The Murder of Danielle Thomas
For this case I watched an episode of The Mind of a Murderer. It’s season 1 episode 1, titled ‘Ivy League Killer.’
A young woman is killed by her abusive boyfriend.
Background
Danielle Thomas had graduated from college, got her MBA, and worked as a financial analyst at a Florida theme park until she met Jason Bohn. She then moved to New York City in March 2012, and got a job as an executive at a weight loss company.
Danielle was described as adventurous, kind hearted and brilliant. She had grown up in a tight religious household, and embraced her faith. She was only 27 years old when her life was taken from her.
Danielle Thomas
Danielle and her beloved dog
An Abusive Relationship
In 2011, Danielle met Jason Bohn, who had been on vacation in Florida. Jason was successful as well, and worked as a corporate lawyer on Wall Street. He had graduated from Columbia University, and seemed very put together.
In March 2012, Danielle moved into an apartment with Jason and her beloved dog, in Astoria, Queens. Things seemed really great for them, and were even talking about marriage.
Jason came from an abusive household. He had lived with his dad, who was a drug addict that abused his children. Jason’s mom had also been abusive to him before, and Jason was forced into foster care. His mom was too concerned with her career, and didn’t want to take care of him.
Jason began accusing Danielle of cheating on him. He said that she would lie about her past, and that he felt insecure. However, there was no proof that Danielle had ever cheated on Jason.
The first time he hit her, he blamed her. He said they had got into an argument, and he left to go take a walk. He said Danielle followed him, and grabbed his arm. He said he hit her in the face, and ran off because he felt so guilty. Danielle stayed, and believed Jason would never do it again.
Jason Bohn and Danielle Thomas
The First Attack
In May 2012, two neighbors of Jason and Danielle’s called 911. They both said that they could hear fighting going on, and that the woman was screaming and crying. They also said that the man was forcibly keeping the woman in the apartment.
Danielle was eventually able to escape, and had started crawling in the corridor of the apartment. Jason caught up to her, and dragged her back inside. Danielle was left with large bruises.
About two weeks later, Danielle went to the police to report Jason. Jason had been harassing her over text messages that day. When she arrived at the police station, she showed the police her bruises.
Jason called Danielle while she was speaking to the police. She put it on speaker phone, and the police were shocked at what they heard. Jason told Danielle that this was war, that he’d hunt her down like a dog.
An order of protection was granted to Danielle. Danielle eventually moved back in with Jason, and told the police that she wanted to save him.
The Murder
On June 23, 2012, Jason and Danielle had gone out to a party for one of Jason’s friends. Jason said they were drinking a lot, and got into an argument. Jason threatened to hurt Danielle’s dog, and he left the bar alone.
Danielle was visibly upset. Jason’s friend asked Danielle if she had anywhere else to stay, and she said she had to go home and get her dog. The friend gave Danielle her phone number, and told her to call if she needed anything.
At 2:15am, Danielle walked into their apartment. Jason snatched her phone, and saw a number he didn’t recognize. The number belonged to the friend that the party had been for.
Jason started attacking Danielle, and accused her of lying to him. Danielle was able to secretly call 911. She can be heard begging for help, as Jason threatens her in the background. The police never responded to Danielle’s call.
At 3:20am, Danielle’s phone also placed a call to the friend from the bar. Danielle left a voicemail. Jason is heard mocking Danielle, as she tries to talk him down.
In the last few seconds of her life, Jason gave Danielle an ultimatum. He said “you have five seconds, I’m going to let you up, and then you need to answer quickly or else you’ll die.” His question to Danielle was why she called the number he saw on her phone. Danielle said she didn’t know.
Jason then strangled her, and stomped her to death.
The Escape
Danielle’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head and body. She also had multiple rip fractures.
Jason said he blacked out, and woke up to find Danielle on the floor. He said he checked her pulse, and put her in the bathtub to revive her. He said he smoked some weed, put some bags on Danielle to preserve her body, put a fan near Danielle’s body and cleaned the apartment. He also sent messages from Danielle’s phone to make it seem like she was okay.
He said he didn’t know if he was going to run or kill himself. He decided to run. Jason went to Washington D.C., where he was seen on surveillence withdrawing money. He then went to Chicago, where he emailed his mom blaming her for everything, and asking her to hire him a lawyer.
Jason’s email to his mom Maureen, and her response
Two days after the murder, Jason called the police. He asked them to go check on her because they got into a fight.
The Discovery and Arrest
The police arrived at Danielle and Jason’s apartment. Danielle’s dog was barking, and trying to protect her.
The police found Danielle’s battered body in the bathtub. Jason had also left a letter in Danielle’s arms that said “it was an accident, I’m so sorry.”
At this time, Jason had returned to New York. The police tracked his cell phone, and he was arrested at a restaurant. He was charged with first degree murder, and told the police that he had blacked out and didn’t remember anything.
Trial and Conviction
Jason’s trial began in February 2014, and it lasted 7 weeks.
Jason’s mother paid for his lawyer, but didn’t attend the trial.
Jason’s defense was that he killed Danielle, but suffered from a rare disorder called intermittent explosive disorder. It’s a mental illness where someone can be very calm, but then go into rage when something happens. Apparently, black outs can happen as well.
The jury didn’t believe the defense. The 911 call, the phone call to the friend and Jason’s phone call to an ex, where he admitted that Danielle was dead after an argument led them to finding him guilty of first degree murder.
He was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
FINAL THOUGHTS
This case is heartbreaking. Danielle was only 27 years old, and very successful. She met Jason, and thought he would be her forever. However, he was abusive almost from the start. She tried to leave him, but eventually said she wanted to change him. He then killed her because he made up lies in his head about Danielle lying to him. She did nothing wrong, and like so many women, couldn’t leave. She actually felt bad for leaving him, and this is how he repaid her.
I didn’t believe anything Jason said in the episode. He smirked and laughed talking about Danielle. He blamed his mother, and yes, maybe that scarred him for life. HOWEVER, THAT IS NO EXCUSE TO KILL SOMEONE, ESPECIALLY SOMEONE THAT YOU CLAIM TO LOVE. Sorry, for my rant, but Jason is absolute scum.
Sources
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/48-hours-jason-bohn-danielle-thomas-murder-a-raging-son/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jason-bohn-reaches-out-to-mother-after-murder/
https://nypost.com/2014/02/21/slay-lawyer-punched-pregnant-teen-forced-miscarriage/
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/queens/murder-queens-woman-caught-voicemail-article-1.1384925
