The Murder of Jodi Sanderholm
Warning, this case does discuss murder, stalking and sexual assault.
Background
Jodi LeAnn Sanderholm was only 19 when she died. Jodi had been the valedictorian at her high school, and was attending Cowley College in Arkansas City, Kansas.
Jodi had a passion for dance, and was on the Cowley College Tigerettes dance team. She was very close to her family, and was living with her parents while attending school.
Jodi Sanderholm
The Disappearance
On January 5, 2007, Jodi went to her dance practice at the college in the morning. Her practice ended around 10:45am, but no one had seen or heard from her after she left the college.
Jodi’s mom, Cindy, said Jodi had a routine after dance practice. She usually got the mail, ate lunch, and took a shower. Cindy, and Jodi’s sister, Jennifer, both tried contacting Jodi, but there was no answer. Jennifer was expecting a baby, and knew Jodi wouldn’t miss her calls, especially if she went into labor.
Cindy said she just had a bad gut feeling, so she left work early. When she got home, Jodi’s car was missing, and there was no mail on the counter.
Cindy, and Jodi’s dad, Brian, contacted her friends. But, no one had seen her since she left dance practice. They also learned that Jodi hadn’t shown up for a meeting she had at noon.
Around 6pm, Cindy and Brian contacted the Arkansas City police to report their daughter missing.
The Suspects
Chief Sean Wallace and Lieutenant Mark McCaslin went to speak to Jodi’s parents. They learned from them that Jodi had a boyfriend named David. They made contact with David, who had been visiting his brother in Dallas, Texas. He agreed to return to Arkansas City as soon as possible.
The police also spoke to Jodi’s dance friends. They asked if they had noticed anyone suspicious trying to hang out Jodi or the college. They did saw there was a man named Justin Thurber who would watch them in the parking lot.
Justin was 23, worked at a local sandwich shop, and had previous arrests for petty theft and other non violent charges. The police went to speak to Justin on the evening of January 5.
Justin told the police that he had been picked up by his dad that day near the Cowley County state lake. He said he had been with 3 friends on a road trip, but his car got stuck in the mud. He said he parted ways with his friends after his car got stuck.
The police had no luck in locating Jodi or her black Stratus. Jodi’s dad, Brian, contacted several local Kansas news stations to get the news out about his daughter’s disappearance.
Eliminating Suspects
On January 6, 2007, Special Agent David Falletti, with the KBI (Kansas Bureau of Investigation) joined the investigation.
SA Falletti spoke to David, who was genuinely upset about Jodi’s disappearance. He said he hadn’t spoken to her since January 4. David’s phone and bank records were searched. He was eliminated, and had been in Dallas like he said he was.
The dug further in Justin Thurber’s background. They learned from his ex-girlfriend that he liked to spend time in the Kaw Wildlife Area, a 4,300 acre area of rugged terrain. She even went on a car ride with one of the detectives, and pointed out a boat dock that Justin frequented. She told the police that Justin had mentioned if he killed someone and dumped a body in the area it wouldn’t be found.
The police spoke to Justin’s 3 friends that he had said he had been with. The friends said they hadn’t been with Justin at all that day. They were all eliminated as one had been at an appointment, one was at work, and one had been in Texas.
All Roads Lead To…
The police knew that Jodi had last been seen on January 5 at 10am outside the auditorium at the college.
They obtained the surveillance footage from the school, and were looking for Justin’s blue Cadillac. On January 5, Jodi’s black Stratus could be seen leaving the school followed by a blue Cadillac.
The police also saw that Justin had visited the college several days in a row in the days leading up to January 5.
The police were able to bring Justin into custody because he had been out on bond at the time for a petty theft arrest. He was taken into custody while he was on his way home with his mom and sister from a bingo game.
The police went to Justin’s parents home with a search warrant. They learned from his dad that Justin put his clothes in the laundry and washed his muddy tennis shoes when they arrived home.
The police confiscated Justin’s muddy shoes, clothing, cell phone and blue Cadillac.
The Search for Jodi
On January 7, 2007, the police went out to search the Kaw Wildlife Area.
