Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Carol Thompson Pt. 1

Episode Date: October 28, 2020

In March 1963, a Minnesota housewife named Carol Thompson was attacked in her home, later dying from her wounds. Months later, two men were indicted for her murder — but the case was far from resolved.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Due to the graphic nature of this murder case, listener discretion is advised. This episode includes graphic descriptions of violent injury, as well as dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault, that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. In 1963, St. Paul, Minnesota was the cultural hub of the northern Midwest. But even by that standard, St. Paul felt more like a small town than a city. the streets were lined with trees,

and the Mississippi River divided St. Paul from Minneapolis as it slowly wound its way south. The city had a small downtown area, but the majority of St. Paul consisted of suburbs, rows of identical brick houses and green lawns. In the 60s, St. Paul was as good a place as any to start a new family. And hardly any neighborhood was more idyllic than Highland Park, nestled inside the U-shaped bend of the Mississippi River,

Highland Park was one of the wealthiest areas in St. Paul. White clapboard houses sat neatly in rows, nestled among tall maple trees. Every family had a perfectly manicured front yard, straight out of Leave It to Beaver. March 6, 1963, began like any other day. The neighborhood's children went off to school, husbands prepared for another day at work. Ruth Nelson, a local housewife, had just begun her day. She made coffee while her husband Harry listened to the 9 o'clock news on the kitchen radio. Their adult son, Sidney, relaxed by the window reading the newspaper.

The March sunlight, so rare in Minnesota, bathed the room in a soft yellow glow. But then Ruth Nelson heard a knock at the door. She'd sat down her coffee, stood up, smoothed down her skirt, and walked out of the kitchen, prepared to greet the unexpected visitor with cheery hospitality. But Ruth had no idea that the idyllic veneer of her suburban life was about to be completely destroyed. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parkast. I'm your host, Carter Roy. And I'm your host, Wendy McKenzie.

Every Wednesday, we step into the world of true crime's most fascinating murder cases and tell the tale of how real-life detectives closed the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free exclusively on Spotify. This is our first episode on the murder of Carol Thompson. This week we'll cover the hunt for the killer. Next week, we'll cover the convoluted plot that led to Carol Thompson's death. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. Ruth Nelson opened her front door, closing her robe against her chest,

as she met the crisp march air. The piece of the day was broken with the sight of a body collapsed on her doorstep. A woman gazed up at her, covered only by a blue bathrobe in fresh matted blood. The woman's face was badly beaten. Her body was limp and broken.

Red smears crossed her arms and hands. Her flesh was pockmarked by dozens of stab wounds. As her blood slowly pooled on the front side, steps. The woman desperately clutched at her neck, pointing frantically with a bloody finger. Please. Please, won't you help me?

Ruth suddenly realized who the woman was. It was Carol Thompson, another housewife who lived down the street. A jagged knife's edge protruded from her neck. Carol was losing blood fast. Who did this to you?

Please tell me. A man. Ruth Nelson rushed back into her house and called an ambulance. She quickly explained what happened to her husband and son, who jumped to their feet, ready to help. The two men carefully carried Carol Thompson into the house and set her down in the front room, lying there a growing halo of blood slowly spread around her body.

Within minutes, an ambulance screeched onto the street and into the Nelson's driveway, loading Carol Thompson onto a stretcher, the paramedics attempted to speak to her, but Carol Thompson was unresponsive. Her labored breathing growing weaker and weaker with each passing minute. Doctor, this woman is in critical condition. It looks like she's been stabbed multiple times and beaten with a blunt object. There's been trauma to the neck and she might have been strangled. How much blood has she lost?

Quite a lot, I'm afraid. It's not looking good. She also has an object lodged into the side of her neck. We believe it might be a common kitchen knife. All right, get her into emergency care at once. Who found her? She somehow made her way to a neighbor's house, sir. Have them contact her husband.

He's about to have the shock of his life. Doctors determined that she had been beaten with a blunt object and stabbed multiple times. The knife in her neck was a common pairing knife and was likely taken from Carol Thompson's own kitchen. Her husband, T. Eugene Thompson, had already left for work when the attack took place. And as the Nelson family prepared to inform him of the terrible news, they couldn't help but hesitate. If Carol Thompson was the picture-perfect image of a 1960s housewife, her husband was the image of post-war American success. T. Eugene Thompson was a well-established attorney.

in St. Paul, earning enough money to provide for Carol and their four children. He was active in the local community, even serving as a trustee of the neighborhood church. Clear-eyed with a sharp buzz cut and thick-rimmed glasses. T. Eugene Thompson certainly looked the part of the 1960s man of the house, but on the morning of March 6, 1963, his life was about to change forever. Hello, this is T. Eugene Thompson. My secretary said this was an urgent call? Yes, I'm afraid it is. This is Sidney Nelson.

