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Princeton graduate Tommy Gilbert charged with murder after 'he shot dead his $200m banker father'

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  • Thomas Gilbert, 70, was allegedly shot in the head by Thomas Gilbert Jr, 30, at his $6,000-a-month Manhattan home, according to police sources
  • Gilbert Sr founded $200million hedge fund Wainscott Capital in 2011
  • Father and son were discussing 'differences in their relationship' before shooting, according to reports
  • It is believed that the 30-year-old sent his mother out to get him a sandwich so she would not be in the home at the time, according to reports
  • A friend told Daily Mail Online: 'He must have been really angry about something to do something so out of character'
  • Gilbert Jr, who attended $50,000-a-year school, arrested on Sunday night after barricading himself in his Chelsea apartment
  • NYPD have not named Gilbert Jr as a suspect and have not ruled out the possibility of suicide

By Louise Boyle for MailOnline

Published: 16:40 EST, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 17:04 EST, 5 January 2015

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A hedge-fund multimillionaire's body was apparently staged as if he committed suicide, according to reports citing police sources on Monday.

The 30-year-old son of Wainscott Capital founder Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70, was being questioned by police after being arrested at his Manhattan home on Sunday night.

An NYPD spokesperson told Daily Mail Online on Monday that no charges had been filed against Princeton graduate Tommy Gilbert Jr and that the investigation was ongoing.

However, police sources told ABC that detectives believed the death was a homicide and that the scene at Mr Gilbert Sr's home was a 'staged suicide'.

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cpictured in his arrest photo from September 18, 2014 when he was arrested for second-degree criminal contempt

Thomas Gilbert, 30, pictured in his arrest photo from September 18, 2014 over second-degree criminal contempt charge

Princeton grad Tommy Gilbert poses for a picture at the River Club, New York for the Derby in May 2012

Princeton grad Tommy Gilbert poses for a picture at the River Club, New York for the Derby in May 2012

Gilbert Jr was arrested in the Hamptons in September for second-degree criminal contempt, for allegedly violating a restraining order. He has not entered a plea and was due in court next month, according to ABC.

Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70, was found with a gunshot wound to the head at his New York home on Sunday

Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70, was found with a gunshot wound to the head at his New York home on Sunday

The 30-year-old was previously arrested in May 2007 on drug charges.

The Princeton graduate was upset that his weekly allowance had been cut back, according to published reports, when he went to his parents' home in midtown Manhattan on Sunday afternoon.

A source told the New York Daily News that Mr Gilbert Sr had cut back Tommy's weekly allowance to $300 and threatened to stop paying his rent.

Gilbert Jr lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea where, according to listings, guarantors were accepted on the $2,400-a-month rent.

The Ivy Leaguer, who was a regular fixture at Manhattan's black-tie benefits with society beauties on his arm, reportedly slipped past the doorman and into his parents' building shortly before the alleged attack at 3.30pm.

According to The New York Post, Gilbert Jr went to his parents' eighth-floor apartment and asked his mother to leave to get him a sandwich.

The father and son were discussing 'differences in their relationship', according to The Wall Street Journal.

Police remove a body bag from the luxury Manhattan apartment building late on Sunday where a multimillionaire hedge-funder was found with a gunshot wound to the head

Police remove a body bag from the luxury Manhattan apartment building late on Sunday where a multimillionaire hedge-funder was found with a gunshot wound to the head

The NYPD broke down the door of Gilbert Jr's West 18th St ground-floor apartment (pictured) to arrest him on Sunday. According to published news reports, Gilbert Jr had his allowance cut back by his father who was paying his $2,400-a-month rent

The NYPD broke down the door of Gilbert Jr's West 18th St ground-floor apartment (pictured) to arrest him on Sunday. According to published news reports, Gilbert Jr had his allowance cut back by his father who was paying his $2,400-a-month rent

Gilbert Sr's wife Shelley, 67, found her husband dead in the bedroom within minutes of the alleged attack and called 911, police said.

According to a Daily News report, he had the gun on his chest in an alleged attempt to make it look like suicide.

Gilbert Jr was then seen walking out of the building in Manhattan's Turtle Bay area covering his face with a hoodie around 3.35pm, the New York Daily News reported.

The 30-year-old was found in his ground-floor apartment at 10.30pm on Sunday, after he fled from his parents' home in midtown, multiple media outlets claimed, citing police sources.

Police have detained Gilbert Jr after he allegedly barged into his father's bedroom with a gun. He was arrested on Sunday night at his home in Chelsea

Police have detained Gilbert Jr (pictured left in August; right at a concert in Central Park in 2012) after he allegedly barged into his father's bedroom with a gun. He was arrested on Sunday night at his home in Chelsea

Tommy Gilbert Jr, pictured in March 2014, with fellow Princeton graduate Arielle Patrick, at the School of American Ballet's winter ball in New York

Tommy Gilbert Jr, pictured in March 2014, with fellow Princeton graduate Arielle Patrick, at the School of American Ballet's winter ball in New York

Gilbert Jr is reportedly being held at the NYPD's 17th precinct in midtown Manhattan after being arrested on Sunday night at his home

Gilbert Jr is reportedly being held at the NYPD's 17th precinct in midtown Manhattan after being arrested on Sunday night at his home

Police recovered a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun from the scene.

At 10.30pm on Sunday, Gilbert Jr was arrested without incident at his apartment after NYPD officers dressed in riot gear, chopped down the door and found him hiding inside.

