IL IL - Everett, Lydia, Everett Jr, & Andrew Thompson, Chicago, 5 July 1996

[lostwithoutyou]

Andrew Thompson


Photo of Andrew:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: July 5, 1996 from Chicago, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: April 4, 1988
Age: 8 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.



Everett Thompson Jr.

Photo of Everett:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: July 5, 1996 from Chicago, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: June 22, 1985
Age: 11 years old
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.

Everett Thompson Sr.
Photo of Everett:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: July 5, 1996 from Chicago, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: March 12, 1956
Age: 40 years old
Height and Weight: 6'0, 250 pounds
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes. Everett may have a moustache.


Lydia Thompson
Photo of Lydia:

Vital Statistics at Time of Disappearance

Missing Since: July 5, 1996 from Chicago, Illinois
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: September 12, 1952
Age: 43 years old
Height and Weight: 5'8, 135 pounds Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Lydia has a large vaccination scar on one of her upper arms. She may use her maiden name, White.





Details of Disappearance
Andrew was last seen on July 5, 1996 in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. His father, Everett Thompson Sr., owned Eat and Company, a business located in the Park Manor neighborhood of the city. The family lived in the 8100 block of South Rhodes Avenue. Everett Sr.'s mother reported their family missing when she was unable to contact them by July 17, 1996, 12 days after they were last seen. Andrew's mother, Lydia Thompson, and his older brother, Everett Thompson Jr., disappeared as well. None of the family members have been heard from again. Lydia's brother, Kenneth White, was questioned several times regarding his sister's family's whereabouts. He is an ex-convict who had lived with the family during the summer of 1996 and in early July, Lydia called 911 to report that he had threatened to kill her with an ax. White had been indicted for falsifying Lydia's signature on a check shortly after she was last seen. He was driving her van when he was arrested. White committed suicide in December 1997, while in jail on suspicion of mail fraud. Before his death he did not reveal any possible information he may have concealed regarding the Thompsons' cases. White was never charged in connection with their disappearances. He has a record of kidnapping and rape. Bloody clothing, including a boy's sock, was found in his trailer after the Thompson family's disappearance, but it was not released whose blood it was. In June 1998, investigators searched White's former residence and the area around it for the Thompson family's bodies, but they did not find human remains. There was speculation that the Thompsons may have left Chicago and traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or St. Paul, Minnesota. No evidence has been located to prove these theories. The family's cases remain unsolved.



Investigating Agency

If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Chicago Police Department
312-433-7007
OR
312-747-6222

http://charleyproject.org/cases/t/thompson_andrew.html

 

[lostwithoutyou]

Today, July 5, 2007, marks the eleventh anniversary of the disappearance of the Thompson family. Please keep them and their family in your prayers. If you have any information on the disappearance of Everett Sr., Lydia, Everett Jr., and Andrew Thompson, please contact your local police station or the Chicago Police Department at 312-433-7007 OR 312-747-6222. (you can remain annonymous.)

 

[mayqueen]

What Happened to the Thompson Family (March 9, 2012)

Everett Thompson owner of Eat and Company, a Park Manor neighborhood business, was last seen on July 5, 1996 by one of his employees.

On that July afternoon in 1996 Thompson's father phoned his son, Everett, at the Chicago restaurant the younger man owned. The elder Thompson recalled that he also broached the topic of his son's quarrelsome brother-in-law, an ex-convict, and a freeloading house guest of Everett and his wife, Lydia Thompson. Everett interrupted their conversation to take a frantic phone call from Lydia, at home with the couple's two sons, Everett Jr., 10, and Andrew, 8.

Back on the line seconds later Everett told his dad he had to go home right away. Lydia's brother was chasing her around the house with an ax. She locked herself in the bedroom and called Everett to come home.

The early July phone call was the last time either man spoke to the other.

Really sad case. I hope they are found someday so they can be laid to rest properly.

 

[CatFancier]

More at link

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

I'm surprised an entire family is missing and there was never a resolution on their whereabouts. I wonder if their case is still active and open. Anyone know?

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bumping. Missing for 19 years next month.

 

[JusticeWillBeServed]

Bumping, The Thompson Family missing for twenty years now.

http://ilcoldcases.blogspot.com/2016/07/missing-for-20-years-thompson-family.html

 

[CastlesBurning]

Bumping for the Thompson family...this summer marks 24 years since they disappeared.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Cold Case Michigan 1945: The Unsolved Murder of Lydia Thompson

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The Unsolved Murder of Lydia Thompson - Prestigious Scholarships

 

[Pennysmom1]

This Entire Family Is Missing From Chicago, Illinois | The Vivid Faces of the Vanished | NewsBreak Original

The Thompson FamilyMissing Persons Awareness Network. 43-year-old Lydia Thompson and her 40-year-old husband Everett had two boys, 8-year-old Andrew and 11-year-old Everett, Jr. They raised their family in the 8100 block of Rhodes Avenue in Chicago, and the couple owned EAT, a restaurant in Park...

original.newsbreak.com

This Entire Family Is Missing From Chicago, Illinois​

The Vivid Faces of the Vanished2022-08-24

The Thompson Family Missing Persons Awareness Network
43-year-old Lydia Thompson and her 40-year-old husband Everett had two boys, 8-year-old Andrew and 11-year-old Everett, Jr. They raised their family in the 8100 block of Rhodes Avenue in Chicago, and the couple owned EAT, a restaurant in Park Manor. Lydia’s father passed away and willed the home to Lydia and her siblings. Each one owned one-third of the property. Lydia had a brother named Kenneth White, who had just been released from prison due to a rape conviction. Kenneth came to live at the house, which made everyone unhappy. Everett’s family felt Kenneth was a “freeloader”, the Charley Project reports. About four months after he moved in, Lydia called 911 and told authorities that Kenneth threatened to kill her with an ax. The police came, but no one was arrested or charged with an offense.

