TN TN & WA - Thomas Maupin, 1988 - 2001

[DSCrime]

Didn't see a thread on this guy. Think he's likely responsible for more cases.

Convicted rapist identified by dentures now indicted in 2001 murders in Frayser

"A 70-year-old man whose left-behind dentures linked him to a 2001 rape has now been indicted on the murders of two women whose bodies were found a month later in a remote area of Frayser, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Thomas Maupin in the separate murders of the two women whose bodies were found in a weeded area near the dead-end of Old Millington Road south of Fite Road.

The body of Nancy Carol Alvis, 46, was found on Oct. 22, 2001. Her decomposed body was identified by dental records. She had been strangled weeks earlier, medical examiners determined.

While sheriff’s investigators were doing follow-up work the next day, they discovered the body of Patricia Cook Thornton, 37, in the same area. Medical examiners determined she had been stabbed and that she had been dead for about two days.

Maupin was among suspects at that time, but was not charged. He admitted often taking women to the dead-end of Old Millington road to have sex for money. Maupin said he knew both women as frequent customers of Harpo’s, a Frayser bar on U.S. 51 not far from the crime scene.

In 2017, a review of a cold-case rape kit led to his indictment and guilty plea in the August 2001 stabbing and rape of a 31-year-old woman in the 1200 block of Thomas near Frayser Blvd. A set of dentures collected and tagged by crime scene investigators was placed in the police property room with a sexual assault kit, including DNA evidence that became part of a backlog and was not tested until many years later.

In July of 2016, the dentures were taken to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for testing, and a partial DNA profile was developed that was consistent with that of Maupin. His name also was imprinted on the dentures.

He pled guilty to the rape a year later and is serving an eight-year sentence at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, about 50 miles northeast of Nashville.

The solving of the cold-case rape led to a reopening of the unsolved murders.

Maupin came to Memphis after serving 12 years in Washington for the 1988 abduction and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Spokane. He was twice convicted and sentenced to 40 years, but the convictions were overturned on appeal and he was released in 1997 after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. "

 

[DSCrime]

Man indicted in 2001 cold case murders

"WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (WMC) - A cold case is now solved after two women were found murdered 19 years ago. Prosecutors say the killer is already behind bars.

One of the murdered women, Patricia Thornton, grew up in Arkansas and lived in West Memphis with her second husband. Her family says now that a man has been indicted for the murders 19 years later, they have a bit of closure and they know what they want to happen to the 70-year-old suspect.

“We were excited, it’s kind of nice to know she can rest in peace,” said Angela Henry, cousin.

Angela Henry is Patricia Thornton’s first cousin. She said the past 19 years have been a nightmare since the 37-year-old mother of three was found stabbed to death along with 46-year old Nancy Alvis.

Seventy-year-old Thomas Maupin was just indicted by a Shelby County grand jury for the two murders. The two women were known to frequent Harpo’s, a bar on Highway 51. WMC Action News 5 spoke with customers in 2001 who said Thornton was a frequent customer.

“Everybody been looking for her. No one knew where she was or heard from her and that was unusual because she always came around,” said Wayne Hopper, customer.

Alvis was discovered nude in a field not far from Harpo’s. The next day, investigators found Patricia Thornton’s body.


The murders have taken a toll on Thornton’s family.

“Her mom grieved to her death going to her grave not knowing who did this to her daughter,” said Henry.

Angela Henry says she and the many cousins and Thornton’s sister never gave up looking for her killer.

Investigators say Maupin was a suspect at the time of the murders, admitting he knew the two women and he frequently went to an area not far where their bodies were found with women he paid for sex.

“What gets me is this man killed a 6-year-old and they let him out of it,” said Henry.

Maupin came to Memphis after being convicted of the abduction and murder in 1988 of a 6-year-old girl. He appealed his initial sentence spending only a few years behind bars. In 2017, Maupin was convicted for the 2001 stabbing and rape of a 31-year-old woman. DNA and Maupin’s false teeth with his name on them left at that scene, eventually tied him to the two murders near Harpo’s after investigators took another look.

“He needs to be put behind bars and the key thrown away,” said Henry"

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Man indicted in 2001 cold case murders

"WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (WMC) - A cold case is now solved after two women were found murdered 19 years ago. Prosecutors say the killer is already behind bars.

One of the murdered women, Patricia Thornton, grew up in Arkansas and lived in West Memphis with her second husband. Her family says now that a man has been indicted for the murders 19 years later, they have a bit of closure and they know what they want to happen to the 70-year-old suspect.

