Slain N.D. dentist’s daughter did not attend funeral
Some relatives say they are concerned about girl’s custody

BY JOHNNY JOHNSON
Published: November 5, 2009

A North Dakota dentist who authorities say was the victim of a murder-for-hire plot by his Oklahoma father-in-law was laid to rest Wednesday, but his daughter was not present at his funeral.

Philip Gattuso Dentist slain in Fargo, N.D.

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"He was a gentleman and absolutely loved Kennedy. He took Kennedy to story time and IHOP on Saturdays and invited us along."
Amber Meikle
Moorehead, Minn., woman who wrote on an online guestbook

Family members said Philip M. Gattuso’s 3-year-old daughter, Kennedy, is in the custody of her maternal aunt, Regan Williams, and was not allowed to attend the funeral. Gattuso’s relatives said Wednesday after the funeral they are concerned about the girl’s custody situation since it is Williams’ father who has been charged in connection with Philip Gattuso’s death.

Phone calls to Williams’ home were not returned Wednesday, and a man who answered the door at a house in the 12600 block of N Douglas Blvd. said she was not at home.

Philip Gattuso’s wife, Valerie, died in March after living about 18 months with an artificial heart.

Gene Kirkpatrick, 63, of Oklahoma City is charged in Cass County, N.D., with conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to commit burglary. Investigators in Oklahoma and Fargo, N.D., said Kirkpatrick confessed to paying his handyman $3,000 to kill Kirkpatrick’s son-in-law.

Kirkpatrick refused to sign a waiver of extradition to North Dakota, and Oklahoma County prosecutors took the next step in the extradition process Wednesday by charging the retired telecommunications worker as a fugitive from justice. District Judge Ray Elliott on Tuesday informed Kirkpatrick that he would have an extradition hearing in 30 to 60 days.

The handyman, Michael Nakvinda, 41, who is accused of bludgeoning Philip Gattuso to death with a hammer, is charged with murder, robbery, burglary and theft. He waived extradition to North Dakota.

Roy Gattuso of Gretna, La., said his brother’s death was the result of selfishness and obsession on the part of Kirkpatrick’s family after their daughter became gravely ill this year. Kirkpatrick pressured Philip Gattuso to promise that if his wife died, he would assign custody of the couple’s daughter to his in-laws, Roy Gattuso said. After Philip Gattuso refused, his relationship with the Kirkpatricks deteriorated rapidly, and he even began to fear for his safety after Kirkpatrick threatened to kill him, his brother said.

Paying respects

While family and friends in and around the New Orleans area grieved the loss of Phillip Gattuso, others he met in Oklahoma and Fargo, N.D., offered sympathy to the family via an online guestbook.

Grace Holden of Oklahoma City wrote that Philip Gattuso was a "joy to work with during his residence at the OU College of Dentistry.”

Robin Barnes, administrative assistant for the college, said in a telephone interview Wednesday that she knew him in the late 1990s when he was attending graduate school and trying to make time for his two sons, for whom she said he would do anything.

"On Fat Tuesday, he used to send us king cakes from New Orleans,” Barnes said. "He was just a real nice guy.”

A couple of those paying respects to the late dentist included a woman in Minnesota who said the two were dating, and a doctor in Tulsa who said she met Gattuso online.

Dr. Debbie Gladd of Tulsa said in her guestbook posting that she recently met Gattuso through Match.com, and that before his death the two had been exchanging e-mails and frequently talking on the phone.

"We were so looking forward to finally meeting over the Thanksgiving holiday when he and Kennedy planned to travel to Oklahoma,” Gladd wrote. Another woman, Amber Meikle of Moorehead. Minn., wrote that she and Gattuso were dating.

"He was a gentleman and absolutely loved Kennedy,” Meikle wrote. "He took Kennedy to story time and IHOP on Saturdays and invited us along.”

CONTRIBUTING: STAFF WRITER NOLAN CLAY; NEW ORLEANS TIMES-PICAYUNE WRITER ALLEN POWELL II