EXPLORE WITH US - When A Psychopath Realizes He's Been Caught: The Case of Thayne Ormsby

Episode Date: February 26, 2023

When a PSYCHOPATH realizes he's been CAUGHT...The following podcast episode is not legal advice. Do not rely on the information in this presentation without speaking to a licensed attorney.No one discussed in these videos has been formally diagnosed by EWU and our psychological analysis is based on the general behaviors and traits of the people discussed.

And I just realized honestly if you see that the word they use for me is homicidal maniac. But that's the correct term, right? It was one of the most brutal killing sprees in all of Maine's history, sending shockwaves through the small town of Amity. Fortunately, and to the relief of the townspeople, it wasn't long before a suspect and the triple homicide was apprehended. However, the motive they gave behind the killings is one of the most bizarre and unethical. Unbelievable, leaving investigators questioning how much was fact and how much was twisted fiction. Entangled amongst the killer's countless outrageous statements is the remaining question. Was it a revenge slaying, so-called vigilante justice, or a senseless crime carried out by a cold-blooded murderer who just wanted to know what it was like to kill?

Referring to Amity Maine as a tiny town is a bit of an understatement. There were only 238 residents back in 2010, and with the savagely brutal killings, the count was further reduced by three on the night of June 22nd. With one crime, Amity's innocence had been stolen, and things would never be the same. On June 23rd, 30-year-old Jason DeHan's brother became worried when he hadn't returned home from his friend 55-year-old Jeff Ryan's house, where he had spent the previous evening. He decided to go to Jeff's house himself. At first, there was no sign of either of them. That is, until he used a flashlight to look through the window of Jeff's mobile home. He caught sight of a large amount of blood and immediately called his father Robert Dahon

to inform him of the shocking discovery. Robert soon arrived and together the two men made their way inside. The home was hauntingly still. At first glance, it appeared that no one was there. Robert made his way to one of the bedrooms, and that was where he encountered the first horrific site. Jeff's 10-year-old son, Jesse Ryan, was clearly deceased, lying on the floor of the bedroom, and it was immediately apparent that the little boy's last moments had been horrific. At this point, the men notified authorities.

Main State police troopers soon responded, and it wasn't long before the other two victims were located nearby. Jeff's body was found in a shed on the property. and they found Jason's mutilated body had been abandoned at the end of the driveway. Initially, Jeff's truck was nowhere to be found. A few days later, it was located approximately 15 miles from his home. It had been set on fire, apparently to destroy any evidence the assailant had left behind. The whole situation was impossible to swallow. Initially, it appeared to have been a random ambush.

There was no other explanation as to how these individuals had been chosen. For the first time, the town lived in fear. A homicidal maniac was on the loose, potentially roaming the streets, preparing to attack again. It was imperative that the killer be found immediately before any additional lives could be taken. A wealth of evidence was gathered from the crime scene. Amongst the items collected were beer bottles and cigarette butts, as well as fingerprints, and most importantly, the DNA profile of an unknown male was found. While a variety of law enforcement agencies were hard at work on the case,

an elderly couple, Robert Bob Strout and Joyce Strout, who were deeply rooted in the area, sat for an interview with a local newspaper. The pair had connections with one of the victims, as it turned out. Their daughter, Tamara Strout, shared a teenage daughter with one of the victims, Jeff Ryan. And though it didn't initially seem there was any other connection to the ongoing case, one would soon emerge. detectives conducted numerous interviews, which eventually revealed someone had been staying with Bob and Joyce Strout for a few weeks,

including at the time of the killings, a young man by the name of Thane Ormsby. You see, Thane's mother was good friends with the Strout's daughter, and Thane moved in with the couple to help them around the house, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of their pheasants and other birds. Since he was at the Strout's home at the time of the killings, police believed that Thane could have witnessed something potentially helpful for the case. The thing was, at the time of the investigation, Thane was no longer living with Bob and Joy.

Luckily, the couple knew exactly where he was. Thane had made a recent move to Dover in Maine's neighboring state of New Hampshire. There he was now living with Bob and Joy's son, which made tracking him down even easier for detectives. Main State Police Detective spoke to Thane at the residence on John. June 29th, one week after the killings, and asked them a few questions. At the time, Thane agreed to provide his fingerprints in a sample of his DNA during the course of the meeting. On July 2nd, the detectives returned to the residence where Thane was staying. They asked if he'd be willing to speak with them at a Dover, New Hampshire police station, and he obliged. They had a feeling he knew more than he'd originally let on,

though he was being cooperative so far. With that, the interview gets under way, the majority of the following interrogation footage has never been seen before. Because you know the family better than anybody, right? I'll do my best of it. I don't know that I know I'm better than anybody. You know, I'm better than I do. You know, we talk to a lot of people, you know, we talk to Tamara, obviously, Ronna. You might recall that Tamara is the daughter of Bob and Joyce Strout. Mariah is the daughter of Tamara and Jeff Ryan, one of the murder victims.

Then I talked to Tanya. Note that Tanya is another daughter of Bob and Joy. She actually holds a significant place in this story because the interview the detective has just referred to was precisely how they learned that Thane had been staying with Bob and Joy for the past few weeks prior to his recent move to New Hampshire. She's a piece of work, you know?

Oh, yeah. She thought I was this cat's ass. She thinks you're gorgeous, by the way. I know. Oh, really? You'll notice right off the bat that Thane really is a piece of work, for lack of a better way to describe him. However, the detectives are savvy. Don't let their unassuming demeanors fool you. It's all an act to get thane to talk,

and talk he does. It does like you make me feel old, because I've been in this criminal division here for 20 years, in your 20. And I'm so, oh, what? You don't want to make you guys. You've been working. I hope I didn't mix these south find out. Yeah, you'll know where he was yours. No, no, I don't know. I may that. I'll be going to the bathroom at two minutes. They continue the small talk and keep the conversation lighthearted. Have faith, though. There's a method behind this madness. He's Dale Keegan in your... Adam Stoutemeyer.

Adam Stoutemey. You're from New Hampshire. Kidory. Kittery. Yeah, all practically. In New Hampshire? Actually, you say that. I was born at the hospital, porcelain. Okay. The detectives continue to build rapport because they know that pushing too quickly could cause Thane to stop talking or ask for a lawyer. Clearly, though, Thane is enjoying the conversation, or maybe it's just the sound of his own voice

or being the center of attention. They touch on a variety of subjects, and Thane has a lot to contribute. And what really went wrong is I got engaged. That's what I'm wrong. Who did you get engaged? Cindy Currier. She left me for my best friend. Two weeks before the wedding.

This particular tangent, like each of the others thus far, is completely unrelated to the reason for this meeting. Though it may not appear so, the interview is off to an excellent start. The detectives did their homework, and they obviously know what makes Thane tick, how he views himself and how he wants others to view him. This helps them determine the best way to approach him, and will hopefully cause him to let his guard down and reveal the truth. An intriguing question soon makes its way into the conversation, as they continue this little session of getting to know one another.