Justin denied being involved in Jodi’s disappearance, and said he hadn’t seen her on January 5.
The police didn’t find evidence on Justin’s shoes, clothes, or in his car. However, there was a shoe print that seemed to match Justin’s tennis shoes, across the street from the Sanderholm house.
The same shoe prints were found at the wildlife area, and down by the state line, about a quarter mile from the boat dock.
Jon and Ron Cannon joined the search. They worked as a firefighters, who also became search and rescue trackers in their spare time. The trackers followed the prints, and saw a second set of shoe prints, which were smaller and from flip flops. The police located over 50 shoe prints from Justin, but only 4 from Jodi.
The Cannon’s were driving home from a long day of searching, when they came upon a rest area. On the path leading up to the area, they found dirt transfer. They walked into the bathroom, and found mail belonging to the Sanderholm’s, a flip flop, and Jodi’s Tigerettes jacket. They contacted the police to come search the area.
The other toilets and septic tank were searched. Jodi’s wallet, dance shoes, and floor mats believed to be from Jodi’s car were also found.
A Horrible Human Being
On January 8, 2007, Tim Miller and Texas Eqqusearch were called into help. The police believed Jodi’s car was somewhere in the lake.
Steve Koch of the KBI Crime Lab was also contacted to examine the shoe prints. He made casts of the shoe prints from the wildlife path and across the street from Jodi’s house.
Steve Koch was able to determine that the shoe prints were a match to Justin’s tennis shoes. The casts and Justin’s shoes had the same herringbone pattern and horizontal lines.
On January 9, 2007, the trackers noticed a disturbed area off the path. They saw a woodpile, and a hand sticking out from underneath it.
The victim was nude, and had been beaten. There were sticks covering the body. The police believed it was Jodi, and that she probably had been sexually assaulted. The dental records confirmed that it was Jodi.
Jodi had been strangled and blunt force trauma was a contributing factor. Jodi had been hit so hard that it had damaged an artery in her neck. The medical examiner was also able to determine that Jodi was sexually assaulted.
The Mountain of Evidence
The Texas Eqqusearch team was able to located Jodi’s car in the lake. It was confirmed by her license plate.
Jodi’s black Stratus
The car had been in the lake for 4 days. The pressure from the water had forced the sun roof open. The police were nervous that the water would have washed all the evidence away. But, they were wrong. Inside, the police found an arm hair that belonged to Justin. Justin’s DNA was also found underneath Jodi’s fingernails.
Justin’s cell phone records put him in the area of the state lake and Kaw Wildlife Area.
It’s believed that he had followed Jodi home. He then had abducted Jodi while she was getting the mail. He forced her into her car, and they drove out to the wildlife area. Justin tortured and killed Jodi, and disposed of her car and personal items.
Justin was charged with capital murder, attempted rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated kidnapping.
The Trial
Justin’s trial was delayed many times, but it began on February 2, 2009. The Sanderholm’s wanted Justin to get the death penalty.
Over 60 witnesses testified about the mountain of evidence against Justin. The trial lasted 7 days, but the jury only deliberated for 3 1/2 hours.
Justin Thurber was found guilty on all charges, and was sentenced to death in March 2009.
Justin Thurber
Other
On July 1, 2008, Jodi’s Law was in affect in Kansas. It allows police to act earlier in stalking cases.
Justin’s conviction is being looked into. In 2017, his attorneys had claimed that Justin was “developmentally disabled.”
In 2018, Justin’s death sentence was was postponed by the Supreme Court.
A post conviction DNA testing is also in the works, and was also approved by the Supreme Court.
I will keep my eye out for any further updates on this.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jodi deserved to go on to dance again, finish college, get a job, get married, etc. Justin thought that he had the right to watch and stalk the dance team and be on campus. I believe it was just a matter of time before his crimes would escalate to something like this, and they did. At least Justin is rotting in his cell and has no contact with anyone.
Sources
https://thecinemaholic.com/jodi-sanderholm-murder/
https://medium.com/true-crime-cafe/true-crime-jodi-sanderholm-435c299d3e87
https://www.kake.com/story/39569858/death-sentence-re-examined-in-jodi-sanderholm-case