He was taken to the 17th precinct in midtown.

Gilbert Jr was being questioned and has not been named a suspect, according to the NYPD. Police have not ruled out the possibility of suicide prior to a report from the city's medical examiner.

The NYPD have not released details of a potential motive.

A spokesperson told Daily Mail Online on Monday that the investigation was ongoing.

Gilbert Jr had a lawyer and was refusing to speak to detectives. He was expected to be charged, The New York Post reported on Monday.

Thomas Gilbert Sr started Wainscott Capital in 2011, growing the fund to a value of $200 million.

Investigators escort a woman, believed to be the victim's wife, from the family's Manhattan home on Sunday
Shelley Gilbert, 67, made the 911 call after finding her husband with a gunshot wound to the head

Investigators escort a woman, believed to be the victim's wife, from the family's Manhattan home on Sunday. Shelley Gilbert (right) was believed to have found her husband's body and called 911

He attended Princeton and Harvard Business School before a 40-year career on Wall Street. According to Wainscott Capital's website, he had extensive knowledge of the stock market, private equity, real estate and the fixed income market.

His son, Tommy Gilbert Jr, attended The Buckley school on Manhattan's Upper East Side from kindergarten until eighth grade. Tuition costs around $35,000 a year.

Noteable alumni of the school include actor James Harder, philanthropist David Rockefeller Jr and Robert Wagner, former deputy mayor of New York.

He then went on to the $50,000-a-year Deerfield Academy in Western Massachusetts, which counts the King of Jordan and Prince of Jordan among its alumni.

After graduating from Deerfield in 2003, Gilbert Jr accepted a place at Princeton University where he graduated in 2009.

A friend told Daily Mail Online on Monday: 'He was a really nice person. He was smart, athletic and he went to Princeton.

'He took some leave of absences from Princeton which is why it took him so long to graduate. He must have been really angry to do something so out-of-character.'

A classmate, who attended Deerfield with Gilbert Jr, also said: 'Tommy was my classmate. This story is an incomprehensible tragedy. My heart goes out to the entire Gilbert family.'

Details of Gilbert Jr's profession remain unclear but he was photographed on multiple occasions at black-tie society events.

The 30-year-old was pictured in March 2014 at the School of American Ballet's winter ball with Arielle Patrick, a 2012 Princeton grad, child of Manhattan private schools and now a PR director, who sources told the Daily Mail Online that he had dated.

Miss Patrick refused to confirm whether the pair had dated on Monday.

A fellow Princeton graduate told Daily Mail Online that Gilbert Jr was a 'highly disturbed individual'. Another friend told Today that 30-year-old Gilbert Jr had become 'volatile' in recent years.

Friends in the 30-year-old's circle told Daily Mail Online that he loved surfing, was 'handsome and nice' but extremely quiet and never talked.

The family property is a $6,000-a-month rental apartment at 20 Beekman Place on 50th Street, a few blocks north of the United Nations on the east side of Manhattan.

The building's porter told the New York Daily News that Gilbert Sr was 'friendly, very nice' and a 'gentleman'.

According to the paper, the son was spotted slipping past the doorman wearing a hoodie shortly before the attack.

'I immediately got a bad vibe,' the doorman told police, according to the Daily News. 'The kid got into the elevator before I got the chance to pick up the telephone.'

A neighbor, named as Bernard, said: 'Five minutes later he comes running out covering his face with a hoodie.'

Gilbert Sr also owns a $10 million property in the Hamptons which is listed for sale at $11.5million.

The 2.5 acre property has five bedrooms, four baths, a heated pool and screened in porch and sits in one of the area's most exclusive enclaves.

Police surrounded the family property, a $6,000-a-month rental, in midtown Manhattan on Sunday

Police surrounded the family property, a $6,000-a-month rental, in midtown Manhattan on Sunday

Police said the fatal attack took place at the family apartment (pictured) in Manhattan's Turtle Bay area
Crime scene investigators with evidence bags enter the Gilbert family home in Manhattan on Sunday

Police reports said the alleged fatal attack took place at the family apartment (pictured left) on the east side of Manhattan. investigators with evidence bags enter the Gilbert family home in Manhattan on Sunday (right)

Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70, was found with a gunshot wound to the head at 3.30pm in his Beekman Place home on the east side of Manhattan. His son was arrested seven hours later after barricading himself in his home on West 18th Street

Thomas Gilbert Sr, 70, was found with a gunshot wound to the head at 3.30pm in his Beekman Place home on the east side of Manhattan. His son was arrested seven hours later after barricading himself in his home on West 18th Street

Wainscott Capital avoided losses which plagued other hedge funds in October last year, gaining 1.65 per cent that month.

In an interview with FINalternatives, Gilbert Sr attributed the success to their moderate risk profile.

'We’re not trying to beat all of the biotech funds, we’re basically trying to avoid drawdowns,' he said.

Named in the annual Who's Who In America list for five years running (1999-2004), Gilbert Sr started his career with a seven-year stint at Loeb Partners Corporation as managing director.

Thomas Gilbert Sr owned this $10 million property in the Hamptons, which has since been sold

Thomas Gilbert Sr owned this $10 million property in the Hamptons, which has since been sold

The 30-year-old went to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, which counts the King of Jordan as an alumnus

The 30-year-old went to Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts (pictured left), which counts the King of Jordan as an alumnus after studying at the prestigious Buckley school in New York City (right)

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