What person in your life do you think you most respect? Person in my life, living person. Yeah, whatever. It doesn't matter. Andrew Beardsley. Who's up? He is, was my coach, mentor I consider him, and literature teacher in high school.

And he's the nephew to Bill Beardsley, who's just running for governor. I was wondering with the connection with Hudson College. with Husson College. He did his college thesis on Tolkien. J.R. Token. He taught a class on Token. I took a class on Token. I love the Lord of the Rings. Similarly, and The Hobbit, the Hobbit's my favorite book. Thane shows us a bit of his scholarly side here. I like, yeah, he'll get it. You watch that? Yeah. Yeah. Well, there's this more. Is that the one, the precious, the little, really precious? That guy, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, nothing in.

What's the other show there? Harry Potter? Harry Potter. No, no. Different. And the detectives continue to let him talk. They feed his ego as they play up his intellect and downplay their own. After sufficient time has been invested in efforts to build a strong rapport,

the detective cuts to the chase and the moment this has all been building towards. He confronts Dane with a direct question. So what about this case here? I was talking about the beginning here. What type of person you think would do this? No, I haven't given to that much thought. Yet if a serious crime happens in a small town to people you know, and as a result you're sitting in an interrogation room,

it's hard to believe you haven't given it a lot of thought. Though he isn't really showing it, Thane is likely feeling some level of stress, which would be normal given the circumstances. His hands have been touching since he entered the room, and while it's possible this is simply a comfortable and a typical position for him, It may be a self-soothing behavior due to feelings of stress. Someone would have to be cold.

Greedy, maybe. I don't know. Someone would have to be just heartless. I mean, I never met his son, Mariah's little brother, but who could do that? Well, you never know. The biggest thing that we don't understand is reasons. I mean, there's a reason for everything, you know. The mistakes happen, and that's why even a computer has a delete key.

Right. Stakes happen. wrong place, wrong time, panic, self-to-pans, who does? Are you aware of the Constitution and all that stuff, right? Well, where are the Constitution? Your rights and all that. Do you understand that you're not under arrest?

Yes, I understand. Okay. If you ever want to leave, you just tell me, all I ask is, you don't be rude about it. I mean, I'd be a little bit shocked if I were under arrest, to tell you the truth. So would I. And I'm here to cooperate.

That's right, that's right. But I appreciate that. I know you know your rights and all of stuff. One of the formalities that we have to do is to tell me read it. Okay, you can probably be cited better than I can. I actually, I don't know that I can recite it. Right. Would you understand it, though?

The detectives intentionally downplay the formalities, and Thane seems to think he has this one in the bag. We're about to see, however, that this definitely isn't the case. After the short detour for Miranda warnings, the detective picks right back up where he left off. Formalities, right? Right. So, where, where we're right?

We're talking about what type of person would do that is cold, rainy, heartless. Someone just with no love for life, no love for things that grow. And I mean, what we know about Tolkien and Tolkien's writing, you seem like you know a little bit more about Tolkien. It's his main themes are hope and hopelessness and a love for things that grow. Interesting. And this brings us to the next question, as the detective once again pulls Thain back in from his most recent departure from the topic. What should happen to the person when we find them?

What should happen? When we find the bad guy, what should happen? Well, I imagine you're going to read him his rights, formality, and lock him away. You think you should go to jail? Of course. Yeah. That's not about that. That's just a good reason.

Can you think of any good reason? Something like this could happen? A good reason? Yeah. Do you think of any reason? I mean, again, we don't understand reasons. You know, just because he does something like this doesn't mean you got to go jail for all their life, you know? But just can you think of any good reason for something like this to happen?

I cannot think of any good reason something like that could happen. So far, he isn't able to provide a reason, not yet at least. The detective travels back several years and inquires about an event that seems to have had a profoundly negative impact on Thane. You live with Uncle Steve. You got Uncle Steve and through the high school years? That's right. Okay. So obviously things are not going.

From age 12, up to age 17. Anything significant happened at age 12 to make you want to move out from mom to go with Uncle Steve? Well, it wasn't my choice. It was a matter of DHS or DHS. Department of Health of Human Services. He claims that he was allegedly abused by his mother, which resulted in him being removed from her care at age 12

and into his uncle's home until he was 17. It's possible that Thane is exaggerating or even fabricating his history of alleged abuse is a ploy for sympathy. The detectives touch on high school and how that ended for Thane. This may be a sore subject, considering his inflated view of his high level of intelligence. You graduated in a week? That was the class of O'A.

Yeah. And you graduated from Oxford Light School? I didn't graduate. Why? What happened there? That's a long story, too. We have plenty of time. You have plenty of time and coffee and even candy bars every moment.

No. Okay. Yeah, senior year rolls around. I've got my car, my license, and almost all of my credits. You've likely noticed by now that Thane's word usage is atypical. Because he didn't finish high school, perhaps Thane is trying to make up for it by using a higher level vocabulary to appear as smart or smarter than the detectives. Alworth was a school system that changed their systems, treated us like any pigs,

and treated us like we were in prison cells. If what Thane is saying has any truth to it, you'd think he'd make every effort possible to avoid ending up in a prison cell. Bear in mind, though it's not always the case, a troubled childhood can lead to legal issues later on in life. You know, I started partying. That was my whole party phase. It pretty much started and ended at 17. Really? He did some stupid stuff. What was the stupid thing if it is? Stupidity they didn't get caught. Oh, no, I got caught.

And I always get caught. You always get caught. Oh, yeah. It's the weirdest thing. Anything I ever do, there's always someone looking, you know. And it's just like, well, I do anything wrong. Yeah. This is an interesting question here.

Needless to say, detectives can see past this facade. We stole it down from my friend's house. This same Michael, who was now marrying my ex-fiance in the same very church that we were getting married in. And what had happened is I turned myself in. I found out the police were looking for me. I said, okay. I walked right in and said, Hi, my name's Dan Oursby, and I'm here to turn myself in.

What you get for a punishment? Probation. Probably not to do it again. Basically, yeah. Well, I mean, I was underage, and it was my first offense. Thane is trying to appear as if he was a criminal during that short-lived phase, but quickly returned to his law-abiding ways. turning himself in, as he just alleged, was likely a self-serving behavior, possibly to receive a lesser punishment rather than because he was truly remorseful for his actions.

This appears to be an attempt to self-promote and make himself seem like he does the right thing. He likely told the detective this story in an attempt to control how they see him. If he's honest about this story, he may believe that he will then appear like he's always honest. After this most recent digression, the detective refocuses the conversation. And as you'll see, Thane's demeanor changes significantly. Maybe it's because this topic makes him uncomfortable. Okay, let's talk about how you met, Jeff. He came over to Bob Joyce.

