Air Force TSgt Thomas Bunday Died By Suicide in Texas on Day of Arrest; Bunday Confessed to 5 Murders Near Eielson AFB, Alaska (March 15, 1983)

On March 15, 1983August 25, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Suicide, USAF4 Comments

Thomas Bunday.jpg — TSgt Thomas Richard Bunday, U.S. Air Force (photo: Investigation Discovery)

Honoring the victims:

Glinda Sodemann, 19, Fairbanks, Alaska (August 29, 1979)
Doris Oehring, 11, North Pole, Alaska (June 13, 1980)
Marlene Peters, 21, Tanana, Alaska (January 31, 1981)
Wendy Wilson, 16, Eielson, Alaska (March 5, 1981)
Lori King, 18, Fairbanks, Alaska (May 16, 1981)
Cassandra Goodwin, 22, Henrietta, Texas (never admitted to homicide)

On June 13, 1980, 11-year-old Doris Oehring went missing from North Pole, Alaska; they found her bike in the ditch. Luckily, a witness saw a blue vehicle near the area where the bicycle was found and helped the police create a composite sketch; but no leads were generated. To make matters worse, this was the second known abduction in less than a year. Eight months earlier, on August 29, 1979, a boy hunting in the woods found the decomposing body of 19-year-old Glinda Sodemann; she had been strangled and shot. Nine months after Doris Oehring mysteriously went missing; 16-year-old Wendy Wilson disappeared; her friend last saw her talking to a man in a white truck. Wendy’s body was found three days later; she had been strangled and shot in the head as well. Police wondered if there was more than one predator. As the police scrambled to find leads, another body of a woman turned up dead near Eielson Air Force Base. The victim was identified as 21-year-old Marlene Peters; Marlene was strangled and shot in the head too.

The police were panicking because of the number of murders in one location, and then a fifth woman vanished. Troopers teamed up with military and civilian search teams to find the missing and then one day while soldiers were out hunting, they found the body of Lori King; she too was strangled and shot in the head. Unable to calculate the next move of the serial killer, state troopers tried another tactic. They staked out the killer’s dumping grounds within a 10 mile radius of Eielson AFB. And then the killings stopped. And then in November 1982, troopers received a call from Henrietta, Texas informing them a woman had been murdered in the same fashion as their suspected serial killer. Police worked with the military to see if they couldn’t narrow down the suspects based on who owned a blue car or white pick-up truck. And finally, the police came up with a name: Thomas Richard Bunday was a TSgt in the Air Force who transferred to Sheppard AFB shortly after the murder of the fifth victim in Alaska.

Alaska investigators learned Bunday owned a blue car and a white truck, and he was on the Air Force’s radar list because there were several complaints made about his inappropriate sexual remarks to women in the workplace. Alaska investigators also learned Bunday served in the military for fifteen years and was a married, father of two. On March 7, 1983, Alaska investigators talked to Bunday for three hours about everything but the murders and they did this for several days hoping he would confess; but he refused to talk. Bunday didn’t deny the crimes; but refused to confess. After a week of interrogation, the troopers obtained a search warrant to search Bunday’s property. They found a lot of incriminating evidence that directly tied him to the crime in Alaska but had to obtain an arrest warrant from Alaska. Alaska Troopers had no power to arrest outside of Alaska. The Governor offered a private leer jet to bring Bunday back to Alaska. The arrest was the next day but he failed to show up as promised.

Unfortunately, Thomas Bunday slipped past surveillance on his motorcycle. Instead of meeting with the Alaska investigators again, Bunday instead killed himself. Police learned Bunday died by suicide after he crossed the center line and slammed into a truck at a 100 mph. Police were really hoping they would get more information from him before he died. They wanted to know where Doris’ body was so they could give the family closure. In August 1986, three years after Bunday died, Doris’ skull was found in a remote section of Eielson Air Force Base. It was later learned that Bunday’s job in the Air Force most likely allowed him to view his dump sites via surveillance cameras and relive his sadistic behavior. Bunday was most likely watching investigators at the crime scene. Alaska state investigators are convinced that Thomas Richard Bunday was responsible for the five murders in Alaska. And they believe Bunday denied the murder in Texas to avoid the death penalty before opting instead to kill himself on March 15, 1983.

Source: North Pole Slay Ride, Ice Cold Killers, Investigation Discovery

“From 1979 to 1981, Thomas Richard Bunday, a technical sergeant who was stationed at the Eilson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, Alaska, murdered four women and an 11-year-old girl. With the help of a psychological profile provided by the FBI and a description from an eyewitness, the authorities were eventually able to close in on Bunday. By the time police identified Bunday as their prime suspect, however, he had already been transferred to another base near Wichita Falls, Texas.

When officials from Alaska traveled to Texas to interview Bunday, he admitted to the killings, but the officers didn’t have the jurisdiction to arrest him. The police from Alaska scrambled to get a warrant, and when they went to apprehend Bunday, his wife informed the officials that he had taken off on his motorcycle. Tragically, the officers learned that on March 16, 1983, just hours after they’d obtained an arrest warrant, Bunday drove his motorcycle into the path of an oncoming truck, ending his life.”

Learn more at Ranker.

Investigation Discovery:

Ice Cold Killers: North Pole Slay Ride from Stephanie Kovac on Vimeo.

