Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - “The Outdoorsman Sniper” Thomas Dillon

Episode Date: April 28, 2022

Thomas Dillon had a degree, a good job, a house, and a family. But what he wanted more than anything, was to hunt. His prey: people. Dillon would drive through the backcountry of Ohio and fire upon unsuspecting people before driving away.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this killer's crimes, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes discussions of violence, animal cruelty, domestic abuse, and murder. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. On a brisk sunny morning in November 1990, Thomas Dillon drove through the back roads of rural Ohio, just like he did every Saturday. Cracking open a beer, the 40-year-old watched his tires eat-up pavement, his mind wandering. Thomas was cruising near Route 64 when something caught his eye. It was a hunter walking through a meadow beside the highway.

Seeing that, Thomas pulled his truck over. Parking, Thomas got out of his pickup. As casually as if he were reaching for a jacket, he pulled a high-powered rifle from the truck. Quietly, he crept behind the car and lifted the gun to his shoulder, peering at his target. At that moment, the 21-year-old hunter, Jamie Paxton, seemed somewhat like a deer, young, graceful, and blissfully unaware. For five seconds, Thomas watched his target, waiting for the wind to change and Jamie to tense, then run into the woods for cover like any sensible prey. But Jamie had no animal instincts to save him.

Thomas breathed in, then squeezed the trigger. The bullet hit Jamie in the chest. He dropped to the ground, groaning. Thomas took aim again, but he jerked the shot and hit his target in the knee. Cursing, Thomas adjusted his stance as his target tried to crawl away from the road, but he didn't get very far. Taking a deep breath, Thomas aimed at the 21-year-old once again. This time, he didn't miss. Thomas relaxed his shoulders and headed back toward the driver's seat.

Swinging his gun inside and hopping in behind it, he started the engine and grabbed another beer. There really was nothing like a week. Drive. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we'll strap into the driver's seat with Thomas Dillon, Ohio's outdoorsman sniper. I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of Serial Killers and all other Spotify originals from Parkast for free on Spotify.

In the first part of this episode, we'll explore Thomas's seemingly normal upbringing and the intense fantasies that lurked just beneath the facade. Later, we'll learn how Thomas's long drives through the country transformed into hunting practice. From stop signs to neighborhood cats, nothing was safe from his deadly aim, not even humans. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by.

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through the screen your next obsession is waiting watch only on Prime since the dawn of time mankind has straddled the threshold of prey and predator. From sharpened sticks to the bow and arrow and high-powered rifles, humans have used anything at their disposal to hunt animals for food and sport. There have always been predators with more speed, strength, and natural weapons of their own to keep us in check. But over

time, the list of animals that outrank mankind on the food chain has shrunk significantly. Sometimes it's easy to forget that we too can be the prey. Thomas Lee Dillon was born in Canton, Ohio in 1950. But the Dillon's barely shared a year as a family unit before tragedy struck. In the spring of 1952, Thomas's father succumbed to cancer. As a toddler, Thomas was too young to remember his dad or the grief that followed his passing. But from that moment on, he no longer felt the comfort of family. His mother provided a steady life for her son and his two siblings, but she may not have been able to pay Thomas much attention. To make things worse, his mother's health began to decline in the mid-1960s, and she was sent to a nursing home. He later told

forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smalden that growing up, he never felt the warmth of spontaneous affection. But acting for attention didn't work either. According to Thomas, his mom didn't seem interested in punishment or correction. It was like she didn't see him at all. To the young boy, this perceived coldness meant she didn't care, so he started daydreaming about what he could do to earn love. Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout the episode. Please note, Vanessa is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg. According to a 1987 study led by psychologist Robert W. Firestone, children who don't get enough emotional support and affection can create something called a fantasy bond.

Unsatisfied with the real world, these kids retreat into their imagination to self-soothe. Thomas' fantasies ranged from being a rock star to becoming president. The one common thread throughout these daydreams was that he got the attention and affection he was missing at home. Dr. Firestone pointed out that a negative after-effect of this coping mechanism is that children often have a hard time forming real relationships later in life. For Thomas, this was partially true. Throughout the late 1960s, he didn't get great grades at school, despite being described as smart

and skipped class quite a lot. Perhaps because he was absent so often, people knew him as something of a loner. Though he stood on the edge of groups, participating just enough to be accepted, Thomas didn't especially want to connect with others. Despite his earlier cravings for attention, he preferred to be alone.