Okay, didn't you remember what that was? Early when I got there, a couple days after I got there. Thane's posture changes here. He slouched and leaning forward now, appearing tense concerned, where before he appeared casual and calm. A change in demeanor such as this could be a sign of deception. He might think that he needs to look the detective in the eye in order to sound truthful. And tell me about that conversation, how would that go? We didn't have a conversation. I mean, he came in and he talked to Bobby Joy, and I was there. And you knew at this point that

he is Mariah's father? Yeah, I know. And you guys hit it off? I hit it along. Yeah, we get along. That's, we were, we were. Cool. He said, you know, come on over, blah, blah, blah. How long were you, was he there and stuff? Half an hour. Half an hour. Half a hour was in 20 minutes. Was the little boy not there at this point? No, no. He was with his mother. It's not long before Thane takes Jeff up on the invite and makes a visit to his home. How long ago after the first visit were you up there?

A week. About a week later? A week later. Okay. And what's going on when you're up there this week later? It's just Jeff. Jeff's alone drinking a beer moment is long. Outside. Outside. And how was Jeff doing?

Jeff was doing good. Jeff was talking about his son, saying he was going to be back. So this was about a week before this happened? Because you only lived at there three weeks, you said, right? Yeah, it's all, yeah, it's all such a short proximity. Right. So you were there, you met it, and then about a week later, you go out, so that would have been a week before this whole thing happened.

You were there. And he's mowing the lawn. He's mowing the lawn. The detectives are really beginning to focus in on all of the details, and Thane's attitude has noticeably changed. So you're there, and what goes on? He's mowing the lawn. He stopped mowing the lawn.

He stopped mowing the lawn, talked to me, invited me in, said, have a beer. I had a beer with him. I sat and drank a beer with him. Joy actually called. Joy knew I was there. Called me and told me, come back and help me with me. guard. How did you get there? How did I get there? I walked up. You walked up? Yeah, it's a short distance.

You didn't take your bike? No. Okay. Though it's not quite clear yet, everything is beginning to come together. I'm a visual guy. Can you draw the trailer for me and say where you went in that trailer? Because it's important to see where you went and all of that. Can you do that for me? He showed me around. Sure. Yeah, with that. Despite his claim of being a visual guy, there's much more to this seemingly simple request. Having a suspect, draw something instead of simply stating it as a step in the read technique that solidifies the statements the suspect is making, so there's less confusion and more detail. This also makes it harder to retract statements later. The detectives can also use the drawing to point out specific things when they start confronting him. So like I said, I was walking down the road and he was

known as a lot of around here somewhere. We walked in and talked him and I met his duster. I met his dog, I walked over in bed in his dog. I walked in and we told me to come on in, grab a beer, and then he's got chairs here. We sat down here. It was a hot day. We came back outside, sat down here. That was it. How long were you there to think? And he had already showed you around the place before this, you said. He showed me his house, yeah. Before this visit. For this visit. No, this is the visit. There were only, all right. There was at least two visits. said the very first time you manning me down and had a beer. Then you said, I asked you it was the second or third visit that this happened.

And you said it was the second visit. I'll be straightforward because there's no reason I can't. I appreciate that. And this is where his story begins to change. I do have a bicycle. I know this much. Okay. There are only two occasions I met Jeff.

One where he comes down to the house. Right. And I combine those two occasions. A week later I come back. And you're on your bike this stuff? And I'm on my bike this stuff. I ride my bike on the road. And I ride it on the wall.

And I parked it right here somewhere. Okay. It seems Stain didn't think his story through before coming in for the interrogation. It's becoming confusing, and the detectives are catching all of his inconsistencies. You said the very first time he met you, you asked him to get a job and stuff, and he said, come on. Two different occasions. I combine the two and one, just to be simple. Oh, each time you were here.

How many times you're at this house? Once. Once. I've only been to know once. I've been to his house once. And this time here, he shows you around. And he shows me around. So the first time you said you went there after, you've had that very first time you met him.

I said, but really that was the week later. Why would you do that? Why would you confuse me like that? I confuse me. Because it's irrelevant. Because it's... Well, it's not really irrelevant because we get three people did. So that's why it makes it very irrelevant.

very relevant, especially even if people are not telling the truth. I understand. But, I mean, I had nothing to do with it. Okay. Thane's unreasonable explanation is a clear red flag for deception, indicating he may be trying to hide something about this topic. But the question is why. As well, giving conflicting statements is a sign of deception. Liars often have a difficult time keeping track of what they've said,

and detectives are trained to spot these inconsistencies. When a detective points out a lie to a suspect, they may go into what is called the death spiral of a lie. This is when the liar tries to provide a reason for the lie. The detective points out flaws in that explanation or how it is inconsistent with prior statements. So the person tries to defend their lie again, which adds more layers to it, and the cycle continues. Eventually, the liar may wear down because it's so stressful to keep pitching and defending their lies, when the other person clearly isn't buying it. He continues to dig a deeper hole for himself,

and it's going to be difficult to climb his way out. But you also said you were there that one time, and it was the same event. I was only there one time. I said it was the same event, to be simple. Okay, I don't want simple anymore. All right, I want straightforward. To be straightforward, it was two events that I met Jeff Ryan.

Okay. Once where he came to Bob and Joyce and I did not go to his house that day. A week later, I come back to double-check with him. Then there's the question about the bike. When was the bike drive when you were up the driveway? Because we found bike prints up there. That's why when I asked you the other day if you had a bike, you said no. Today I asked you if you had a bike, you said no.

Now I'm confused. Why didn't you tell me you had a bike when I asked you? Why didn't tell you I had a bike? Because... But we saw bike prints there. I heard stories about biker gangs, and I didn't want to be confused with... No, I asked you that day, pedal bike. Pedal bike, okay.

Pedal bike, okay. You pedal. Right. Now that excuse is so unbelievable, it's almost comical. The question is, does Thane think that the investigators are buying it? As the detectives are now entering the more intense phase of the interrogation, they will be confronting Thane on inconsistencies using the evidence they have not yet revealed to him. So you want him up that ride, one on, don't off that drive on your bike, one time?

One time. Okay. Why are we finding a couple different trips up through there and another trip through the woods on a buddy? and footprints gone through the woods. Why are we finding that? Are you confused and maybe you forget the time? Do you rip in there with the bike? Did we get your path there?

They came on and all that stuff. The misery, did you forget that? It's okay if you did. I'm just trying to see when we were back and these boots here and coming home in front of that. You forget that? No, no, no. That was just, uh...

I'd just gone over to check out the junkyard. Where is the junkyard? It's right beside Bob and Joyce. Thane is acting as if the issue is that the detective isn't understanding a story, when in reality, it's his story that's no longer holding up. It's not uncommon for someone caught in a lie to try to make it seem that the listener is the problem as a way to deflect attention off of their lies. You only have one beer in that house, you said.

