(note: time stamps are without ads so may be off a little)

This week Beth and Wendy discuss the case of John Floyd Thomas Jr., an American serial killer convicted of the murders of seven women in the Los Angeles area during the 70s and 80s. He is also suspected of committing many, many more.

We dive into the setting (9:10), the killer's early life and the timeline (21:14).  Then, we get into the investigation & arrest (38:04), "Where are they now?", followed by our takeaways and what we think made the perp snap (46:12).  

As usual we close out the show with some tips on how not to get murdered and our shout outs (54:13). 

Thanks for listening! This is a weekly podcast and new episodes drop every Thursday, so until next time... look alive guys, it's crazy out there!

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Shout Outs

Signs of a Psychopath
Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Psychopath-Season-2/dp/B0968QQ3G2
Discovery Plus https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/signs-of-a-psychopath

Summer of Soul
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AJ and The Queen
https://www.netflix.com/title/80237329

Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch
https://www.paramountplus.com/movies/dragging-the-classics-the-brady-bunch/gOtrxSBJb2sXoEg9Pm4OddpJ33yT9VV6/

 

Promo

 

Forgotten News Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forgotten-news-podcast/id1260175711

 
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Footnotes

 

Articles/Websites

Wikipedia contributors. (06/29/2021). John Floyd Thomas Jr. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Floyd_Thomas_Jr.&oldid=1031014723

Blankstein, Andrew; Mozingo, Joe. (04/30/2009). LAPD ties 72-year-old man to two waves of serial killings. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-30-me-serial-killer30-story.html

Murderpedia. (n.d.). John Floyd Thomas Jr. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/thomas-john-floyd.htm

Blankenstein, Andrew. (09/24/2009). Alleged ‘Westside Rapist’ suspected in other slayings. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-24-me-serial-killer24-story.html

Wilson, Simone. (04/01/2011). Guilty: L.A. 'westside Rapist' John Floyd Thomas Jr. Admits To Strangling 7 Of His 30 Supposed Victims, Gets Life Term For Each. LA Weekly. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.laweekly.com/guilty-l-a-westside-rapist-john-floyd-thomas-jr-admits-to-strangling-7-of-his-30-supposed-victims-gets-life-term-for-each/

Pelisek, Christine. (07/22/2009). How LAPD's "Closers" Nabbed The Westside Rapist. LA Weekly. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.laweekly.com/how-lapds-closers-nabbed-the-westside-rapist/

Stateman, Alison. (05/03/2009). A Cold Case Gets Hot: Is This L.A.'s Westside Rapist? Time. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1895491,00.html

Kim, Victoria ; Blankstein, Andrew; Leonard, Jack. (04/02/2011). Serial killer John Floyd Thomas Jr., dubbed the Westside Rapist, is sentenced to life. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-apr-02-la-me-westside-rapist-20110402-story.html

Abram, Susan. (04/30/2009). Accused serial killer described as a ‘doll’. Daily News. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.dailynews.com/2009/04/30/accused-serial-killer-described-as-a-doll/

Girardot, Frank. (n.d.) Crimescene Blog. Inside SoCal. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime/tag/john-thomas/

Stumbo, Bella. (12/29/1975). Aura of Dread Lingers in Wake of West Side Rapist. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://mylifeofcrime.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/aura-of-dread-lingers-in-wake-of-west-side-rapist.pdf

Stoltze, Frank. (04/30/2009). LAPD arrest man believed to have committed dozens of murders, rapes. 89.3KPCC. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.scpr.org/news/2009/04/30/389/lapd-arrest-man-believed-to-have-committed-dozens-/

Blankstein, Andrew. (05/02/2009). Accused Los Angeles serial killer was religious 'pleasant fellow'. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/accused-los-angeles-serial-killer-was-religious-pleasant-fellow.html

History

Los Angeles Almanac. (01/02/2019). Original Settlers (Pobladores) of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, 1781. Retrieved on 07/05/2021 from http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi05.php

Black History. (n.d.). Black People Founded the City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.blackhistory.com/2019/11/black-people-settlers-founded-city-los-angeles.html

Paul R Williams Project. (n.d.). Paul R. Williams, Architect. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/about/paul-revere-williams-architect/

LA Controller. (n.d.). African American Heritage Across Los Angeles. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://lacontroller.org/data-stories-and-maps/african-american-heritage-map/

Ferris State University. (n.d.). What Was Jim Crow. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm

Simpson, Kelly. (02/22/2012). A Southern California Dream Deferred: Racial Covenants in Los Angeles. KCET. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.kcet.org/history-society/a-southern-california-dream-deferred-racial-covenants-in-los-angeles

Kilgore, Steven. (06/22/2020). Los Angeles Land Covenants, Redlining; Creation and Effects. Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/los-angeles-land-covenants-redlining-creation-and-effects

Podcasts

Evans, Francel; Williams, Alvin (hosts). (3/1/2021) Affirmative Murder: Silent Sword. [Audio Podcast].  Retrieved 7/3/2021 from https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-affirmative-murder-63432252/episode/167-silent-sword-78298310/

Video

Elusive Serial Killer Caught. CNN. https://youtu.be/xEu5KBxu910

LA’s most deadly serial killer. https://youtu.be/K3AnVE5rrIw

How Not to Get Murdered

Escondido Police Department. (n.d.). Personal Safety Tips For Older Adults. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://police.escondido.org/Data/Sites/4/media/pdfs/PersonalSafetyTipsForOlderAdults.pdf

Music

“Abyss” by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy●
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

“One Way” by Yung Kartz https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Yung_Kartz
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

“Ice Flow” & “Furious Freak” by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3791-furious-freak
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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