I'm Ruth's son. I'm afraid there's been a horrible attack. Carol is in the hospital. What? What do you mean? She came to my front door this morning. She was badly beaten. She had a knife sticking out of her neck.

Good God. Where is she? She's been rushed to the hospital, but I don't think she's going to make it. I'm on my way. T. Eugene Thompson sped from his St. Paul office to the hospital, but it was too late. Carol Thompson was already dead. Upon hearing the news, T. Eugene Thompson broke down, falling to the floor and openly sobbing in the

middle of the hospital. The idyllic life that he and Carol built had been completely destroyed. The police didn't waste any time starting the case of Carol Thompson's brutal murder. Within hours of her death, local police were at the Thompson family home. The first officer on the scene was St. Paul homicide detective Ernest Williams, a seasoned detective in World War II veteran, Ernest Williams was ready for whatever lay inside the Thompson house. Bringing two other officers along with him, Ernest Williams opened the door and prepared for the worst.

The interior of the house was pristine, well decorated, with fresh carpet and new appliance. On any other day, walking across the threshold of the Thompson residents would feel like stepping inside the pages of a home and garden magazine. But on March 6, 1963, the welcoming interior of this Highland Park home was made into a ghoulish display of violence. A large pool of blood greeted the officers as they stepped inside. All right, officer, write this down, will you? You got it.

Blood on the floor looks like it's coming from the kitchen. That's likely a point of attack, or one of many points of attack. Noted. There's a wooden handle on the ground. Looks like it's a knife handle. A planner's been knocked over. Three cartridges on the ground and... What's this now?

Looks like we have some kind of shrapnel here. Plastic with a veneer on it. Officer, get me an evidence back. Looks like this could be fragments from a... pistol grip. On the first floor, Ernest Williams and his team moved from the foyer into the kitchen. Streaks of blood clotted around a kitchen drawer. Opening it carefully, Ernest Williams saw that it was the knife cabinet.

Upon further inspection, Ernest Williams noted that a pairing knife was missing. The doctors were right. Carol Thompson had been stabbed with a knife from her own kitchen. Ernest Williams and his men moved upstairs into the master bedroom. It was completely ransacked. Droars had been pulled from the dresser and strewn across the floor, and the bed sheets were in disarray. The hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom

and the bathroom suggested more struggling between Carol Thompson and her attacker. A single pillow lay on the floor and the bathroom door was wide open. Inside the bathroom, the police were met with another tab. of horrors. The tiled floor was streaked with blood, and the bathtub contained several inches of red water. The bath mat had been crumpled up and shoved against the tub. Strangely, there was also a rubber garden hose on the floor. Ernest Williams noted its nozzle, made a thick heavy metal. He bagged it as evidence. Exploring the rest of the house, the police found nothing more. It appeared as though the children's

bedrooms, along with the basement, had been undisturbed in the attack. After the search was complete, Ernest Williams conferred with his men about what they had seen. All right, men, here's what I've got so far. It looks like our perp attacked her in the kitchen, in the bedroom, and in the bathroom. That bathwater might suggest he tried to drown her. But how do we know the order of his attack? That is the tricky bit. He used the paring knife in the kitchen to stab her in the neck. I doubt she would have made it out of the house if he had done that first. No, I think he attacked her in the kitchen last.

So what about the bathtub? He tried to drown her? Yes, I'd bet on it. My guess is that our man somehow snuck up on Carol Thompson in the bedroom. Maybe knocked her out with something. That garden hose. I bet that was it. So he knocked her out, dragged her to the bathroom to drown her,

but she woke up and fought back, then made it down the stairs into the kitchen. Which is where she had that unfortunate run in with a paring knife, yes. And judging by her bruising, I'd bet that he used something else to bludgeon her. Maybe the pistol. But we've got a lot of work left to do. The pistol grip could bring the police closer to the killer. But first, they would have to find a match for the gun.