Maybe he liked that it made him mysterious, unique. Even still, he did some things that made him just like everyone else. Hunting was a common pastime in Canton, so Thomas used it as a way to socialize with peers. But even among his friends, he was exceptionally dedicated. He fired so many practice rounds that he damaged his hearing. Despite his best efforts, however, he was only a mediocre marksman,

but that didn't matter to him. In his mind, he was already a great hunter, because he knew how to kill. Once after shooting a groundhog, Thomas went to finish it off with a knife. As he cut the animal's throat, he got such an intense adrenaline rush that he started to. shaking. He felt powerful taking a life, and he started keeping count of the animals he killed on a calendar in his room. But hunting wasn't the only area in which Thomas considered himself

an expert. During his high school years, he made a second calendar, but instead of tracking his hunting habits, he wrote the names of girls he had sex with. As graduation neared, Thomas got more comfortable using the town of Canton as his personal playground. He was known for driving around and shooting windows and traffic signs. And he loved the rush he felt getting away with something. Despite his reckless habits, Thomas graduated in 1968 with a college offer from Kent State University's Stark campus. He studied there briefly before transferring to Ohio State University,

where he majored in journalism. In college, he continued his habit of avoiding close relationships, but wasn't a complete outcast. His classmates heard rumors about him shooting out of his car window, But that didn't sound like the mild manner Thomas they knew from class. That said, it was common knowledge that he had a large gun collection and often bragged about his hunting abilities. He also seemed interested in learning about serial killers

and liked sharing gruesome hunting stories with anyone who'd listen. But to most, these were just odd quirks. Thomas seemed too quiet, too normal to be dangerous. It looked like Thomas was living in every man's life, and for now it benefited him to play along. It fed his ego to know that people underestimated him. After graduating in 1972, Thomas moved back to Canton to work for their water department. Around this time, he also met and fell for Catherine Alsace, the two married in 1978 and had a son soon after.

All this added up to the following. By the time he was 30, Thomas Dillon had a degree, a good job, a house, and a family. It seemed like a success story. But apparently, he thought other things. otherwise. Just like when he was young, Thomas drifted into a fantasy world that put reality to shame. Frustrated, he took out his anger on his family. According to reporting by CNN, he beat Catherine and belittled his son. But it's likely that nobody outside the home had a clue what was going on. Everyone who knew them thought the Dillon family was close-knit. But Thomas wasn't satisfied with his life

and eventually went looking for it beyond his marriage. It wasn't too long. after the wedding that he started paying frequent visits to sex workers. However, it seems that even that didn't fulfill him, and so Thomas looked for an escape. On weekends, he hopped into his red pickup truck and took off into the rolling Ohio plains. Sipping beer, he'd cruise the backroads of farms and meadows and let his mind drift. As he sped along, Thomas imagined himself as a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians. Sometimes he was a soldier who saved his entire battalion. Other times, he was a famous scientist who cured cancer. Filled with self-confidence and at times drunk,

Thomas followed his impulses without hesitation on these long drives. Whenever the urge bubbled up, he got out of his car to shoot at stop signs or distant windows. He vandalized buildings and cars without a second thought. But even that didn't satisfy his reckless urges. We don't know exactly when, but at some point he started setting fires too. But eventually, Thomas had to drive.

drive back to his normal life, and every time he pulled into his driveway, he felt more frustrated. He missed the freedom of the open road, where he could do whatever he wanted. At the same time, he craved the admiration he received in his fantasies. So he decided to bring those fantasies to life. In 1980, the 30-year-old attended Stark County's Ohio Peace Officers training. The program was for those who wanted to work in private security, as jail personnel or other potentially dangerous jobs. Not only did Thomas get to learn all about law enforcement, but the training fed his ego. In his mind, he was practically a police officer, which made him a hero of sorts.

Around the same time, he completed this program. Thomas marked the 500th animal on his death calendar. He boasted to old friends from high school, co-workers and neighbors about his accomplishment. Sure that they'd congratulate him. But Thomas' hunting made some of his friends uncomfortable. Not that he cared. By his mid-30s, he even shot at dogs and cats, including people's pets. It's likely that he'd been killing domestic animals for a long time, only now he didn't care who saw.