One beer. And it was a bundleser bottle. Budweiser. And you said to me the other day, you drank it all. Yeah. Okay. Thane doesn't realize it, but he's falling right into a trap. What happened that after you drank that beer?

I told you I left it on the counter in the seat. I don't recall. You left it in the counter or in the sink? On the counter or in the sink. On the counter or in the sink. You smoke. Do you have any smokes in the house? Smokes.

Cigarettes? Cigarettes. Spoke any cigarettes in the house? In his house? In his house. I smoked one of his cigarettes. Was it brown filter, white filter? It must have been a brown filter.

If I told you it was white, would that screw you up? Yeah. I don't know. You said he never met the little boy? Never met the little boy. Did he want you to meet the little boy? He never made... Like, I can't wait for you to come out.

Yeah, he was, he was, that's what he was telling me when we were talking on the porch. He was saying, I hope I'm going to go get him. You know, I think he'll be back for the summer. Though the relevance might not be clear just yet, all of these questions are important, and Thane continues to give wrong answers. Did you ever play a horse shoes down in this area?

The horseshoe pits are right here, right? I didn't even see the horsesho pits. You didn't see the shoe pits? When you say he showed you the house, did you go through the house? Do you take your room by room or do you just say it was? Did you go down in here? So you've never, ever been down that hallway. So there's no way in hell that your DNA is going to be down in this area anywhere.

That's what you're telling me. That's what I'm saying. All right. And there's no way in hell that your DNA is going to be back in here anywhere. Unbeknownst to Thane, detectives are armed with some damning evidence. They know that a fingerprint from one of the evidentiary beer bottles was matched to Thane. In addition, his DNA profile was matched to the beer bottle as well as a cigarette collected from an ashtray at Jeff's residence.

Their intention here is to increase stress and hint that they may have evidence that Thane was there, hoping it will make him lose resolve and confess. You had a cigarette, what happened to the cigarette? You smoked it, you said? I smoked it. I might have put the butt in my back pocket or thrown it out. But you said you're kind of not horny about leaving butts around. You told me that in the car yesterday, right?

But you actually smoked the cigarette. Okay? And have you ever been out on these streets up in this area? No. So this event here where you were inside was about a week before this murder happened. Maybe two. Maybe two weeks. The foundation has been built, and the detective's intuition confirms that this is the precise time to implement the first step of the reed technique.

A positive confrontation. Watch as the overconfident thing is reduced to a deer in headling. lives. Never met Jason. Well, now we have a problem. Why? All right. Inside that trailer, there's a bottle sitting there, three bottles.

And in that trailer also, we have your DNA and fingerprints on one of the balls. So maybe you're mistaken about why that happened, but I want you to them straight down now. See this picture? Yes. Three bottles, right? This one's yours. One of these is Jason, and one of these is Jeff. The detective confronts Thane with details of the indisputable evidence they have obtained.

On Monday, before the murder, there was a party. People cleaned after the party, because I talked to the ones who did it. Those bottles were not there. Monday night. Your bottle is there, your fingerprints on that. That mask from the fingerprint I got the other day, your DNA is in that bottle. Explain that to me. It doesn't mean anything else.

No. I mean... Why is it that... I put... I set my bottle either here or here in the sink. But you see my problem. This bottle here belongs to Jason

who you never met. I've never met. The beer's half full. The beers half full. The beers half full. I thought I finished my beer. But it couldn't have been. Even if you did finish the beer,

let's say that bottle's empty. They cleaned the house after the party on Monday. That bottle would have been moved. No way in hell that bottle sat there for two weeks. If anything, it's sat there for a couple hours. There was a party. the house on Monday, which was thoroughly cleaned up after. The detective has essentially trapped Thane with the evidence of a bottle with his DNA

because it couldn't have been from the party due to it being cleaned up. Instead, it had to have been from after around the time of the murders. So we have a problem with that. I need to explain to me, but why is that beer ball that was there a couple hours for the time of the murder? If you have a lost explanation, now is the time to spit it up. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong, but we need to know why that bottle is a why you are in that house a couple hours before the murder. Unfortunately for Thane, he doesn't have a logical explanation.

That's not... No, you know. You just don't want to tell me. And it doesn't mean you kill them, all right? But it means... Go one step at a time. How was that bottle there? Your finger pensive, your left index fingers on that bottle,

and your DNA is in that liquid right there. As we're talking to you right now, we're talking to the big bomb up in Amity. Bob and Joy. It will come as no surprise when you later see that a crucial element from Bob's account is contradictory to that of Thanes. He says that you were up there Wednesday morning. Bob says that. Tell me about that bottle, how that bottle was it up there.

You always get caught. And every time you ever get in trouble, you say, hey, you're walking to the police station, here I am. That shows me you're a man of integrity. You're a man, you're very intelligent man. And the politics and all that stuff. You see him a type of guy that's very right straight. before and I just like not lie, it is what it is, you know, it is what it is. You were there just before the murder or when this accident happened, all right? But it was clearly no accident.

The level of brutality combined with the gruesome nature of the wounds will leave no room for a claim that the killings were anything but cold and calculated. You have my DNA? You have my DNA? Yes, yes, but can you explain how, yeah. Tell me what you did while you were there? Well, I drank half a beer. And with that admission, Thane's story has significantly changed. It wasn't a week or two, but rather the very day the murders occurred that Thane has admitted to being in Jeff's home. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Tell me about Jason. You met him. This is his ball.

That's his ball. Right. Did you only meet him the one time? Honestly. Yeah. I want the truth. Straightforward. Straightforward. During this event? During the center.

Okay. What night was that? Or what day was that? Tuesday evening. Tuesday evening. Okay. What happened Tuesday evening? How did you get there? My bicycle. Okay.

And those are the tracks right up the driveway. Where was Jeff when you got there? Inside. What time of day was it? It was even? Was it dark? Not dark. Jeff was inside?

What's Jason inside? Inside. Jason was inside? Was it little boy inside? At the counter, having a beer. It was side playing the TV. You didn't know the boy was there, did you? The boy was so bad playing the tent or something?

You see, you need to know what's the second when they first got there. The detective makes use of the board once again. This is a perfect example of how drawing the scene can help to lock a suspect into their story. Now, you pedal up here in the bike. Where do you park your bike? Right there. Okay, that's good. That explains the whole strategy down there.

Okay. So, you go inside. You're sitting at the bar with Jason and... I'm sitting in a table. Life is good at this point, right? when you walked in, were they okay to see you? Yeah. I'm asking.

Yeah. Okay. And they offer you a beer. Yeah. You go to refrigerator and get the beer. Yeah. It seems what Thane is saying so far may be true, and knowing this just makes the surreal situation that much more disturbing.

The men had no idea they were sipping what would be the last beers of their lives. And you're having a smoke. At this point, you have a smoke. Right? Yeah, that's no heroes. Yeah. You had at least two. Cigarettes?

