The Murder of Larry Thomas

For this case, I watched an episode of Snapped. It’s season 29 episode 25.

A loving father of 5 is reported missing by his brother-in-law.

Background

Larry Thomas was born on March 26, 1959 in New York. From an early age, Larry had taken an interest in cars and fixing them. Larry was also close to his family and had 3 brothers.

When Larry was 21, he opened his own gas station and repair shop on Long Island. He was very well respected. He met Stephanie when he was 22, and she was 19. Stephanie had been working as a waitress, and pulled up to get some gas.

Stephanie was described as not taking anyones shit, and had worked in some rough areas in restaurants and bars.

After they met, Larry and Stephanie talked everyday. They dated for 4 years and married in 1986. They went on to have 5 kids together. Larry loved being a father, and really doted on his kids.

In the early 2000s, the Thomas’s moved to Henderson, Nevada. The cost of living was cheaper, and Stephanie became a stay at home mom while Larry worked. Larry took a job teaching repairs at the College of Southern Nevada.

Stephanie didn’t like being a stay at home mom, and felt like she needed to be out working. Stephanie worked as a waitress at a Las Vegas casino at night. While she was working, she caught the attention of a bouncer named Shawn Pritchett.

Shawn told Stephanie that he also had a painting business, and wanted her to do his books. When the business really took off, Shawn asked Stephanie to be his business partner, and she accepted.

The Disappearance

On April 21, 2006, the Henderson, Nevada police received a tip about a possible missing person. The missing person was Larry Thomas, a 47-year-old husband and father.

Larry’s brother-in-law, William Peters called the police and said he hadn’t heard from Larry in awhile. They spoke through calls or text multiple times a week. All of the calls recently were going straight to voicemail.

William called his sister, Stephanie, who then said that Larry had packed a bag and left. William provided the police with Larry and Stephanie’s contact information. The police called Larry, but the call went straight to voicemail.

The police contacted Stephanie, and asked her to come in for an interview. On April 22, Stephanie said that it had actually been 9 days since she last saw Larry. She said the morning he left, they had a big argument. Larry had left for work, and she took the 5 kids to her mother’s house.

Stephanie said later that day, Larry called her several times when he returned home from work. He was upset with her because there was no food in the house.

Stephanie said she went to Walmart at 12am, and returned home with the kids and some groceries. When they returned home, Larry’s car was gone. Stephanie also had noticed that a lot of clothing items were missing from their bedroom. She said his laptop, jewelry and toiletries were also gone.

William said he immediately believed something was wrong after hearing that Larry had packed a bag and left. Larry loved his kids and wouldn’t have left them.

A Love Square?

Stephanie told the police that she believed Larry was having an affair and probably wasn’t coming back. She said there had been a phone number that he called a lot and was secretive. She gave the phone number to the police. It belonged to a woman named Mary Ann.

The police obtained Larry’s phone records. His last call had been to Stephanie on April 13. Larry’s bank records revealed that they hadn’t been used at all. The description of his vehicle, a 2005 Chevy truck, was entered into the system.

On April 27, the police contacted Mary Ann. She said she hadn’t heard from Larry since April 13, and was concerned about him. She said she had known Larry for 2 years, and they did have a relationship but just as friends. She said they confided in each other about their home lives.

Larry had told Mary Ann that he thought Stephanie was having an affair with her business partner, Shawn. Mary Ann believed William would have had more information about this relationship.

The police again spoke to William. He revealed that Shawn and Stephanie’s affair had been going on for about 2 years. Shawn had lost his apartment, and Stephanie suggested that they let Shawn stay in their extra bedroom. Larry agreed to it at first until he started to notice that Shawn and Stephanie seemed close, and that Stephanie had changed the way she dressed.

In December 2005, Larry had asked for Shawn to move out of the house. Stephanie was furious, and based on her reaction, Larry knew he was right all along. Despite their issues, Larry said he wasn’t going to give up on his family.

Stephanie’s Story

On May 3, 2006, Shawn and Stephanie were asked to be interviewed separately. Stephanie was asked about her relationship with Shawn. She said he was just her business partner. Stephanie denied that she and Shawn had any kind of relationship.

Stephanie told the police that when it came to sex, Larry was violent and wanted her to do things she didn’t want to do.

Stephanie said their problems began in January 2004, when Larry got into a car accident. Larry had apparently cut off a truck, and two girls were hit and died. Larry went to jail and was charged with an unsafe lane change. Stephanie said it was Larry’s idea to ask Shawn to move in so that Shawn could help with the kids while he was in jail. Stephanie said Larry was in jail for less than a month.

Stephanie also said that Larry became physically abusive towards her. Stephanie said Larry’s fantasy was to watch her have sex with other men. She said after Shawn moved in, Larry had asked him to have sex with Stephanie.

Shawn and Stephanie’s stories were almost exactly the same. He said he had seen Larry’s violence against Stephanie while he was living with them.

Shawn said he didn’t kill Larry, and had been at the bar all night. He said he had received a call from Stephanie while he was there that she had gotten into a fight with Larry. She said Larry had packed a bag and left.

Shawn mentioned another possible motive. According to Shawn, Larry had angered a lot of people at work. He said they had an audit out there at the school, and people were being implicated for charging people to work on cars. He said Larry had agreed to be a whistleblower.

With no evidence linking them to Larry’s disappearance, Shawn and Stephanie were released.