Thomas even shot the pets of his neighbors. Once, a man complained to the police that Thomas killed his dog, but nothing seemed to come from it. That complaint wasn't the only disturbing story from around this time. one of his friends from high school, a fellow gun enthusiast named Richard Fry, had always been uneasy when Thomas shot pets. But there was a story he'd heard that unsettled him greatly. One day, while Thomas was in college, he was driving through Carroll County with a friend

when he spotted a farmer a few hundred yards from the road. Thomas pulled over and took out his gun. His friend called out to Thomas asking what he was doing, but his concentration couldn't be broken. After getting in position, he started shooting at the farmer. His friend yelled at him to stop, but Thomas only laughed. He said his pistol would never reach that far, and he was just having some fun. But that fun would later turn deadly.

Coming up, Thomas finds a new kind of prey. They're role models, nurturers, and to many, the ultimate best friend. But what happens when Mommy Dearest has a dark side? one that's more criminal than caring. Find out in the Spotify original from Parcast, Malicious Moms. Hi, I'm Vanessa Richardson, host of Malicious Moms. Every Sunday on Spotify, join me for a closer look at the moms who took their maternal instincts to illegal extremes.

A beloved actress who would do anything for her child. A jilted ex who used her kids to take deadly revenge. plus a wife, a mistress, and an altercation with an axe you have to hear to believe. In this podcast collection, learn the dire length some women went to help their children and how others used motherhood to carry out their misdeeds. Sometimes true crime can be a real mother. Follow malicious moms free and only on Spotify. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey?

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Taking Zepbound with a sulfoniluria or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-99 or visit Zepbounce.lil.com. Now back to the story. By 1989, 39-year-old Thomas Dillon seemed like a fairly ordinary person to pretty much everyone he met. But beneath the surface, he was a remorseless hunter with a deadly fixation on praise and attention. On Saturday, April 1st, 1989, Thomas loaded his red pickup with some guns and beer, just like every weekend.

He hit the road, leaving his wife and son in the dust. It's unclear how much they knew about what Thomas did on his drives, but they probably appreciated a break from his bullying. Throwing back beer after beer, Thomas drunkenly cruised through Tuscararaas County, an area about 30 miles south of his home. As he pulled on to Route 94, he saw a jogger in the distance. Thirty-five-year-old Donald Welling was out for his morning run, and the sight of him triggered Thomas's worst impulses. He'd been impulsively shooting stop signs, windows, and animals for years, but now he wanted to shoot Donald. Thomas didn't have to think twice.

He guided his car alongside the jogger and slowed down. He pointed one of his guns directly at Donald's heart and pulled the trigger. The man crumpled to the ground lifeless. Then Thomas cracked open a beer and pulled away, filled with the satisfaction he usually felt after a haunt. In seconds, the incident was out of his mind. He didn't care that he'd just murdered a random stranger. This ability to move on so quickly fits in line with the opinion of forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smaldon.

He believed Thomas was, quote, highly narcissistic and had severe personality disorders. According to a 2018 study published in Europe's Journal of Psychology, grandiose narcissists are far less likely to experience guilt or shame after doing something unethical. Even though Thomas had taken a human life, he didn't seem bothered. It stands to reason that because these narcissists don't feel as much remorse after doing something bad, they're more likely to commit the same evil act again. Not necessarily because they're determined to behave unethically, but because they never attach a negative reaction to it.

Murdering Donald opened a new door to Thomas. He'd long had a taste for blood, and now humans were on the menu. By the time Tuscarara's police found Donald's body, Thomas was long gone and in a genuine. enjoying the rest of his drive, and the discovery came as a complete shock to locals. In such a quiet, rural area, there wasn't a lot of crime, and there certainly weren't random murders. Naturally, people in the tight-knit community were shaken. But the crime scene didn't offer any evidence to calm their fears. With no fingerprints, shell casings, or witnesses, there was no way to track down the killer.