The hunt was on. Coming up, a new development speeds up the hunt for Carol Thompson's killer. Hi listeners, here's a show I think you'll enjoy. When it comes to love, every story is unique. Some play out like fairy tales, seemingly meant to be. Others defy the odds to achieve happily ever after. In Our Love Story, the new Spotify original from Parcast, you'll discover the many pathways to love as told by the actual couples who found them.

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After the murder of Carol Thompson on March 6, 1963, the once-quiet neighborhood of Highland Park became a hotbed of fear and curiosity. This was not the kind of place where murder, let alone a murder this gruesome, should happen. And yet it did. With no initial leads as to the identity of Carol Thompson's vicious killer, all the housewives of Highland Park could do was guests.

Throughout the month of March, weekly potlucks quickly became the stage, upon which anyone could voice their new theory about the case. Do you think it could be a homicidal maniac? Oh, to think of my children playing in the yard all day when there's someone out there. Well, I heard that Mr. Thompson had a mistress. Maybe it was a crime of passion. Oh, it couldn't be. that family has always been so loving to one another.

I simply won't accept that. Well, then, it could be a homicidal maniac. I don't see what else might explain Carol's horrible attack. Oh, in our neighborhood, I tell you this much, I will certainly be locking my doors tonight. Carol Thompson's murder was quickly changing the atmosphere of Highland Park. Families no longer allowed their children to play outside, and the once lively neighborhood was now deadly quiet.

The police knew that one of the first people they needed to speak to was Carol Thompson's family, including her children and her husband, T. Eugene Thompson. The lead detective managing this case was Detective Lieutenant George Barkley, the department's homicide commander and a well-seasoned detective. Other detectives on the case included Grant Willinger, Fred Buechner, and Donald Blake. After conferring with Lieutenant Barkley about the crime scene, detectives Willinger and Buechner called in T. Eugene Thompson. Mr. Thompson, does this rubber hose look familiar to you?

Yes, I believe this is the hose that I keep at our family's lakehouse. Why is it here? We found this at your house, and we believe it was used in the attack against your wife. Do you have any idea how this could come to be at your home? No, that makes no sense. You didn't lend it to someone? Someone who might have access to both your lakehouse and the family house in St. Paul? No, I'm certain of it.

Now, I'm going to show you one more item, and you tell me if it looks familiar. We found pieces of a pistol grip in the foyer of your house. Do you keep a gun in the house, sir? I don't carry a gun, no. I'm sorry, detective. With little help from T. Eugene Thompson, the detectives could only speculate on the identity of the killer. Maybe it was a homicidal maniac, a random man who chose Carol Thompson as his latest victim. There still remained the issue of the garden hose and the missing gun, but for the moment the trail had gone cold.

The shocking story of the murdered housewife quickly spread beyond Highland Park. Within the month of March, 1963, the entire state of Minnesota was captivated by the mystery, and countless state newspapers speculated on the identity of the killer. With the fear of a crazed killer on the loose, Highland Park families took to extreme measures. Local hardware stores begin selling out of shotgun shells as well as rifle and pistol cartridges. The whole neighborhood was on lockdown. Rumors stoked the fires of fear in the Highland Park community. Some believed that a crazed criminal had exacted revenge on T. Eugene Thompson for sending them to jail.

Others feared that Carol Thompson's death was a burglary gone wrong, a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Across the board, Minnesotans were struck by the randomness of Carol Thompson's death. If it happened to her, it could happen to them. The press capitalized on the shocking nature of Carol Thompson's death and her as the image of the perfect 60s housewife. Good morning, Minnesota. There are no new leads regarding St. Paul housewife Carol Thompson's murder. Police are still on the hunt for the killer in this brutal Highland Park slaying. Such news coverage on the scandalous murder showed no signs of stopping, and sometimes that coverage fed into the very fear that had blossomed in the St. Paul.

suburbs. It's March 7th at 7 p.m. Have you locked your doors? Have you checked on your children? Carol Thompson's murderer may still be out there. Now is not the time for negligence. Back at St. Paul Police Headquarters, Lieutenant George Barkley and his team largely ignored the breathless coverage of the case.