I was smoking blackhawks that night. Yeah. With the white pots. You know what I do? I know. Was it brown filter, white filter? It must have been a brown filter. Have I told you it was white?

Would that screw you up? Yeah? I don't know. And suddenly Thane recalls more about those cigarettes. The walls are beginning to close in on him now. The detective applies more pressure. And as soon you're going to know that I know that you know that I know, right? Okay, follow that?

Okay, it's a little advance we're doing, but you know that I know. So you have a smoke. Something goes terribly wrong. Jeff comes outside, we think. Something happened right down in this area outside. We went outside and came over here by the garden. I smoked a joint. Down here by the garden area?

I'm sorry? And I smoked a joint with Jason. Did you smoke to join with Jason? Okay. And Jeff didn't smoke. Still not know the boys there yet. Yeah, okay. Maybe Thane is coming to the realization that the detective's thick-headed persona has been just that,

and he's been playing him all along. Still, Thane gives it another go. Like I said, I asked Jeff about work. And we were talking about carpentry and all sorts of different things, and he said he had some nails for me. And that's why you have my prince towards the shed. So where's the shiz? Where are the shiz? Okay.

So when were you out there about the shes? At that night. Tuesday night, in the Wednesday, 1st, Tuesday. It was Tuesday night, and I was home shortly thereafter. But we all know that's not the case. That's truth. I know you all the truth, but I'm going to have to keep it. Okay.

Does that mean you want to stop talking? for a minute. I'm going to get another coffee. Here you'll be the going to take a cigarette and if you could bring me a joint, maybe. Making these requests is likely Thane's attempt to alleviate his stress

by taking control of his environment. He's trying to manipulate the detective into getting him things because he knows he has information they really want, and that puts him into a position of power over the detective. It may also be a sign of impulsivity, a common trait of psychopaths,

instead of completely refusing to talk in getting a lawyer, which would likely be in his best interest long term, he chooses the short-term gratification of coffee and a break. Here's what we're going to do. I appreciate you being honest, all right? I want you to go get you kept coffee. We'll give you a piss break. If he wants some food, we can make that out? I'm hungry, too. I cannot get you a joint. They kind of frown on that. Yeah. Okay, and I can not get you a beer. Trust me, I don't want to. I do. I do want to I do.

I do want to join. Yeah. If I could give you a joint or would. All joking aside, the detective lays everything out for Thane. This will give him something to contemplate during his upcoming break. You know that I know the truth. And I want you to know that you're doing a search warrant right now. I bet Bob's and Joyce's.

We get full statements from both of them. That's not consistent with you up to this point. And we're talking to Bob Jr. down here. We're doing a search. his place right now. And that's not fair to Bob Jr. He had nothing to do this. Note that Bob Jr. is Bob Strout's son, who had a loud thing to stay in his New Hampshire home the past several days. None of them had anything. None of them did. But you did. I'd like to know what happened for the truth. You've always been a man of integrity. You know in your heart what happened.

We know what happened by all the evidence. We wouldn't be sitting here talking to you again. Since this tactic has worked previously, the detective tries to once again appeal to the detective tries to once again appeal to Thane's inflated sense of his character. It doesn't make you a bad guy. Something would terrible wrong. There was an accident, I think. I have theories of what happened. The family deserves the truth.

You have a lot of weight on you right now, don't you? See, yeah. And it will kill you to eat you up like a cancer. You're not the first person I've talked to was not something like this. And it eats them up. And believe it or not, people have told me that after they finally spit it out, they feel so much better. There definitely could be some truth behind the detective's

statement, but it's an attempt to appeal to any feelings of remorse that they may have. Even if it's unlikely that the suspect feels bad for what they've done, statements like this will remind them that by confessing, they can bring the uncomfortable interview to an end, which may be a motivating factor for some. I don't think you're a cold buddy killer that is because I'll kill people. I don't think you woke up to the morning that said, oh, let me go kill three people. You're responsible for this, right? I won't say.

Why don't you go have some, we'll get a cigarette break, we'll talk some more. It's possible. And it's going to be okay. All right. You're doing the right thing. You're a good boy. You're a good man. Yeah.

You know, boy, you're a man. No, don't call me that. You don't think you're a man? Not earned, not deserve. Mistakes happen. Like I said, right, my dad always told me that's why they put your racers on pencils. Perhaps I do need a water. Okay.

Go have a smoke, go up the back, and we'll finish this up. leave the room for a break and return several minutes later. And during this time, a complete transformation has occurred. You're about to meet a new thing. And the stark contrast between this version and the one you encountered previously is particularly shocking. You bring you a coffee? When he gets back in here, I'll get you on, all right? Do you actually want coffee, though? Okay, I'll get you one in a minute. As the tears streamed down his face, he looks more like a scared boy rather than the responsible righteous adult that he initially presented himself to be. In addition to the tears, we also see that Thane is rubbing his face and rubbing his hands together. Both are adapter behaviors, indicative of anxiety

he is clearly feeling. However, it's possible that this sudden change might be a ploy for pity from the detective, a manipulation tactic, or it may even be that Thane now realizes that he's been caught, and this display of emotion is because he knows he can't escape. the first one that's cried. Yeah. Well, it's a lot to absorb, buddy. It's a lot to process. I'm going to go getting this cough.

Oh, good. Hey. Buddy. Uh-huh. Dayne, I want you to know that I'm here for it the best I can be. I cannot mention any promises about the media. I can't make you any promises. That's way over my head.

I will go to that for you. I mean, I will stand up for you about what you tell me in here and about how you're cooperating and stuff like that. The detective has taken on an almost paternalistic role. While Thane knows his case is quickly turning into a lost cause, the detective knows he still needs him to be comfortable enough to keep talking. They still have many questions that need to be answered.

Thane noticeably responds to the compassion the detective displays toward him. We know that Thane claims he was removed from his mother's care at age 12 due to alleged abuse. Since he told the detectives about this, they likely know that he will respond well if they treat him with kindness. His behavior so far has been consistent with long-term consequences,

which could be present in some victims of childhood abuse, such as difficulty regulating one's own emotions, anger issues, and or mental health problems, and substance abuse and or violent behavior. With that in mind, the detective delves back into the process of seeking the truth, behind the killings. And you probably recall Thain's previous statements about pleading the

fifth and possibly needing an attorney. So the detective informs Thane that he has to read him his rights once again. If I want to make sure now, you said you're going to talk to me, I want to make sure that I didn't beat the hell out of the outside. We were just outside talking there and you again and gave some statements about I'm going to see if he's here tonight, you're going to tell me what happened. I was afraid of that, honestly. You were afraid of what? You scared me the day you left. You were afraid of what? I knew you were on to me.

But yeah, I was afraid you were the bad cop. And you were going to beat me out and beat it out of me. No. This is as excited as I get. But what I told you that day, if you did it, I'm going to get you. What I tell you, do you remember? Huh? What I tell you, do you remember?