While Tuscaroist authorities struggled to make sense of Donald's murder, Thomas returned to life as usual. For the next year and a half, he went to work, kept his wife and son at a distance, and relied on hunting, driving, and fantasizing for his escapes. But he could only stay out of trouble for so long. A November 10, 1990, 19 months after killing Donald, Thomas was drunk, driving along Route 64 near Belmont County. That's when he caught sight of Jamie Paxton strolling through a meadow. The 21-year-old was taking a break from a hunting outing of his own. But to Thomas, he looked like the perfect, unsuspecting prey.

The 40-year-old pulled to the side of the road and grabbed one of his rifles. He made his way around the bed of his pickup, trying to stay as quiet as possible. He lined Jamie up in his sight. For a few seconds, he took long, slow breaths in and out, focusing on his target. Then he squeezed the trigger. The first bullet hit the 21-year-old in the chest. He dropped to the ground and Thomas aimed and fired two more times, striking Jamie in the knee, and finally in the backside.

Once Jamie was dead, Thomas picked up the bullet casings and jumped back in his truck. As soon as he pulled back onto the pavement, he forgot all about Jamie Paxton, at least for the time being. Though fatal accidents are an unfortunate reality in rural communities where hunting is common, It was cleared to the Belmont County Sheriff Tom McCourt that this was a murder. For one thing, it was Boe Season. If a hunter accidentally shot another person during this period, it would be with an arrow, not a bullet, and definitely not three of them. But when Sheriff McCourt and his team conducted their search,

they couldn't find a single shred of evidence. Confused, they asked Jamie's friends and family if they knew about any grudges or vendettas against the young man. It turned out that Jamie was a popular young man. man, nobody had any ill feelings towards him, which ruled out personal motive. The entire community was shocked by Jamie's death. Belmont County was supposed to be a safe and friendly place. Now that illusion was shattered, and nobody was more stunned than Jamie's mother, Jean Paxton. But rather than surrender to grief, she decided to take action. Every so often,

she wrote a letter addressed to her son's killer and submitted the note to local newspapers. In the letters, she scolded the anonymous murderer and challenged him to reveal himself and confess. Thomas apparently read the letters, but didn't seem phased by Jean's words. His mind was firmly on his next kill. On November 28, 1990, only 18 days after he shot Jamie, the 40-year-old was back on the road, ready for his next adventure. After driving around 85 miles southwest of Canton, Thomas spotted 30-year-old Kevin Loring in an old strip mining area. in Muskingham County. Kevin had been eating lunch with friends during a hunt

and decided to branch off. As he walked through a meadow, he had no idea that he was being watched from afar. Thomas pulled over, and just like he'd done with the last two murders, he got out of his truck, gun in hand, and lined up his shot. The bullets struck Kevin directly in the head,

killing him instantly. Thomas grinned, pleased with his marksmanship, as he picked up the casings by his feet, and got into his car. Though Jamie's death had seemed like a clear case of murder, Muskingham County officials ruled Kevin's death as an accident. Bow season was over now,

which meant that the likelihood of an accidental headshot from a distant hunter seemed far more likely than a random murder. And though it had been a random murder, Thomas wanted to know more about his victim. He combed the papers for mentions of the death, and when that wasn't enough, he set out on another adventure. this time to Kevin's hometown of Duxbury in Massachusetts. There, he visited a library to look up everything he could find on the 30-year-old.

It fascinated Thomas, feeling the full weight of his victim's life. But instead of sparking shame or guilt, it likely inflated his ego. He found he could also capture this same sensation by visiting his victim's graves. He'd stand over the headstones, secure in the twisted pride that he was the one who'd put the men there. Thomas's deep dive into the lives and history of his victims seemed to appease his compulsion for murder over the next two years, though he still continued his destructive drives through Ohio country roads. That was why in August of 1991, a game warden caught Thomas for illegal target practice near a state hunting area. He reported Thomas to the police who searched

his car and found an illegal silencer. Illegal target shooting was only a misdemeanor. but the silencer was a much bigger deal. 41-year-old Thomas was indicted on federal charges, but he talked his way into a plea bargain. Instead of facing jail time, he was ordered to get rid of his weapons and never buy another gun. Of course, Thomas never considered getting rid of his precious collection.