Slowly, one of the detectives on the case, Donald Blakely, continued interviewing Carol Thompson's neighbor, and friends, attempting to find out any useful information about her or her husband to Eugene Thompson. These interviews painted a familiar picture of the couple, active in the community, the image of the ideal 60s nuclear family. Meanwhile, with little information to work on, Barclay began investigating through other means. The St. Paul police had access to several underworld informants. drug dealers, low-level criminals, anyone on the wrong side of the law who is willing to talk for the guarantee of protection. As a criminal defense lawyer, T. Eugene Thompson, knew quite a few criminals.

But, unfortunately for him, these were not the kind of people to keep secrets. A day after Carol's death, however, detectives had received a tip from an informant regarding T. Eugene's finances. to Eugene was asked to come back for another interrogation led by Barclay. Afternoon, Mr. Thompson. I'd like you to take a look at these documents, please. These are my insurance policies that I took out on my wife. What's the meaning of this? Yes, but you spent a surprising amount of money on these policies, sir,

and bought them all within the last year. Would you mind explaining to me why you've been? insured your wife for over $1 million? I was advised to by my associate. It was purely a business-minded decision. Some of these policies were purchased two months prior to your wife's death. Don't you think that's a bit strange? Listen, if I died, I would leave my family the same amount of money. I merely wanted to ensure that if my dear Carol died, she would leave me and the children in good Several of these policies are exclusively for cases of accidental death. That includes murder, as I'm sure you're aware.

I don't like what you're suggesting here, Detective. I love my wife. I will not be spoken to like this. I don't think I'll be answering any more questions today. The police's image of T. Eugene Thompson as a doting husband was beginning to chip away. T. Eugene Thompson seemed to believe that he had a logical just, for his behavior, but it was certainly suspicious. Detective Willinger took on the task of interviewing a large number of friends shared by T. Eugene and Carol Thompson.

Most of the family's acquaintances didn't have much to share about the couple. Carol and T. Eugene seemed happy, and as far as anyone knew, they never fought. But one friend, Marge Young, shared an interesting anecdote. Marge spoke to Carol Thompson for the last time on February 27th. Most of the conversation was unremarkable and T. Eugene was present too. They talked about the many changes that Thompsons had made to their home decor, plans for future purchases, things like that. But Marge Young mentioned one key detail. T. Eugene had told her that the family was going to get rid of the beloved family dog, a yappy doxent named Shotsie. Marge Young thought this development was unfortunate but not particularly suspicious.

The Thompsons had been excited about redecorating their home and were planning a number of changes to the house. But the police weren't so easily convinced. In a murder investigation, hardly any action feels like a coincidence. And the massive insurance policy, coupled with the removal of the family pet, didn't seem like a coincidence to Detective Willinger. But when questioned, T. Eugene was completely unfazed. The dog was ruining the carpet. My wife and I had just replaced the carpet in January, and mind you, that is a particularly expensive procedure.

The children loved the dog, but I couldn't stand at destroying our house. You didn't want to try training the dog? I imagine your children were sad to see Shotsie given away to another family. I was so busy with work. We simply wouldn't have had the time to train the little mutt. Carol agreed with me. The dog had to go. But to Eugene Thompson still had to explain another piece of evidence. Shortly after Carol Thompson's death, the police searched to Eugene Thompson's car and found a telephone.

It was a standard house phone. Hardly the kind of thing one would expect to find in a lawyer's back seat. Can you explain why this was in your car? Oh, yes. That's the telephone we used to have in our bedroom. Carol hated that thing. She always said it looks so ugly. We were about to replace it with a newer model before... Before everything happened.

T. Eugene Thompson had a justification for every development in the case. He even went so far as to speak directly to the press about the subject. Mr. Thompson, I'm with the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Don't you think it's suspicious that you took out over a million dollars in insurance policies on your wife within a year? of her death? I am well aware of how it might look to people who don't know me, but my friends and associates can vouch for my character. This was a business-minded decision, and I am a business-minded man. But what about the dog, Mr. Thompson? The phone missing from the bedroom? Don't you think

that's suspicious? Listen, I want the best for my family, and Carol did too. The way I see it, If something in my life isn't providing me the best quality or the best experience, I get rid of it. Just like your wife, Mr. Thompson? I've stated my case. Does anyone else have any questions? At the beginning of April, 1963, the state of Minnesota seemed to be split into two camps. One believed that T. Eugene Thompson was a lying criminal clearly responsible for his wife's horrific death. The other saw him as the living victim of a horrible tragedy. Thompson never faltered once in his conviction that he was innocent.