On May 4, Larry’s colleagues were interviewed. There was no evidence of anything that Shawn had told them. Everyone said that Larry’s issues were a domestic issue. One colleague said that Larry had said he felt as if Shawn was trying to have him killed. Larry had a life insurance policy, and Stephanie was the beneficiary, and would have received $240,000.

A Horrific Discovery

About a month after Larry disappeared, the police learned of a tip in San Bernardino, California. A man and his family were out in the Mojave Desert taking pictures of an old ranch. They looked down, and saw what looked like a human hand. The San Bernardino police were dispatched out there on May 14, 2006. They found a human body in extreme stages of decomposition. The body had extensive damage to the head and facial area. It was the body of a male.

The autopsy was performed. There was blunt force trauma to the head and body. The medical examiner believed that the victim could have been killed by being run over by a car. On the inside of the clothing, it had the name Larry Thomas. Larry’s fingerprints helped positively identify him. The San Bernardino police notified the Henderson police.

Stephanie was also notified, but there wasn’t much of a reaction.

The police learned that Shawn had taken over Larry’s role. The pictures of Larry in the house had been removed. There were pictures of Shawn replacing them. The police learned that Stephanie and Shawn were telling the kids that Larry ran off and left them for another woman.

The Evidence

The police subpoenaed Shawn’s phone records from April 13. Shawn had been at the Thomas’ house around the time it’s believed that Larry arrived home. Shawn drove onto I-15 heading south into California. Around 3am, Shawn’s phone pinged off a tower just a few miles from where Larry’s body was found.

Stephanie’s phone records confirmed that she had been at her mom’s house. But, Larry’s last phone call had been to Stephanie around 10pm. Stephanie then called Shawn. Around 11pm, Shawn called Stephanie. After the phone call, Stephanie’s GPS put her driving back to their house.

There was no physical evidence at the house linking Shawn or Stephanie to the crime.

The police did confront Stephanie by saying they believed she knew more about what had happened to Larry. She said that she was telling the truth but they weren’t believing anything she said.

The Tip That Broke the Case

On October 31, 2007, the police received a tip. The police met with Jennifer McCue, Stephanie’s sister. Jennifer met with the police at a local coffee shop, and revealed that Shawn had confessed to her husband, Albert.

Larry had called Stephanie when he was leaving work. Stephanie then called Shawn. Jennifer said the murder happened in the house. Shawn was lying in wait for Larry to enter the house. Shawn then took Larry’s truck and dumped his body in California. To make sure he was dead, Shawn drove the truck over Larry. Shawn dismantled the truck and sold the parts to different people. Stephanie went to her mom’s house to create an alibi.

On November 1, 2007, the police met with Albert, Jennifer’s husband. He said he had no information, and that Shawn hadn’t confessed about anything.

A search warrant was obtained for Albert and Jennifer’s house. In the garage, the police found a steering column underneath a work bench. The police searched the serial numbers on the steering column. It came back to matching a 2005 Chevy truck, which is what Larry drove at the time.

Albert was confronted, but he didn’t admit to anything. He was arrested for possession of stolen property.

The police searched through pawn shop records. On April 16, Shawn had pawned 3 rings. The police went to the pawn shop, and were able to collect the rings. Larry’s family was contacted, and were asked if they knew of any jewelry that Larry wore. William sent them a picture of Larry wearing one of the rings. It seemed to match one of the rings from the pawn shop.

The Convictions

On February 11, 2008, Shawn was finally arrested after the police conducted a traffic stop. He refused to give any statement. Stephanie wasn’t arrested as the police still didn’t have enough evidence. However, they believed Stephanie was the mastermind.

One the day of Shawn’s arrest, the police confronted Stephanie and said she needed to tell them the truth. Stephanie put on an act, and had tried to act shocked that Shawn had killed Larry. Stephanie eventually admitted that Larry wasn’t abusive to her. She claimed that Shawn had told her to tell the police that.

On February 13, the police again spoke to Albert. He admitted what Jennifer had told the police. He also said that Stephanie was the “driving force” behind what had happened. The motive seemed to be the insurance policy.

On March 31, 2008, Stephanie was arrested at the casino where she worked. She was charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder and accessory to murder.

While she was awaiting trial, Stephanie met with the police. She claimed that prison was already taking a toll on her. About a month 1/2 before her trial, Stephanie and her attorney worked out a deal with the district attorney. She pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 10-25 years.

Shawn went on trial in September 2010. At his trial, it was revealed that Shawn had hit Larry in the head with a tire iron in the house.

The jury deliberated for 4 hours. Shawn was found guilty of first degree murder, robbery and conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 45 years to life.

Other

Stephanie and Larry’s kids were raised by Stephanie’s mom.

Stephanie was released from prison in 2018 after serving 10 years.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Stephanie should have received a lot longer than 10 years. However, there isn’t a lot of proof besides her phone records. I believe she talked Shawn into killing Larry, and about making up all the horrible things she said about him. Shawn was happy and willing to kill Larry, and take over his roll in the family.

Sources

https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-news/stephanie-thomas-arranged-murder-of-husband-larry

https://lasvegassun.com/news/2008/feb/12/one-death-two-scenarios/

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/woman-gets-prison-in-husbands-death/

https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/jurors-deliberate-case-of-man-accused-of-killing-lovers-husband/