He felt totally above the law, practically godlike, and he was ready to exercise his power by targeting one of his victim's mothers. In November of that year, Thomas decided to respond to Jean Paxton's letters in the newspaper. It was coming up on the anniversary of Jamie's murder, and perhaps Thomas wanted to commemorate the dark occasion. Sitting down at a typewriter, Thomas dashed out a reply. He anonymously claimed to be Jamie's killer and explained that he shot the young man because of an irresistible compulsion. Thomas recounted every detail of the murder

in the letter. He wrote that he, quote, thought no more of shooting Paxton than shooting a bottle at the dump. He also added that Jean was right to hate him for killing her son. He also couldn't resist taunting the police. He closed the letter by stating that they shouldn't feel bad about not solving the case because they could never catch him anyway. Satisfied, he sent the note to a local newspaper. Reporters sent it to authorities. Though it was a valuable clue for investigators,

it didn't bring them any closer to solving Jamie's murder. So at least for the time being, it seemed like Thomas was right. maybe they wouldn't ever catch him. With that kind of confidence driving him, Thomas set out for his next kill just a few months later. On March 14, 1992, Thomas was driving along Route 274 in Cachan County, about 65 miles southwest of Canton. As he passed by Will's Creek Dam, he spotted a figure through the trees.

48-year-old Claude Hawkins often went to Will's Creek for early fishing after his overnight shift at a local glass manufacturer. As he stood in the banks that March morning, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Of course, he had no idea that Thomas Lee Dillon was creeping closer, rifle in hand. Without warning, Thomas' bullet struck clawed, and he dropped to the ground.

Confident in his hunting skills, Thomas didn't wait around to check for a pulse. He already knew that the man was dead. What Thomas didn't know was that Will's Creek Dam was actually on federal property. This meant that instead of local police investigating the murder, that duty would fall on the FBI, and they were determined to get their man.

Coming up, Thomas goes from Hunter to hunted. Transport your senses with Soltejanito's limited edition perfume mist collection. At Sephora, sprit on lush notes of rainforest orchid and crisp sea breeze with fresco paraizo. Embrace of floral infrequent. Sruti scent inspired by Rio's nude beach with cheeky bikini or caps her sun-kissed bliss with limonada jolada, where zesty Brazilian lemonade accord meets coconut milk and golden brown sugar. Don't miss Sol de Janeiro's limited edition perfume mist collection only at Sephora.

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area looking for bullet casings or other physical evidence. When the search came up empty, it was a signal to investigators that their culprit was careful, methodical. It also suggested that this probably wasn't their first murder. To prove this theory, agents carefully examined recent homicides in the area and found similarities between the deaths of Claude Hawkins, Donald Welling, and Jamie Paxton. The agents also learned of Kevin Loring's death, which had been considered a fatal hunting accident. After taking a closer look, they reopened the case as a murder.

Because each county had investigated their own cases, this was the first time anyone had tied the four deaths together, and suddenly they could see the big picture. There was a serial killer hunting on the back roads of Ohio. The FBI organized a secret task force, with police from the three Ohio counties to track the mystery sniper. With resources from several departments, plus federal and state police, the goal was to quite investigate the case without spooking the killer into hiding. However, the task force still had a huge challenge ahead of them. Snipers are notoriously difficult to catch because they don't leave

behind much evidence. If they're shooting long range, they never even approach the crime scene. Plus, these killers usually don't know their victims, so there are no feuds or vendettas to uncover. In other words, investigators had their work cut off them. And as they were still fitting the first pieces of the puzzle together, Thomas struck again. On April 5th, 1992, Thomas was driving along Route 83 in Belmont County, near where he shot Jamie Paxton when he spotted 44-year-old Gary Bradley fishing. Just as he had done four times before, Thomas got out of his truck, took aim and fired, killing Gary instantly. Then he got back behind the wheel and drove away. Despite the tragedy of another murder, the task force hoped that a fresh crime scene might provide some new evidence.

But as usual, there was nothing to follow. They knew they would have to find a new approach if they wanted to catch their killer. Around this time, personality profilers from the FBI's behavioral science unit arrived in Ohio. After studying each of the crimes and the letter Thomas had addressed to Gene Paxton, the experts assembled a psychological profile of their killer. They concluded that they were looking for a white male, gun enthusiast. who loved the outdoors. Based on his choice to kill from far away,

they determined that the murderer was intelligent but didn't like confrontation. He may not have had many friends and preferred to resolve personal problems in a cowardly fashion. They also speculated that his behavior was fueled by alcohol abuse and he may have been an arsonist.