And for some people in St. Paul, that was good enough. In 1963, the idea of a successful, well-to-do man hiring someone to kill his own wife was simply out of the question. Two of his biggest supporters were his in-laws, Tony and Otto Swaboda. They saw to Eugene Thompson as the perfect. son-in-law and were unflinching in their support of him during the investigation. My daughter Carol was our only child, and he loved her dearly. But T. Eugene was also family. He was the son we never had.

When I first met T. Eugene, I was struck by his charisma, his business-minded work ethic and his deep, deep love for our dear Carol. Their love was pure. We simply can't accept the horrible things people are saying. about our son-in-law. To Eugene, son, we are with you. We believe you. But of course, others weren't so easily convinced. The missing phone, the dog, the million-dollar insurance policy, none of that looked good.

And while to Eugene Thompson's supporters described him as a charismatic, friendly person, more distrusting people called him a ladies' man. As the police interviewed Carol Thompson's friends, it became clear that T. Eugene Thompson's interest in other women was an open secret. Other housewives said that he would frequently put his hand on their knee. Some women even said they avoided spending time alone with him. But strangely, this wasn't seen as a particularly bad thing by these women. One of Carol Thompson's friends said that even Carol had described T. Eugene as a dog. chasing a car, a flirt who wouldn't know what to do if a woman actually reciprocated his advances.

But then there was the issue of Jacqueline Okineski. Mr. Thompson, does the name Jacqueline Okineski mean anything to you? Yes, I represented her in two separate divorce cases, one in 1960 and the other in 1962, I believe. Why does this matter? The police have an anonymous source claiming that you were paying for her to go to business school, even paying for her apartment. Care to comment on that? I don't know who your source is, but I'd take care of before you meddle in a man's familial affairs.

So you don't deny that you and Ms. Okineski had a close relationship? I got to know her well through our professional relationship. I don't see why that's so scandalous. Now, if you don't mind, I have to pick up my children from school. It was becoming harder to believe that this man was telling the truth. Coming up, an unrelated case brings police closer to the killer. And now, back to our story. For over a month, the St. Paul police had been searching for a match to the pistol grip shards

that Detective Ernest Williams discovered at the scene of the crime. This, he hoped, could be the vital clue that would lead the police to the killer. And on April 9th, the police finally found a match. The gun, a small Luger pistol. belonged to a Minnesota businessman named Wayne Brandt. When questioned, he confirmed George Barkley's suspicion. The gun was missing and had been for several weeks. This new search for the missing gun was the biggest break the case had seen since Carol Thompson's death.

Police scrambled to find the weapon, hoping that it would lead them to the killer. But soon, an unrelated crime led the police even closer to cracking the case. A day before the gun was identified, two men entered a busy bar in downtown St. Paul. At first, no one noticed them. But quickly, things took a turn for the worse. Where I can see them! Give me all the money in the register and no one gets hurt. No funny business, okay?

The two men pointed shotguns at the crowd, advancing towards the back of the bar. One man punched the bookkeeper who had been trying to stand between them and the cash register. But soon they heard sirens. One of the bartenders must have alerted the police. The two men escaped, leaving the money behind. On April 17th, two officers apprehended two men, Willard Ingram and Henry Butler, under the suspicion that they had performed this attempted robbery.

Willard Ingram had already spent half his life in jail, and both men had reputations as low-level criminals who specialized in robbery. Their arrest became an unexpectedly useful tool for the investigation into Carol Thompson's murder. Not only were these two men suspected for the burglary of a local bar, but also for the burglary of Wayne Brant's house. I'm not telling you anything, cop. Willard, I don't want to have to send you back to jail, but I will. You're facing attempted robbery and assault charges. We could put you away for a long time.

Oh. Oh, yeah? Yeah, but if you tell us more about that break-in at Wayne Brant's house, I bet we could sort something out about those other charges. What do you say? There's no way I'm going back to jail. What do you want to know? Willard Ingram quickly changed his tune when he realized that he could avoid future jail time.

Soon he was telling the police everything he could about his burglaries. And when the topic of the missing Luger pistol came up, Willard Ingram was happy to give the police as much information as he could. I stole the gun, but I don't have it anymore. Okay. Did you give it to someone else? Yes. I passed it off to Norman Maestrian.