The tiny town of North Pole, Alaska is a quiet, safe haven best known for Santa Claus. But when the bodies of young women begin turning up one by one, investigators slowly piece together the clues and discover the unlikeliest of killers. -North Pole Slay Ride, Ice Cold Killers (S1,E4)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

On January 25, 1952October 10, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Suspicious Deaths, VeteransLeave a comment

In 1947, Anjette Lyles and WWII Army veteran Ben Lyles ran a successful restaurant in Macon, Georgia. Anjette’s shining personality and beautiful face kept the customers coming back. One judge remembered his experience at the restaurant and claimed she was just a nice person. One day, Ben decides he’s had enough and sells the family restaurant. He said he was sick of it and Anjette was angry because she wanted to keep the restaurant; they also had just gave birth to another child. Ben wouldn’t relent and he would come to regret that decision. At first, Anjette practiced black magic and wished for harm to come to Ben. Then she stepped it up and started using a form of ant poisoning she conveniently put in Ben’s food. Ben Lyles was sick with rheumatic fever since his time in the service but once he sold the restaurant, he rapidly deteriorated. Ben was experiencing bleeding from the nose and mouth, swelling of the eyes, weeping skin lesions, and acute liver failure. Nobody could figure out what was wrong. Ben’s death was painful and the baffled doctors decided it was encephalitis. Ben Lyles died on January 25, 1952.

The pair argued bitterly over [Ben selling the restaurant], and the arguments only got worse when the Veteran’s Administration decided to cut Ben’s pension to a tenth of what it was as they’d decided he was now fit to work. As if to prove the VA wrong, in December of 1951 Ben Lyles fell ill. The doctors were confused. It wasn’t a recurrence of his rheumatic fever, and in fact they weren’t quite sure what it was that was wrong with him. He had nosebleeds and convulsions, and had to be hospitalised. When he went into a coma in January the doctors decided it was encephalitis, but by then it was too late for effective treatment. He never regained consciousness and died on the 25th of January. –HeadStuff

With the life insurance payout and the proceeds from the sale of the restaurant, Anjette bought back the restaurant and it became even more popular. She met Joe ‘Buddy’ Gabbert in the restaurant; he was a pilot from Texas. As soon as Joe met Anjette, he was captivated by her and courted her very energetically. They were married in just a few months. But Joe would quickly learn his new wife is not as she seems. Within three months of walking down the aisle, Joe Gabbert was dead on December 2, 1955. At this point, it is clear that Anjette was a sociopath with no feelings of empathy or love for anyone. Before she was 30, Anjette was widowed twice because the secret to her misfortune was arsenic poisoning. Her first husband Ben died shortly after selling the family restaurant; her second husband Joe died of a mysterious illness shortly after they were married. But instead of mourning, Anjette was happy and thriving in her restaurant. With another life insurance payout, this time Anjette bought herself a new home. But then a complication arose when her mother-in-law, Julia Lyles, announced she wanted to move in with her.

Julia indeed moved in with her but Anjette found a way to eliminate her problem and make even more money. Anjette learned that Julia had lots of money in savings. She attempted to change Julia’s will but one judge would not touch it because he needed to witness Julia sign the document and he knew it wasn’t Julia’s signature. Anjette forged her mother-in-law’s will and began to speed up her demise. When Julia fell ill and was hospitalized, Anjette brought her favorite foods for her and all the nurses thought she was so nice. Instead, Anjette was feeding Julia arsenic poisoning while she was laying in the hospital bed. Julia Lyles died on September 29, 1957. Anjette learned the best way to handle family problems was to simply get rid of them, by murdering. After Anjette’s mother-in-law was dead, she started turning on her daughter Marcia because she was an accessory Anjette didn’t want anymore. Marcia died of another unexplained illness on April 5, 1958 and it was reported that Anjette stood in the corner of the hospital room laughing while she was in pain. The doctors at the time could find reasons for the deaths of her two husbands but not this healthy little girl.

This time the police wanted an autopsy of Marcia Lyles and the autopsy results revealed that Marcia died of arsenic poisoning. After learning this information, the police exhumed both Ben Lyle’s and Joe Gabbert’s bodies and again they found traces of arsenic. Anjette’s secrets were finally revealed; she was a serial killer with no mercy. People were stunned to learned Anjette poisoned both her husbands and her daughter Marcia. It was described as a complete shock as the community always knew the kind, happy, helpful Anjette in the restaurant. Anjette Lyles was convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death in 1958. But she appealed on the grounds of insanity and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. Anjette was spared execution and lived out her life in an asylum. She died in 1977 of a heart attack at age 55. And in the end, a lot of people didn’t believe she was evil; they just figured she had some kind of mental quirk. Former FBI Profiler Candice DeLong shared her assessment of the case: “Anjette was a very high functioning, dedicated, driven, successful business women. That is not the definition of a paranoid schizophrenic.”

Source: ‘Secrets and Lies’ Deadly Women, Investigation Discovery

City Confidential:

Anjette Lyles | Macon, Georgia | City Confidential [Full Episode]

Investigation Discovery:

Preview: Anjette Lyles felt the best way to deal with her problematic home life was to poison the people around her. -Secrets and Lies, Deadly Women (S4, E11)

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Serial Killer

Air Force TSgt Thomas Bunday Died By Suicide in Texas on Day of Arrest; Bunday Confessed to 5 Murders Near Eielson AFB, Alaska (March 15, 1983)

WWII Army Veteran Ben Lyles Jr. Died & Nobody Could Figure Out What Was Wrong; Poisoned by Wife, Anjette Lyles Sentenced to Death (January 25, 1952)

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