E128: John Floyd Thomas Jr.

Fruitloops: Serial Killers of Color

(note: time stamps are without ads so may be off a little)
This week Beth and Wendy discuss the case of John Floyd Thomas Jr., an American serial killer convicted of the murders of seven women in the Los Angeles area during the 70s and 80s. He is also suspected of committing many, many more.
We dive into the setting (9:10), the killer's early life and the timeline (21:14). Then, we get into the investigation & arrest (38:04), "Where are they now?", followed by our takeaways and what we think made the perp snap (46:12).
As usual we close out the show with some tips on how not to get murdered and our shout outs (54:13).
Thanks for listening! This is a weekly podcast and new episodes drop every Thursday, so until next time... look alive guys, it's crazy out there!
Sponsors
Better Help
BetterHelp.com/Fruit
Best Fiends
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/best-fiends-puzzle-adventure/id868013618
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Seriously.BestFiends&hl=en_US&gl=US
Shout Outs
Signs of a Psychopath
Amazon Prime https://www.amazon.com/Signs-Psychopath-Season-2/dp/B0968QQ3G2
Discovery Plus https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/signs-of-a-psychopath
Summer of Soul
https://www.hulu.com/movie/summer-of-soul-6f2160ed-eaa2-462a-b495-f61f4f31714d
AJ and The Queen
https://www.netflix.com/title/80237329
Dragging the Classics: The Brady Bunch
https://www.paramountplus.com/movies/dragging-the-classics-the-brady-bunch/gOtrxSBJb2sXoEg9Pm4OddpJ33yT9VV6/
Promo
Forgotten News Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forgotten-news-podcast/id1260175711
Where to find us:
Our Facebook page is Fruitloopspod and our discussion group is Fruitloopspod Discussion on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod/
We are also on Twitter and Instagram @fruitloopspod
Please send any questions or comments to [e-mail] or leave us a voicemail at 602-935-6294. We just might read your email or play your voicemail on the show!
Want to Support the show?
You can support the show by rating and reviewing Fruitloops on iTunes, or anywhere else that you get your podcasts from. We would love it if you gave us 5 stars!
You can make a donation on the Cash App
https://cash.me/$fruitloopspod
Or become a monthly Patron through our Podbean Patron page
https://patron.podbean.com/fruitloopspod
Footnotes
Articles/Websites
Wikipedia contributors. (06/29/2021). John Floyd Thomas Jr. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Floyd_Thomas_Jr.&oldid=1031014723
Blankstein, Andrew; Mozingo, Joe. (04/30/2009). LAPD ties 72-year-old man to two waves of serial killings. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-apr-30-me-serial-killer30-story.html
Murderpedia. (n.d.). John Floyd Thomas Jr. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://murderpedia.org/male.T/t/thomas-john-floyd.htm
Blankenstein, Andrew. (09/24/2009). Alleged ‘Westside Rapist’ suspected in other slayings. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/03/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-sep-24-me-serial-killer24-story.html
Wilson, Simone. (04/01/2011). Guilty: L.A. 'westside Rapist' John Floyd Thomas Jr. Admits To Strangling 7 Of His 30 Supposed Victims, Gets Life Term For Each. LA Weekly. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.laweekly.com/guilty-l-a-westside-rapist-john-floyd-thomas-jr-admits-to-strangling-7-of-his-30-supposed-victims-gets-life-term-for-each/
Pelisek, Christine. (07/22/2009). How LAPD's "Closers" Nabbed The Westside Rapist. LA Weekly. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.laweekly.com/how-lapds-closers-nabbed-the-westside-rapist/
Stateman, Alison. (05/03/2009). A Cold Case Gets Hot: Is This L.A.'s Westside Rapist? Time. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1895491,00.html
Kim, Victoria ; Blankstein, Andrew; Leonard, Jack. (04/02/2011). Serial killer John Floyd Thomas Jr., dubbed the Westside Rapist, is sentenced to life. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.latimes.com/local/la-xpm-2011-apr-02-la-me-westside-rapist-20110402-story.html
Abram, Susan. (04/30/2009). Accused serial killer described as a ‘doll’. Daily News. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.dailynews.com/2009/04/30/accused-serial-killer-described-as-a-doll/
Girardot, Frank. (n.d.) Crimescene Blog. Inside SoCal. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from http://www.insidesocal.com/sgvcrime/tag/john-thomas/
Stumbo, Bella. (12/29/1975). Aura of Dread Lingers in Wake of West Side Rapist. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://mylifeofcrime.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/aura-of-dread-lingers-in-wake-of-west-side-rapist.pdf
Stoltze, Frank. (04/30/2009). LAPD arrest man believed to have committed dozens of murders, rapes. 89.3KPCC. Retrieved 07/04/2021 from https://www.scpr.org/news/2009/04/30/389/lapd-arrest-man-believed-to-have-committed-dozens-/
Blankstein, Andrew. (05/02/2009). Accused Los Angeles serial killer was religious 'pleasant fellow'. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/05/accused-los-angeles-serial-killer-was-religious-pleasant-fellow.html
History
Los Angeles Almanac. (01/02/2019). Original Settlers (Pobladores) of El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles, 1781. Retrieved on 07/05/2021 from http://www.laalmanac.com/history/hi05.php
Black History. (n.d.). Black People Founded the City of Los Angeles. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.blackhistory.com/2019/11/black-people-settlers-founded-city-los-angeles.html
Paul R Williams Project. (n.d.). Paul R. Williams, Architect. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.paulrwilliamsproject.org/about/paul-revere-williams-architect/
LA Controller. (n.d.). African American Heritage Across Los Angeles. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://lacontroller.org/data-stories-and-maps/african-american-heritage-map/
Ferris State University. (n.d.). What Was Jim Crow. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
Simpson, Kelly. (02/22/2012). A Southern California Dream Deferred: Racial Covenants in Los Angeles. KCET. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://www.kcet.org/history-society/a-southern-california-dream-deferred-racial-covenants-in-los-angeles
Kilgore, Steven. (06/22/2020). Los Angeles Land Covenants, Redlining; Creation and Effects. Los Angeles Public Library. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/los-angeles-land-covenants-redlining-creation-and-effects
Podcasts
Evans, Francel; Williams, Alvin (hosts). (3/1/2021) Affirmative Murder: Silent Sword. [Audio Podcast]. Retrieved 7/3/2021 from https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-affirmative-murder-63432252/episode/167-silent-sword-78298310/
Video
Elusive Serial Killer Caught. CNN. https://youtu.be/xEu5KBxu910
LA’s most deadly serial killer. https://youtu.be/K3AnVE5rrIw
How Not to Get Murdered
Escondido Police Department. (n.d.). Personal Safety Tips For Older Adults. Retrieved 07/06/2021 from https://police.escondido.org/Data/Sites/4/media/pdfs/PersonalSafetyTipsForOlderAdults.pdf
Music
“Abyss” by Alasen: ●https://soundcloud.com/alasen●https://twitter.com/icemantrap ●https://instagram.com/icemanbass/●https://soundcloud.com/therealfrozenguy●
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
“One Way” by Yung Kartz https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Yung_Kartz
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
“Ice Flow” & “Furious Freak” by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3791-furious-freak
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Connect with us on:
Twitter @FruitLoopsPod
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fruitloopspod
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Fruitloopspod and https://www.facebook.com/groups/fruitloopspod