Though he had cleaned up physical evidence, Thomas failed to realize that his psychological fingerprints were all over his crime scenes. Using this information, their profilers made a list of behaviors this kind of person would have, which finally gave the police something to track. They reported that the killer would likely have a drinking problem and take pleasure in killing animals. They also concluded that he would enjoy vandalism, like shooting at cars and buildings,

as well as setting fires. Amazingly, Thomas fit almost perfectly into the profile the FBI created. But, of course, he had no idea that the task force was on his tail. So he carried on as if he was still untouchable. On July 21st, the 42-year-old was driving through a state park in Muskingham County when he noticed two hunters through the foliage. Thomas parked by the side of the road, picked up his rifle, and walked toward the men. Hearing something, one of the hunters turned around to see Thomas pointing a gun at them.

Startled, he shouted at Thomas. This was likely the only time Thomas was confronted by his prey before he was. could kill. And just as the FBI profiler's guest, he couldn't handle it. He raced back to his red pickup and drove away, completely flustered. The hunches reported the incident to police, who relayed the story to the task force. It seemed likely to them that this cowardly man was the same person who'd killed their five victims. Now they had a physical description of the man and his vehicle. Finally, they were getting somewhere. But the progress wasn't enough. The physical description was helping to

helpful, but only if the public knew to be on the lookout for this man. And though investigators worried about scaring the killer into hiding, they knew they were at a dead end unless something changed. On August 11th, the task force held a press conference broadcast on TV stations across Ohio. They admitted that there was a serial killer on the loose and asked for help finding him. Then they read the psychological profile to everyone watching. It was a risky move, but a few weeks later, the gamble paid off. After hundreds of dead-end tips, the task force finally got some helpful information. On August 26th, Thomas' old friend Richard Frye called the task force hotline.

He asked to meet with someone anonymously, somewhere secret. Later that day, Richard greeted an agent at a rest stop off Route 77. He told them about Thomas Dillon and how he set fires, shot at anything that moved, and otherwise fit every detail of the profile. He told them how he shot at pets and once shot towards a farmer in the field. Then he gave them a physical description of Thomas and his truck. Richard explained that he stopped spending time with Thomas in the early 80s. But in 1989, the pair reunited at a gun expo.

After that, they went on a few drives together. They shot at stop signs and drank, just like old times. On one of their trips, Thomas brought up a topic he'd always loved, serial killers. Then, ever so casually, Thomas asked Richard if he thought that he'd ever killed anyone. When Richard said no, Thomas explained how a person could get away with murder. Richard was disturbed and began to wonder if his friend was capable of something like that. Still, he tried to shake it off when he didn't see anything to confirm his suspicions. But the thought nagged at him.

Once he saw the task force's press conference, it all clicked, and he picked up the phone. After listening to everything Richard had to say, Investigators were sure Thomas Dillon was their man. Now they just had to prove it. Luckily, this steps seemed like it might just be the easiest one of all. In fact, the more they learned about Thomas, the guiltier he looked. First, they found that he'd called in sick to work on the days of two of the murders. The others all occurred on weekends.

They also found video footage of him hanging around Jamie Paxton's grave. Naturally, the task force started monitoring Thomas' move and behavior. They tailed him on his long drives through the country, keeping their distance so they didn't spook him. Technically, they could have arrested Thomas at any moment because he was clearly breaking the law by driving while drinking and vandalizing street signs. They also knew that he disobeyed the 1991 court order to dispose of his guns, which meant he could face a federal weapons charge. But the officers didn't dare stop him. If they wanted to put him away for good, They needed to arrest him for murder, not a weapons charge.

However, their patience almost backfired. There were two close calls while they continued to wait for their chance. The first was when Thomas shot at a hunter in Tuscarawas County, but missed. The next was when Thomas appeared to tail a woman jogging by the road. Luckily, she changed course before Thomas could catch up to her. Nevertheless, the incident gave the officers following him cause for concern. After that, the task force decided that, the task force decided that, Thomas was too dangerous. If they waited for hard evidence much longer, it might cost them another life.