You said I didn't do it. I said I know. Oh, that's right. You're glad you said I know. Well, obviously, I wasn't planning on getting caught. Obviously. Let me, uh... The deep sighs and heavy breathing show that Thane's fight or flight mode has clearly kicked in.

His body has a heightened need for extra oxygen. The detective reviews Thane's rights, and Thane agrees to proceed with the questioning. Where do you want to start? Where would you not to start? When did you go up there that night? Tuesday night. Tuesday night. Before dark?

Before dark. six, seven Jason was there at this point Is that the first time you met him? That was the first time. Okay. What happened? You're on your pedal, right?

Okay. What happened? Everything was going fine to tell you the truth. I did see Jesse, and Jesse was in his living. He was... So far, it seems Thain feels defeated and has resigned himself to the fact

that all evidence is pointing right in his direction. Then, Trudeau's earlier, version, we see that he changes course. I think we should start with why. I know you want the hard details. Why is good to know. Thane is about to divulge quite a story. It goes without saying, though, he is not a credible source.

We've already seen his story evolve many times over. Jeff Ryan. Jeff Ryan? And I never got this far. And I've never met him either. Yes, sir. Okay. And he probably has nothing to do with this case,

has nothing to do with the situation. Back in the day, there were three people. That were the biggest drug dealers. I won't mention one. But the other two were Jeff Ryan. And you wanted to rid the world of them? So you hated Jeff because he was a drug dealer? Because of the things he's done to other people.

Because of what he is, was. So you decided. to take care of that. Did you want any type of me? Yeah. This theory is an interesting one. It seems Thane is trying to paint himself in the most positive light he can by deflecting,

attempting to make others seem worse than himself. A quite twisted justification for sure. I'll tell you what I know about. Jeff Ryan, even though these are things I've known without meeting you. Uh-huh. And you knew this from Tamrides now? I've known this from all sorts of kids.

all the life. You thought that he was a drug dealer? I know he wasn't doing much now, but I know he used to do it. And I know he hurt. And he heard. A lot of people. According to Jake, Jason DeHan's brother,

Jeff had allegedly asked Thain to stay away from his daughter, who was a minor. Though this has never been confirmed, there is speculation that this may have been Mariah, Bob and Joyce Strout's granddaughter. Though these claims have never been verified and are pure speculation, there is a possibility that this may be another layer to Thane's relationship with Jeff, or could even possibly be another alleged motive for the killings.

It could also potentially explain why Thane felt the need to mention to detectives that Jeff allegedly hurt Mariah. And I don't believe in what he does, because I don't believe in... I mean, yeah, I believe. But I don't believe in trucks, like... Right. For someone so intent on painting himself to be a man of values, he definitely strayed from that character when he killed three people,

especially when one of them was a child. That's one of the baffling things about individuals who commit murders like these. They do an obviously wrong, often horrific thing in the name of something they consider to be right. They even feel justified doing something immoral in order to defend what they believe is moral. Or at least, this is how Thane is attempting to put. portray the situation. He displays some key traits of individuals with antisocial personality disorder. His actions demonstrate that he feels he has the right to take the law into his own hands, and punish those he thinks are bad and have hurt others. There's a significant element of

grandiosity here, a sense of omnipotence for Thane to believe that he can decide which bad guys should die. Grandiosity is the key word with Thane, from his trying to present as highly intelligent to believing he can take the law into his own hands. He thinks incredibly highly of himself. Have you ever killed before? No. I have to ask. And one of the reasons I asked, you're very proficient in what he did.

Where did you learn this? That's just it. That's another thing that we're curious about. Did you learn how to do this from any military training, martial arts training, TV, movies, videos, video games? The way you said it was very proficient. Self-knowledge. I mean, it was my first time. My first having anybody really...

These compliments may or may not be true. Their purpose is likely to flatter Thane and coax him into admitting to other killings. It was just mental focus. And I've studied things that I shouldn't have studied and know things that I shouldn't have studied. And you're right, I wanted to be a Marine, and no one taught me anything. I know a couple moves. Yeah. But I prepared myself for years to be a soldier.

So you read a lot of literature on assassins? I mean... I remember back to the original question. Where did you learn to stab like that? Tell me the technique you used to stab. Was there anything significant for the way you stabbed them? Not really overhand. It wasn't like a stab in and out.

Was there anything significant that you did when you hit it out? I didn't try and turn it or anything. I didn't try to be fancy. I just tried to be quick. I wanted to be quick because I didn't want them to kill it. Despite his insistence, that he is a moral person. If this was really just about getting rid of this bad person

for the betterment of the world, he would have done it when Jeff was alone. However, this instead could be a sign of Thane's impulsivity, which is a sign of antisocial personality disorder, along with a reckless disregard for human life. What the evidence people were telling us, it was a quick, confident, cool, and very unique, that it was a stab twist out, every one of them,

was almost military. He said whoever did this is either trained or done training on it or military person, assassin. Thane's ego is being thoroughly fed, and it will pay off as he enlightens the detectives. Somewhere in the subconscious of my mind, I've developed myself as just that, an assassin. And with no training. With sheer mental imagination. The self-proclaimed natural assassin is showcasing his narcissistic tendencies. Thane has just confessed, but the detectives still need to know exactly what happened that night,

and they urge him to divulge the disturbing details of his attack on Jeff, his first victim. Be forewarned, as the details of the murders are quite brutal. Where you found him? You found my prince. My DNA in the shed where you were showing you nails. He was out there to show you some nails or something. And he bent over to get you the nails. What happened?

I killed him. You killed Jeff. So he was bent over. No? No? Back to. He was back. He was back to you.

And you stayed in the back? I'm asking. Okay. And where'd you get the knife? It was my own. There was a bayonet type knife? Large. Large knife.

And that's the way to keep sharpling all right. He's clutching his coffee close to his chest, likely a protective barrier between him. barrier between himself and the detective. Jason sat down next to Jesse on the couch. Right. And you guys are outside. And you're thinking now it's time,

he never said anything to do you? He was just trying to help me. Okay. How many times did you step anything? Those are questions. I don't know the answer to that. Are you saying one or a hundred? I mean, multiple.

Multiple times? Okay. After inviting Thane into his home, Jeff was completely blindsided. His back. turned when he was attacked. You stabbed him, and does he fight you back? Momentarily, but I

didn't want it to be a prolonged thing. I wanted it to be as clear as possible, and unfortunately, I mean, it wasn't wrong, but different from what you expect. He didn't understand. Why would you do this? He asked you, what the fuck, why you don't? What do you stop?

Holy Jesus Christ, those things. Do you say anything at him? No. And that was where Thane's already horrendous plan took an even more sickening turn. I knew that I couldn't just leave him there with two people who just saw me. Obviously, this is premeditated murder. It's the term you used for it. Did you go there to the planet to kill you?