According to the Chicago Police Department, on July 5, 1996, Everett was working at EAT when he received a frantic call from Lydia. She begged him to come home immediately because Kenneth had chased her around the house with an ax, and she had locked herself in the bathroom. Everett, who was on another call with his father, told his dad about the situation, hung up, and raced home, the Charley Project reports.
Two hours later, Kenneth pulled up to EAT. He was driving the same company van Everett used to go home earlier on the same day. He told the manager that Everett had just gotten arrested due to a car accident. Before he left, the manager noticed blood on his white tennis shoes.
After twelve days of being unable to contact the family, Everett’s father asked the police to complete a welfare check on July 17, 1996. When the police arrived, Kenneth was at home alone, and he told authorities the family went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Everett’s parents lived. The family van was gone, and there were no signs of foul play. The Chicago Police believed his story.

The Thompson Family The Charley Project
For the next few weeks, Kenneth continued to make up various stories about where the family was. They went to Hawaii, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. He just kept making up lies, the Charley Project reports.
When the family of Everett Thompson traveled to Chicago in late July to find their loved ones, they went to the restaurant with authorities. The manager advised the family of what Kenneth said about the car accident and the blood on his shoes. Authorities investigated his story and discovered there had never been an accident.

After pressure from the family, investigators discover Kenneth had forged Lydia’s signature on several documents, including documents to sell their home. Before the house sale, an inspector discovered that one toilet and bathtub had recently been painted red and the kitchen floor pulled out. The renovations were completed after the police visit on July 17. By the time the police discovered the house had been sold illegally, the new owners had already gutted the home for their renovations.
Kenneth still was not arrested. He moved to a trailer in Gary, Indiana, and in July 1997, the FBI conducted a search finding a bloodstained sock of a boy and a bloodstained pair of men's tennis shoes.
According to court records, in November of 1997, he was arrested for failing to register as a sex offender. He was released but arrested again in December of 1997 for forging Lydia’s signature on a $13,000 check.

Kenneth White hung himself in his jail cell on Christmas Day 1997. He did not leave a note.
The Thompson Family has never been located.
If you have any information, please contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-433-7007 or 312-747-6222.

Everett Thompson Sr
Age at Time of Disappearance: 40 years old
Height and Weight at Time of Disappearance: 6'0"; 250 lbs.
Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male. Black hair; brown eyes. Medium complexion.
Lydia Thompson
Age at Time of Disappearance: 43 years old
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: September 12, 1952
Height and Weight: 5'8, 135 pounds

Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American female. Brown hair, brown eyes. Lydia has a large vaccination scar on one of her upper arms.
Everett Thompson Jr
Age at Time of Disappearance: 11 years old
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: June 22, 1985
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes.
Andrew Thompson
Age at Time of Disappearance: 8 years old
Classification: Endangered Missing
Date Of Birth: April 4, 1988
Distinguishing Characteristics: African-American male. Black hair, brown eyes

 

[OddOneOut]

So, the "family van" was missing when police went to the house on July 17th of 1996. Is it still missing?

 

[annemc2]

And in all my years here I have never heard of a suspect painting a toilet and bathtub red. That's wild (and lazy).

 

[John/Jane Doe]

Everett Thompson Jr. – The Charley Project

 

[angel2411]

So, the "family van" was missing when police went to the house on July 17th of 1996. Is it still missing?

"He was driving her van when he was arrested"
I am not sure how many vans they owned. It sounds like they had a company van also. So I am not sure if the van he was arrested in was the family or company van.

Sad to believe that her own brother murdered her entire family because he was a lazy criminal who was essiently using them for money and was so much of a coward that he took his own life when he felt his back against the wall even a little.

 

[spartanx]

At first, I'd never heard of this case... but there are so many questions... How could the police have made such grave errors? And how the hell did White manage to get rid of not one but four bodies in total?
It seems he had 12 days to get rid of the bodies before they were reported missing...
No one at the restaurant reported Everette Sr. missing? His brother-in-law shows up with blood on his shoes... makes up some weird story, and then Everette doesn't show up for work for 12 days?
People know Lydia said she was in danger, but no one checks on her?
And after the initial axe chase, why have him in the house? The kids witnessed it... I bet they did. They were even afraid of their uncle...
I think they made a terrible decision... Many otherwise rational adults allow dangerous and violent people into their homes (and near their children) out of absurd notions of loyalty: "He's family!" or "He's blood!" Maybe it was because he was entitled to a third of the house... as the father had specified... they had to accept it... but White is the guilty party, and I think we'll never know the whole truth, unfortunately...
whatever it is
Rest in peace