After Near-Death Experience, This Woman Helped Solve Over 1,000 Criminal Cases

A near-death experience with a potential serial rapist/killer at the age of 21 turned out to be an eye-opener for Lois Gibson, paving the way for her to choose her profession. Gibson not only joined law enforcement as a sketch artist but has also helped solve over 1,000 criminal cases in her career.

A video shared by 60 Second Docs on Instagram narrates the story of the prominent sketch artist in her voice. Lois recalled how someone tried to kill her for “fun” in 1971, an incident that shook her to the core and convinced her to become a police sketch artist.

“I draw bad guys. I have witnesses who remember a face they saw involved in a horrible crime. I do a portrait from their memory so detectives can find the bad guy,” she said. Lois also recalled her encounter with a criminal and said that she went through “25 minutes of torture” when she was almost strangled to death.

“I had to talk the police into letting me sketch. They completely did not think I could do what I said I could do, but I proved them wrong. After that, every third sketch I would do solved a crime. Murders, rapes, robberies, and stabbings—I have helped identify more than 1,000 of the worst felons. This job is therapeutic. I am getting over my attack every time I get one of those guys,” she shared.

With her incredible sketching skills and an undefeated track record, Lois Gibson’s name has been recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records for being The World’s Most Successful Forensic Artist. She started her career in 1982 and she has positively identified more than 1,300 suspected criminals, Lois worked at the Houston Police Department until her retirement in 2021.

Speaking to the GWR, the 74-year-old, while recalling her gruesome experience, also shared that she works with victims of crime when they are highly emotional and can’t remember what their attacker looked like. She uses various techniques to calm and distract them, helping unlock memories and create a sketch that’s good enough to identify the attacker. “I’m completely addicted and I never want to quit helping catch criminals with my art,” she said.