Yes. You could. Okay. I'm in a mode. I'm scared, and I have to finish what I start in my mind. It was a job. was like a hit to me and they were on the couch. I stabbed Jason and Jesse her into the background.

So I chased Jesse, he was the quickest. He just said he was scared. Any conversations with the little boy? Oh, I just said he was scared. He said he was scared. And how many times do you think you stabbed him? Well, I heard on the news five, so I'm assuming. Where on his body did you stab him?

From the back. How was he positioned? You remember the little boy? He was behind his door. Behind his door? Is he laying on his back or his stomach? He's leaning on his stomach? He's laying on his stomach?

Upon his knees. Upon his knees. Thane deserted the body of the little boy and made his way back out to the living room. And there, he found that things were definitely not how he'd left them. You'll come out to check on Jason, and he's gone. And yeah, he's gone. He disappeared.

He was out on my side. So I ran down and I'm looking at the road. You know what I did? Well, I'm looking at the road to make sure they weren't any witnesses. I didn't want to kill them, but I didn't want to be caught from murder either. He came right back out. He had started to go into the woods and then walked back out. And I think maybe he would have died.

Bain had already stabbed Jason multiple times as he was seated on the couch. I thought he wasn't making it out of the house. Somehow, while Thane was ending Jesse's life in the back bedroom, Jason had mustered up what little strength he had left and escaped the house. And I chased him down the road, and that's why he was in the ditch. You pulled him into the ditch? Yes, okay. And does he say anything to you?

Does he try to get away from him? Yeah, he didn't understand, because obviously I just met him. There was no reason. You really only met him very first time. It was really the first time I met him. Yeah. The sheer terror, Jason had to have been experienced. is unimaginable, and it only gets worse as Thane's grisly account continues.

I brought him down, put him to the ditch. I know I hit him in the head once, and I was that shot. I was nervous. I was both the road. He'd him in the head on one. I cut his throat. You cut his throat? How many times did you cut his throat?

Two, maybe three slashes. Two, maybe three slashes. And it's obviously something I had never done before. it was just... Jason's harrowing attempt to escape with his life proved unsuccessful as Thane finished what he'd started. According to the medical examiner,

each victim did what little they could to protect themselves or escape based on positioning of the bodies. After the killing rampage had come to an end, Thane's work was essentially just beginning. He said so himself. He hadn't planned on being caught

and so began the next phase. Okay, so now. all three people are yes what do you do with that picked up my tracks dane gives an account of his amateur attempt to remove all potential evidence within the home okay so now you pick up the best you can you clean up the kitchen area and stuff where do you go from there you take the pickup truck and where do you go to the bike on the back you said and i ended up going over to the junk cart and i ditched my bike then someone else entered the picture bob told to detectives that Thane came through the woods located by his residence, and he was covered in blood.

Thane allegedly stated that he'd killed them all. Bob then claimed that Thane threatened to kill Bob's family if he didn't help him. We'll likely never know what words were truly exchanged, but there's no question that Bob was an integral part of the events that followed the slayings. Though we can't be sure, it seems he wasn't aware of Thane's plan prior to the commission of the heinous acts. He sees you, he sees you covered in blood. He says to you, what the hell happened? And you told him everything that happened. And I know you don't want to get ball off the ball.

The ball's already told us. Yeah. Okay. I told him right after. You told him right after he did it, right? He was shocked. He was shocked. What did he say to you?

Not much. I just asked him to bring me some coffee. And he told me to stay away from the house because I was caught. Thane then reluctantly admits that he drove Jeff's truck. to Tamara Strout's home, located in nearby Weston. You went to Tamas and spent the night with the pickup truck down there? Or where did you need the pickup boat? Where was Tara doing all this time?

Tamara knows, right? Tamara knows you did this? Oh, God. That following morning, Bob appeared at his daughter Tamara's vacant house, where Thane was staying. He brought me a pair of clothes. Were you surprised that he showed up with clothes? Or was that part of the plan?

No, I was surprised that he came back. Yeah. I wasn't expecting. He was sleeping. He thought you'd have wanted to change your clothes. I was covered in blood. What was Bob's role in this thing, if you were? No.

I mean, simply that he knew. He didn't want to see me go down for it. I'm not solving. Did he say that to him, or you just thinking that? Did he say, did he tell you, we have to go burn a truck now, or was that your idea? Or did he tell you we got to get rid of that truck?

Or is it a wee thing now? I, no, no. I had to get rid of the truck. He just gave you. He just gave you a ride. Trying to nail down a charge of hindering arrest or obstruction of justice for Bob, the detective is probing for what other involvement this possible accomplice may have had in aiding in Thane's crimes. And with his next statement, the detective gets the answer he's looking for.

It was, you probably should get the out of here. Somebody said. Honestly. Yeah, that's what I'm honest with. He told me I should skip the state, skip the state, burn the truck. or in the house. I'm confused a little bit about how that happened.

He gave me a ride. Obviously, I drove the truck. And you get gas somewhere that morning? Where did you get the gas? Did you burn to a truck? And Bob gave your ride to the truck with the gas. I mean, because we had somebody

who saw you bring in the gas in like with a white jug or something like of a jug and you were like, walking in, don't want to spell it. When you burnt your truck goes around Newtime Wednesday, way before we found the bodies.

So where'd you go after you burnt a truck? After burning the truck some 15 miles away in the town of Weston, a crucial event took place. Part of Thane's process of getting rid of evidence, or so he thought. When was it that you threw your knife in the pond? On the way back. On the way back from burning the truck? On the way back from Danforth, after the burning the truck. Can you tell us what that pond is?

You don't know, or you can't tell us? It's in a swamp. Bob's taken us now to that swamp area. I don't want to make sure that we want to find that knife, obviously. I mean, I know it's evidence, but if I'm admitting my guilt. But we would like to have full closure. I couldn't tell you where it is. I might be able to show you where it is.

The detective who has mostly been observing and taking notes now asks an important question, one that brings this case to an even more hideous reality. You had killed Jeff, Jason, and Jesse. Jesse's pop's grandson. It's important to note that Jesse is not Bob's biological grandson. Bob's daughter Tamara had a teenage daughter with Jeff, but Jesse's mother was a woman named Jamie Merrill.

Given how the detectives are referring to Jesse as Bob's grandson, he may have still treated him as such, though this has not been publicly confirmed. How is it you feel it is wanting to help you out, outweighed the death of his grandson, to the point where he didn't feel as well he should. turn you in. What do you think made you not want to do that? It's hard time. Yeah. I mean, I've only known Bob for so long. He gave you a ride down to burn that truck, and he was with you when you threw the knife out. But he says, you know, what's the conversation like between

you and Bob at this point? He needed to know from me that I had learned a lesson. The lesson thing had learned remains a mystery, considering he made every effort to to destroy all evidence of his connection to the crimes. Then he fled the state and headed to New Hampshire. Did you call Bob Jr. down here to say, can I come down there and hang out? They talk all the time. He talks with his mother all the time, and we had already put in prior to that that I might go down. We knew he was looking for a roommate.

