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John Floyd Thomas
USINFO | 2013-08-15 17:27
John Floyd Thomas, Jr. (born July 26, 1936) is an American criminal who has been arrested and charged with the murders of seven women in the Los Angeles area during the 1970s and 1980s.
Early life
Thomas was born in Los Angeles and his mother died when he was 12 years old. He was later alternately raised by his aunt and a godmother. Throughout his childhood, Thomas attended public schools, including the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. Thomas served in the U.S. Air Force in 1956 for a brief period of time. While stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, a superior noted that Thomas was regularly "late" and "slovenly" in appearance.
He received a dishonorable discharge, according to his military records, and was arrested for burglary and attempted rape in Los Angeles. Thomas was convicted of these crimes and sentenced in 1957 to six years in the California state prison system. As a result of a pair of parole violations, Thomas remained incarcerated until 1966.
2009 arrest
Thomas was arrested on March 31, 2009, and on April 2, 2009 he was charged with the murders of Ethel Sokoloff in November 1972 and Elizabeth McKeown in February 1976. On September 23, 2009, he was charged with five further murders of Cora Perry in September 1975; Maybelle Hudson in April 1976; Miriam McKinley in June 1976; EvalynBunner in October 1976; and Adrian Askew in June 1986.
A break in solving the related murders came in October 2008 when Thomas Jr. -- a man twice convicted of crimes of sexual assault—provided a DNA sample to authorities as part of an effort to assemble an offender database in the state of California. Police arrested Thomas on April 2, 2009. He is currently being held without bail at the LA County Jail.
Case history
In the first wave of killings in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, a man police nicknamed the "Westside Rapist" entered the homes of elderly women who lived alone, raped them and choked them until they passed out or died. At least 17 were killed and were typically found with pillows or blankets over their faces. A decade later, and 40 miles to the east, five elderly women in Claremont were found raped and killed, also with blankets or pillows over their faces. The case soon became a cold case for the investigators until John Floyd Thomas came to light in 2009.
Early life
Thomas was born in Los Angeles and his mother died when he was 12 years old. He was later alternately raised by his aunt and a godmother. Throughout his childhood, Thomas attended public schools, including the Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles. Thomas served in the U.S. Air Force in 1956 for a brief period of time. While stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, a superior noted that Thomas was regularly "late" and "slovenly" in appearance.
He received a dishonorable discharge, according to his military records, and was arrested for burglary and attempted rape in Los Angeles. Thomas was convicted of these crimes and sentenced in 1957 to six years in the California state prison system. As a result of a pair of parole violations, Thomas remained incarcerated until 1966.
2009 arrest
Thomas was arrested on March 31, 2009, and on April 2, 2009 he was charged with the murders of Ethel Sokoloff in November 1972 and Elizabeth McKeown in February 1976. On September 23, 2009, he was charged with five further murders of Cora Perry in September 1975; Maybelle Hudson in April 1976; Miriam McKinley in June 1976; EvalynBunner in October 1976; and Adrian Askew in June 1986.
A break in solving the related murders came in October 2008 when Thomas Jr. -- a man twice convicted of crimes of sexual assault—provided a DNA sample to authorities as part of an effort to assemble an offender database in the state of California. Police arrested Thomas on April 2, 2009. He is currently being held without bail at the LA County Jail.
Case history
In the first wave of killings in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s, a man police nicknamed the "Westside Rapist" entered the homes of elderly women who lived alone, raped them and choked them until they passed out or died. At least 17 were killed and were typically found with pillows or blankets over their faces. A decade later, and 40 miles to the east, five elderly women in Claremont were found raped and killed, also with blankets or pillows over their faces. The case soon became a cold case for the investigators until John Floyd Thomas came to light in 2009.