“We were excited, it’s kind of nice to know she can rest in peace,” said Angela Henry, cousin.

Angela Henry is Patricia Thornton’s first cousin. She said the past 19 years have been a nightmare since the 37-year-old mother of three was found stabbed to death along with 46-year old Nancy Alvis.

Seventy-year-old Thomas Maupin was just indicted by a Shelby County grand jury for the two murders. The two women were known to frequent Harpo’s, a bar on Highway 51. WMC Action News 5 spoke with customers in 2001 who said Thornton was a frequent customer.

“Everybody been looking for her. No one knew where she was or heard from her and that was unusual because she always came around,” said Wayne Hopper, customer.

Alvis was discovered nude in a field not far from Harpo’s. The next day, investigators found Patricia Thornton’s body.


The murders have taken a toll on Thornton’s family.

“Her mom grieved to her death going to her grave not knowing who did this to her daughter,” said Henry.

Angela Henry says she and the many cousins and Thornton’s sister never gave up looking for her killer.

Investigators say Maupin was a suspect at the time of the murders, admitting he knew the two women and he frequently went to an area not far where their bodies were found with women he paid for sex.

“What gets me is this man killed a 6-year-old and they let him out of it,” said Henry.

Maupin came to Memphis after being convicted of the abduction and murder in 1988 of a 6-year-old girl. He appealed his initial sentence spending only a few years behind bars. In 2017, Maupin was convicted for the 2001 stabbing and rape of a 31-year-old woman. DNA and Maupin’s false teeth with his name on them left at that scene, eventually tied him to the two murders near Harpo’s after investigators took another look.

“He needs to be put behind bars and the key thrown away,” said Henry"

Man indicted in 2001 cold case murders

"WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (WMC) - A cold case is now solved after two women were found murdered 19 years ago. Prosecutors say the killer is already behind bars.

One of the murdered women, Patricia Thornton, grew up in Arkansas and lived in West Memphis with her second husband. Her family says now that a man has been indicted for the murders 19 years later, they have a bit of closure and they know what they want to happen to the 70-year-old suspect.

“We were excited, it’s kind of nice to know she can rest in peace,” said Angela Henry, cousin.

Angela Henry is Patricia Thornton’s first cousin. She said the past 19 years have been a nightmare since the 37-year-old mother of three was found stabbed to death along with 46-year old Nancy Alvis.

Seventy-year-old Thomas Maupin was just indicted by a Shelby County grand jury for the two murders. The two women were known to frequent Harpo’s, a bar on Highway 51. WMC Action News 5 spoke with customers in 2001 who said Thornton was a frequent customer.

“Everybody been looking for her. No one knew where she was or heard from her and that was unusual because she always came around,” said Wayne Hopper, customer.

Alvis was discovered nude in a field not far from Harpo’s. The next day, investigators found Patricia Thornton’s body.


The murders have taken a toll on Thornton’s family.

“Her mom grieved to her death going to her grave not knowing who did this to her daughter,” said Henry.

Angela Henry says she and the many cousins and Thornton’s sister never gave up looking for her killer.

Investigators say Maupin was a suspect at the time of the murders, admitting he knew the two women and he frequently went to an area not far where their bodies were found with women he paid for sex.

“What gets me is this man killed a 6-year-old and they let him out of it,” said Henry.

Maupin came to Memphis after being convicted of the abduction and murder in 1988 of a 6-year-old girl. He appealed his initial sentence spending only a few years behind bars. In 2017, Maupin was convicted for the 2001 stabbing and rape of a 31-year-old woman. DNA and Maupin’s false teeth with his name on them left at that scene, eventually tied him to the two murders near Harpo’s after investigators took another look.

“He needs to be put behind bars and the key thrown away,” said Henry"

Unbelievable that he abducted and murdered a 6 year-old girl in 1988, for which he spent only a few years in prison. Sentencing guidelines in this country MUST be made more uniform.

 

[Richard]

As always, one has to ask; how many others were there?

 

[Richard]

Thomas Maupin, Rapist and Killer.

LINK:

Police Finally Realize Dentures Found At 16-Year-Old Rape Scene Had Attacker’s Name On Them

 

[DSCrime]

Found this link with more info on Maupin's conviction & appeals related to the 1988 murder of a child out of WA state.