Bob drove you down here. Why wouldn't he tell us? Because he cared to know me, and I cared about him. Thane appears to be protective of Bob and somewhat reluctant to say, anything that could get Bob in trouble. This is unusual as generally psychopaths only care about themselves. They may pretend to have concern for another person, but only as a form of manipulation to get what they want. However, Thane may be trying to portray himself as a stand-up guy, because he's willing to take the fall for Bob. Bob is one of the biggest conundrums of this case,

as he appears to have helped Thane after he knowingly killed his grandson. Unfortunately, that choice may be a mystery we never solve. But that's not the only baffling family connection in this case. As the detectives continue their efforts to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle, they return to the topic of motive. Thain may have given a motive, but it's still not making sense. In an effort to keep justifying what he's done, he will soon reveal what may be his most outrageous claim yet. So what about this other guy who said you wanted to kill? What's his name again? Who's the third guy? Third guy?

11. You said you wanted to kill three people. Two. There were three people that used to be the biggest truck dealers. I see. And you wanted to kill two of the three? As the interrogation is winding down, Thane still hasn't provided a convincing motive as to why he took it upon himself

to end the lives of three people, other than his baseless claim that Jeff was a drug dealer. And it must be noted that no evidence was ever found that supported this idea after all. Still, there had to be more to it. As the detectives press him, Thane makes a sickening allegation, revealing more behind his profound hatred toward Jeff. Of all the people in the world, that do drugs, there isn't very bad people there.

Why don't you pick Jeff? He's responsible for Mori and over foster care. I've heard terrible things. If you found any of his previous statements to be shocking, what you're about to hear will completely blow your mind. Like that. Weird. He would call him that.

He was. He was what? Dog. He was a dog. He was a dog? Chief was? Yes. And how do you know that?

Here's that. Okay. There's no evidence to support such a ludicrous allegation. And it appears that once again Thain may be attempting to justify his actions with claims that paint him as the so-called good guy in this twisted situation. All right. If you want. I will let you write a statement out. Like again, start where you feel as important.

And read it up until now. You thought about this a couple days ahead of time. And your own words, that this was premeditated. Do you feel it was? Yeah. You do feel it was. You know it was premeditated. And one more time before I let you write your statement here,

you know what your Miranda writes. You don't have to do this. Why the hell not? On that note, they take a break and exit the room. This may actually be further ever. evidence of his impulsivity. He doesn't want to go through the whole legal process and wait to find out what's going to happen to him. He just wants to be sentenced immediately. This may have been a similar thought process as he had the night of the murder. When he arrived at Jeff's and saw there were

additional people there, he didn't want to wait for another time. He had the plan in his head and just wanted to get it done, regardless of the additional casualties. But if you thought the case ended here, he was... But if you thought the case ended here, It doesn't, not quite yet. In classic Thane fashion, he has more strange comments to offer as he writes up his statement. And I just realized, I'm saying if you that the word they use for me is homicidal maniac. He likely doesn't realize that he's further reinforced the fact that the murders were premeditated, and this definitely won't be of any benefit to his defense when the case goes to trial.

Even as Thane works through his statement, he can't help but keep talking. and the detective continues to humor him in case he adds anything more that they can eventually use against him. And of course, he does. Honestly, I did it to test myself. To test yourself? What type of test was that?

I don't know. To see if I was proficient. I told you, I spent my childhood wanting to be a soldier. You wanted to be a soldier or his childhood? So this was like a test. for you to see you're a proficient. Essentially.

Yeah. I think you did? Rather than getting me down into your life, you didn't expect on that. Had I worn gloves? Had I spent the time, retraced my checks, better.

Had I burnt the house down, you might not have been here. You might not have never caught on to me. You said it yourself, and you said from what they said on the scene that whoever did it, did a proficient job. So at least I got my answer.

you aren't proficient These words don't remotely resemble what you'd expect from an individual who's feeling even a hint of remorse What would you like to have happen? The best possible outcome from this? Realistically. Realistically?

Of course. I mean, obviously the family needs to know what happened. They deserve an apology. It won't be much. Yeah, I was always the say, what should we tell the family? What do you want us to tell the family?

What do you want us to tell the little boy's mother? That it wasn't person. Obviously, his statement couldn't provide so much as a shred of comfort. And even at the end, Thane still tries to rationalize his actions. Anything in closing, you want to say? I know, sorry, it's not good about it. I know, I know, but you can throw it off there. Best possible outcome, honestly, that good things could grow where evil was destroyed. And you might not see it like that, but it's quite possible that these families will now become closer or stronger where they weren't, that maybe those children might be better growing up without their father.

From what I understand, he wasn't necessarily their biological father and wasn't necessarily a good man. As far the boy, you're so young. Too young. From what I understand, he, too was all on his way to promise him. Right. As for me, I have a feeling what's going to happen is I'm either going to die in prison or be committed to a death sentence. I still have a lot of good nature to me. And I could still be used for good purposes, gardening or otherwise.

I still have a love for things that grow. I still have dreams. And with that, it's clear that the detectives have reached the limit when it comes to useful information Thane is willing to provide. Finally, Thane's monologue must come to an end. Is it up? Is anything?

We'll take a coffee. They're going to arrest you for being a fugitive from justice. You're going to be charged with three counts of murder from the state of Maine. All right. Could I maybe finish my coffee?

No, it's hot. Okay. Okay. Good luck to you. Thank God. At mercy on your soul. Okay. In addition to his murder charges, Thane was charged with a count of arson.

He waived extradition and returned to Maine. In keeping with his behavior so far, the legal proceedings that followed Thane's arrest were anything but standard. Despite his detailed confession, he initially entered a plea of not guilty to each of his charges. Then, in May of 2011, there was a final twist. Thane had a change apart and amended his not guilty pleas to not criminally responsible by reason of insanity. It came as quite a surprise

based on a statement he made during his interrogation. I'm not pleading for insanity, don't know any. As a result, he was granted a two-phase trial. Phase one produced guilty verdicts on each count. As for phase two, the jury found Thane to have been criminally responsible on all counts. He received three life sentences for the murders in addition to 15 years for arson.

and despite multiple attempts to get his conviction overturned or have his case reviewed, Thane has not had any success. He remains exactly where he should be, in a small prison cell where he can reflect on the three lives he so callously stole. But you must be wondering what became of Bob Strout. In a strange turn of events, Bob was arrested in 2011 by the main drug enforcement agency and charged with aggravated furnishing or distributed. of scheduled drugs and violation of bail.

According to police, Bob allegedly furnished oxycodone to his grandson on five occasions. As far as his part in helping Thane, Bob was convicted in 2012 and found guilty of hindering apprehension and arson. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, all but four years of that sentence were suspended.