Tammy Gardner murder case: A complete timeline of the events explored

The horrifying murder case of Tammy Gardner, a 40-year-old Delaware mother-of-two, started when she broke up with her boyfriend, Clifford Wright, in early July 2006. The situation, which initially started as stalking and harassment, soon turned brutal when the charred bodies of Gardner and her alleged boyfriend, Gabriel Gabrielli, were found inside her abandoned van at a Hockessin park.

Following this, Clifford Wright was found guilty in a 2009 trial and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

An upcoming episode of American Monster on ID will revisit Tammy Gardner's case this Sunday, January 8, 2023. The all-new episode, titled You Got Me Mean, will air at 9 pm ET.

The official synopsis of the episode states:

"Tammy Gardner loves being a mom and running a day care out of her suburban Delaware home; she also loves a night out on the town; what starts as innocent fun leads this 40-year-old down a dark path of jealousy and deadly rage."

This article will discuss the timeline around Tammy Gardner's 2006 murder and everything that fueled the gruesome incident.

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A complete timeline of the events that fueled Tammy Gardner's July 2006 murder

In June 2006, Tammy Gardner was living in the Woodcreek development in Wilmington with her two children and then-boyfriend, Clifford Wright. According to her children, the couple had a problematic relationship and frequently quarreled. Their arguments would always end with Wright getting thrown out of her house.

However, when they argued on July 1, 2006, Gardner asked Wright to move out of her house with his belongings. That was the day the ex-boyfriend started harassing her while he was staying with his friend, Raheem Cannon. Wright reportedly started calling her to win her back.

The following day, Wright continued calling her dozens of times, which frightened and upset Gardner, who then put all of his belongings in bags and left them on her porch. This was allegedly the first time she removed all of his belongings from her house. The phone calls continued on July 2 when she received about 32 calls from her ex-boyfriend.

Clifford Wright (Image via TheCinemaholic)

On July 4, 2006, at around 8 pm, Wright and one of his friends, Sheila Saxton, drove past Gardner's house when he screamed "f**king crack whore," out of the window. According to Saxton, Wright believed she was inside the house with another man. That same day as well, the phone calls continued.

The next day, Clifford Wright went back to Tammy Gardner's house to get a bottle of perfume, but he insisted on seeing her when she tried to leave it outside. The mother-of-two told Wright that day that she wanted to cut off all ties with him.

Infuriated by the move, Wright followed her to the Good Shot Bar in Wilmington later that evening, where he waited in the parking lot, watched her, and called the cops, alleging that there was a drug sale going on at the bar. Moreover, he left a series of both threatening and pleading voicemails. Out of concern, Gardner called the police, who finally arrested him in the early morning hours of July 6.

A screenshot of Tammy Gardener's picture shown on NBC (Image via Scared Monkeys)

That same day, Wright was released from custody, after which he once again went over to Gardner's house and later followed her and her children to a diner. Scared from all the stalking, the mother decided to send her children to her ex-husband's house on July 8. That was when the kids said their final goodbyes. Additionally, she asked one of her neighbors to keep an eye out for Wright in case he returned.

Tammy Gardner met Gabriel Gabrielli and another friend, Kelly Culpepper, for drinks at the Good Shot Bar that night, after which the three returned to her house, but Culpepper left at 1.30 am. Later, Clifford Wright snuck into her home and bludgeoned them to death as they slept. He then cleaned the crime scene, loaded the bodies into Gardner's van, and drove to Tweed's park, where he set it on fire.

Four days later, on July 13, the partially burned van with the couple's bodies inside was found in the park by construction workers. Wright was arrested not long after and charged with the murders of Gardner and Gabrielli. More than three years later, he was tried in December 2009 and convicted of multiple charges, including four counts of first-degree murder. Following this, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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Watch Tammy Gardener's murder case American Monster this Sunday on ID.