State v. Maupin

I'm not going to post the child's name on this thread b/c neither of the articles above did and I don't know what the policy is here on Websleuths.

From the link, it looks like that the night the little girl was abducted, her family & her had attended a birthday party where Maupin was also a guest:

"On January 25, 1988, the Spokane Police Department received a call that ****, the six-year-old daughter of ****, had disappeared during the night from the family home at **** in Spokane. The previous evening, Ms. ****, accompanied by her four-year-old son **** and ****, attended a birthday party at the home of a neighbor. Thomas Edward Maupin was also a guest at the party. The subsequent facts, involving the late night abduction of **** and her disappearance until her body was found in a gravel pit nearly six months later, are set forth in detail in State v. Maupin, 63 Wash. App. 887, 889-92, 822 P.2d 355, review denied, 119 Wash. 2d 1003, 832 P.2d 487 (1992). There is no need to repeat those facts."

The link also states that Maupin has links to Ohio, where he seems to have been picked up & charged in Feb 1989 for the murder in Spokane:

"In February 1989, Maupin waived extradition from Ohio in order to stand trial in Spokane County on the charge of felony murder predicated on the underlying crimes of second degree kidnapping and first degree rape or attempted rape."

As for the rest of the link, it's a lot of legalese that I don't fully understand. There were issues w/ the trials. I'll post the conclusion of the legal decision below.

"We fully recognize the trauma a third trial represents for the family of **** They have endured the two prior trials in this case. Significant errors in the two previous trials have compelled reversal of Maupin's convictions and the granting of a new trial in each instance. But we are also mindful of the right of Thomas Edward Maupin to a fair trial on this most serious charge. Our system of justice so requires... We reverse the conviction, vacate the sentence, and remand the case for a new trial."

 

[OEJ]

I check on the Tricna Dawn Cloy case every so often because she lived just up the street from me when she was abducted. My friend's children found her skull 6 months later. I went to college with her mother, Christine. Her mom suffered so much. It was awful to see. Some people believed she was lying about Tricna being abducted and had killed the child, herself. I felt so bad for her.

I about died when Maupin ended up pleading to a lesser sentence and was released. I felt better about it when he was sentenced for rape but 8 years was so paltry. Now, I see he was indicted for murders two years ago. I can't imagine how many women and children this guy has raped and killed. He's just slid through the cracks his whole life. Now, he's in his 70s. It's heartbreaking.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Didn't see a thread on this guy. Think he's likely responsible for more cases.

Convicted rapist identified by dentures now indicted in 2001 murders in Frayser

"A 70-year-old man whose left-behind dentures linked him to a 2001 rape has now been indicted on the murders of two women whose bodies were found a month later in a remote area of Frayser, said Shelby County Dist. Atty. Gen. Amy Weirich.

A Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Thomas Maupin in the separate murders of the two women whose bodies were found in a weeded area near the dead-end of Old Millington Road south of Fite Road.

The body of Nancy Carol Alvis, 46, was found on Oct. 22, 2001. Her decomposed body was identified by dental records. She had been strangled weeks earlier, medical examiners determined.

While sheriff’s investigators were doing follow-up work the next day, they discovered the body of Patricia Cook Thornton, 37, in the same area. Medical examiners determined she had been stabbed and that she had been dead for about two days.

Maupin was among suspects at that time, but was not charged. He admitted often taking women to the dead-end of Old Millington road to have sex for money. Maupin said he knew both women as frequent customers of Harpo’s, a Frayser bar on U.S. 51 not far from the crime scene.

In 2017, a review of a cold-case rape kit led to his indictment and guilty plea in the August 2001 stabbing and rape of a 31-year-old woman in the 1200 block of Thomas near Frayser Blvd. A set of dentures collected and tagged by crime scene investigators was placed in the police property room with a sexual assault kit, including DNA evidence that became part of a backlog and was not tested until many years later.

In July of 2016, the dentures were taken to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for testing, and a partial DNA profile was developed that was consistent with that of Maupin. His name also was imprinted on the dentures.

He pled guilty to the rape a year later and is serving an eight-year sentence at Trousdale Turner Correctional Center in Hartsville, about 50 miles northeast of Nashville.

The solving of the cold-case rape led to a reopening of the unsolved murders.

Maupin came to Memphis after serving 12 years in Washington for the 1988 abduction and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Spokane. He was twice convicted and sentenced to 40 years, but the convictions were overturned on appeal and he was released in 1997 after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. "

How did they miss his name on the dentures? Wow!