 When he was one year old, Gaskins drank a bottle of kerosene, which caused him to have convulsions until he was three years old.His mother apparently took so little interest in him that the first time he learned his given name—Donald—was when it was read out in his first court appearance, for a crime spree Gaskins committed along with a group of fellow delinquents which included robberies, assaults and a gang rape.Following his conviction for his role in the crime spree, Gaskins was sent to reform school.