologists reviewed medical evidence. The family requested the council ask the Texas Rangers to conduct a full, formal review to restore public confidence in local law enforcement.
The council did not take public action on the request during the meeting. The meeting record shows the council moved into an executive session citing the Texas Government Code for economic development negotiations shortly after citizen comments.