On November 27th, members of the task force dressed in civilian clothes, approached Thomas outside of a grocery store. They asked if they could speak to him at the station, hoping they could ease him into a confession. But Thomas politely told the officers that he wouldn't speak to them without a lawyer present. He'd thought he'd called their bluff, believing that they didn't have anything on him, but he wasn't banking on the weapons charges they'd kept in their back pockets, nor did he expect them to move in then and there. As FBI officers swarmed Thomas, he was absolutely shocked. He never considered that he would be caught, and although he still thought he could get out of it, he couldn't help it feel

excited at the sight of half a dozen agents bearing down on him. It was like a movie, and he was the star. The agents brought Thomas to a holding cell, where they tried to get him to talk. Meanwhile, officers executed a search warrant and combed through his car and house. They were sure they could find something linking him to one of the five deaths, but nothing turned up. Desperate for answers, the task force held another press conference, in which they asked for all information about Thomas Lee Dillon in relation to these murders. They would take anything. Hundreds of tips came in.

The most useful was from a man who purchased a gun from Thomas a few years earlier. The police realized it was possible that, Thomas used the weapon to kill some of his victims. They took possession of the rifle and had it analyzed by the FBI laboratory. But they needed more than just the gun. They needed to prove the bullets inside the two men came from the gun. And to do that, they needed to find the bullet casings. Thomas had always retrieved the casings from his murders,

but investigators hoped he wasn't so diligent when he didn't kill. One caller to the hotline claimed they saw Thomas shooting stop signs in a feat, a few years back. Time had passed and the location was vague, but it was their only hope. One agent went to the field with a metal detector and spent hours looking through the grass, hoping for a miracle. And finally, he got one. The agent found several casings right where the caller said they saw Thomas shooting. He took them back to the task force where they ran ballistics. To their great relief, the casings match Thomas' gun and the bullets in Jamie and And Donald.

Though they could have charged him with these two deaths, the task force wanted justice for all of his victims. So they approached Thomas with a plea bargain. If he admitted to the other murders, they wouldn't pursue the death penalty. In June of 1993, he agreed to the deal. After that, it seems he couldn't wait to confess. He placed a call from jail to a local reporter and went on record confessing to the murders. He repeated over and over that he was crazy and wanted.

to kill. It was almost like Thomas was setting the stage for his own arrest and trial. He always wanted to be famous. Maybe he hoped this was how he finally earned notoriety. Throughout the official proceedings that July, Thomas couldn't stop smirking at the cameras, even when he was sentenced to 165 years in prison with no chance of parole. After the sentencing, a reporter interviewed Gene Paxton,

who called Thomas a coward. The next night, Gene's phone rang. When she picked up, Thomas Dylan calmly greeted her like he was calling for business. Then her son's killer told her that she'd hurt his feelings. Jean was stunned, but she was sick of Thomas's twisted games. Instead of yelling or raising her voice, she explained to him the kind of person her son was. It was all she'd wanted to do. When she hung up the phone, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

After years of writing letters, she finally got to speak to the man who killed her son. For the first time since Jamie's death, she felt like she could breathe. It seemed that something about her speech resonated with Thomas. He later said that out of all the murders, he only felt remorse over Jamie's death because he didn't know how young he was. Once he was behind bars, Thomas spent his time calling and writing to various reporters trying to tell his story. He was desperate for the spotlight.

But as time wore on and people moved on with their lives, Thomas's notoriety faded. He hadn't become a famous serial killer like Ted Bundy. He'd become an anonymous trash crew worker at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville. The obscurity must have been infuriating for him. After 18 years in prison, death came for Thomas Dillon. As quiet and unexpected, as a hunter stalking its purse.

Thomas likely always imagined his death the same way he imagined his life, dramatic and colossal. He probably never imagined he'd slip away quietly, drearily. But that's what happened. At the age of 61, he died in the prison wing of the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus. For a man who always craved attention and notoriety, it was a lonely and obscure death. which, considering how many lives he ruined, feels poetic and just. Thanks again for tuning into serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode.

You can find more episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound designed by Dick Schroeder, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Bruce Kitovich. This episode of serial killers was written by Kit Fitzgerald, with writing assistants by Tony Goodman and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Claire Cronin, and research by

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