The Murder of Julie Thigpen-Post

For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 4 episode 13, titled ‘Slippery Motives.’

A man reports that his wife slipped and fell in the bathtub.

Background

Julie Eileen Thigpen was born on September 6, 1946 in Mobile, Alabama. Julie met her future husband, Ed Post, in the 1960s, while they were both students at the University of Southern Mississippi. They eventually married in 1967, had two daughters, and moved to New Orleans.

Ed became a partner at the real estate firm, Wagner and Truax. Julie eventually joined the same company.

The Discovery

In June 1986, Ed and Julie went to St. Louis for a real estate convention. They were staying at the Omni Hotel in Union Station.

On the morning of June 3, 1986, Ed woke Julie up, and drew her a bath. He left for a morning run around 7am. On his way out, he thanked the concierge for her recommendation from the previous night.

Ed returned back to the hotel around 7:40am. He would later say he found Julie lying face down and unconscious in the bathtub. He called for an ambulance at 7:43am, and took Julie out of the bathtub.

Julie was pronounced dead at the hospital at only 39-years-old.

Accident or Murder?

After Julie was pronounced dead, the police did an investigation in the hotel room. They discovered that the towel ring had been pulled off of the wall. At first, the police thought that Julie could’ve grabbed it as she fell into the tub.

At Julie’s autopsy, her cause of death was ruled as undetermined. She had no skull fractures or bleeding. It didn’t seem like there was any sign of foul play.

Ed’s brother was a lawyer, so together they took photos of the bathtub and towel ring. They had planned to sue the Omni Hotel in Union Station. They had even bragged that they would get a nice payout.

The hotel management found it odd that someone of Julie’s size would’ve been able to pull the towel ring from the wall. Julie was petite, and was described as only weighing about 120 pounds.

A Possible Motive

Ed told the police that he and Julie had a great relationship. However, friends of the couple would later say that they fought all the time. Some of the fights had even turned physical.

The police looked into the Post’s financial records. They also spoke to the life insurance company, and learned that Ed had increased Julie’s policy by about $3,000. This was about a month before Julie’s death.

Ed was obsessed with a co-worker named Kim. Ed had made a comment to her the day of Julie’s funeral that she should set him up with her twin sister. I guess if he couldn't get Kim, then maybe he’d have a shot with her sister.

The police recorded their conversations with Ed. They said he never changed his story, and that it seemed rehearsed. Ed said that when he took Julie out of the bathtub, she just slid right out.

The police re-interviewed the hotel staff at the Omni in St. Louis. The concierge and doorman both said Ed was acting odd. The doorman said that Ed told him his name, room number, and when he would be back from his run. It seemed like Ed did this just to establish his alibi.

The Experiments

The police believed in their hearts that Ed had killed Julie. They decided to exhume Julie’s body. She had been buried in New Orleans, so by the time she was exhumed the casket was submerged in water. Julie’s head was the only part that wasn’t in water.

During Julie’s second autopsy, the medical examiner found bruising on the lower head and upper neck area. It’s believed that the bruising was from someone holding Julie’s head under the water.

An accident re-constructionist was hired to look at the towel ring holder. In a hotel room with an identical towel ring, a woman that was about Julie’s weight was asked to hold onto the towel ring. She was also asked to re-create a fall and grabbing onto the ring. The woman wasn’t able to get the towel ring to move, until she used both of her hands to wiggle it out of the wall with a lot force. It took several minutes for her to get it out of the wall.

An identical towel ring with the same damage from the crime scene was also sent to a professor of mechanical engineering. His experiment suggested that it took about 480-500 pounds to get the towel ring out of the wall. The damage from the towel ring could've only happened if someone pulled it out of the wall.

The Conviction

Ed Post was eventually arrested for the murder of his wife.

It’s believed that on the morning of June 3, as Julie was in the bath, Ed drowned her. He then went on his run to establish an alibi. He also took the towel ring out of the wall to try to stage the scene.

Three years after the murder, Ed went on trial. He testified on his behalf, but many of the jurors didn’t like his personality. He came across as condescending.

The scientific experts were also able to convince the jury that Ed killed Julie.

Ed was found guilty of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life without parole. His lawyers appealed his conviction. They were able to get Ed a plea deal of 30 years if he admitted to killing Julie. Ed did admit that he killed her.

The police believe Ed probably would’ve gotten away with it if he hadn’t removed the towel ring.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I think it’s true that Ed probably would’ve been a free man if he wouldn’t have tried to stage the scene. The medical examiner first ruled Julie’s death as undetermined. Ed wanted to be with another woman and he wanted to be rich. Instead of divorcing Julie, he plotted for about a month to kill her.

Sources

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75827566/julie-eileen-post

https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/tag/julie-post-murder/

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29171754/edward-t-post-murder-trial-for-killing/

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-451-40347-6