Good, good. But I don't think he has it either. I saw him give it to another guy. Okay. He was giving it to this guy named Dick Anderson. They were doing some job. together. A former boxer Norman Maestrian was a common criminal, someone who was in and out of jail on a regular basis. Dick Anderson had also been in trouble with the law before for small-scale

crimes. Both men were known common criminals, and it wasn't particularly surprising to hear their names come up in regards to stolen goods, but this case wasn't about petty theft or burglary. This was murder. If these two men were in possession of the stolen gun that had been used to beat Carol Thompson, that meant that one or both of them could be her killer. On April 19th, both men were arrested. Mastrian was brought in by local police while Anderson had been found near Phoenix, where he was questioned by detectives Larry McMullen and Gerald Bowden, two of Barclay's men who had flown out there upon hearing about his capture. All right, Dick, we have it on good standing that you were given this Luger pistol.

mind telling us what you used it for? I don't know what the hell you're talking about. Let me make this more clear. We have it on good authority that you use that stolen pistol to kill Carol Thompson. Care to share anything about that? I don't know anything. Despite Dick Anderson's refusal to comply, George Barkley could sense that he was getting closer and closer

to solving the case of the murdered housewife. And luckily for the police, They had another criminal on hand who was willing to prove it. The hapless burglar, Willard Ingram, was still terrified of going back to jail, which made him uniquely useful to the police. He was then questioned again on May 6th by Detective Bowden. And when he was asked if he knew anyone by the name of Dick Anderson, he was quick to give all the information he could give.

Yes, definitely. I know Dick Anderson. Okay, I'm listening. Norman Maestrian approached me a few months ago about a job. He said he wanted some lady killed for money. Insurance or something. I don't know. And you turned it down. I don't do stuff like that.

A few of my buddies also turned Mastrian down. I mean, he wanted some woman murdered in her own house. That's next-level stuff. I tell you, Dick Anderson and Norman Mastrian killed that lady. Willard Ingram continued on, telling Bowden that he saw Dick Anderson shortly after the murder. They were at a mutual friend's house, and Dick Anderson was drinking heavily. Hey, Dick, long time, no C. How's it going? You're looking a bit worse for where?

Yeah, whatever. I don't care. I got to forget what I did. Dick, you okay? What are you talking about? I killed her, Willard. I killed that woman. I never saw anybody who wanted to live so badly in all my life. Whoa, whoa. Okay, Dick, maybe we shouldn't be talking about this. How about I drive you home?

I have to live with it forever. What am I supposed to do now? Willard Ingram admitted that Dick Anderson never said outright the name of the woman he had killed. But when he read the paper, the next woman he had killed. Day, Willard Ingram was sure Dick Anderson had killed Carol Thompson. When police arrested both Norman Maestrian and Dick Anderson on April 19th, the news had spread to local newspapers and the state of Minnesota erupted with excitement and relief. T. Eugene Thompson wasted no time in publicly commending the police for catching the men who killed his wife.

This, he declared, was the act of justice he had so desperately hoped to see. But this didn't free to Eugene Thompson of all suspicion. The press still dogged him, trying to see if they could discover any missing link between him and the two men connected to the murder. Mr. Thompson, how do you know Dick Anderson? Did you hire him to kill your wife? Would you people ever leave me alone? For the last time, I've never seen that man in my life. Then whose wife was he hired to kill?

How should I know? I let the police handle those things. You really have nothing to say about this? People think you killed your wife, Mr. Thompson. I am horrified by these accusations. I would do anything to have my dear Carol back in my arms. I will do anything to assist the police in their investigation. Now please, get off my property.

Both Norman Maestrian and Dick Anderson received first-degree murder charges. Their bail was set at $100,000, the highest bail to date in Minnesota, history. Neither man had the money to post such a high bail, and all they could do was wait to be sentenced. On April 30th, a grand jury was convened to consider the two first-degree murder indictments. The court case was kept closed off from the press, and while not much is known about the details of the proceedings, it is known that T. Eugene Thompson was one of the several witnesses called to the stand, and he delivered six hours of testimony. Dick Anderson and Norman Maestrian remained tight-lipped and refused to cooperate with the police or confess to their crimes.

But on that same day, another police discovery brought the case to a sudden climax. An anonymous informant contacted the police with a particularly useful tip. He knew where the missing gun was. According to the informant, the pistol had been thrown into a swamp in the quiet town of Elk River, Minnesota. So, speeding to Elk River, the police searched in the mud for the pistol. And just like that, they found it. The gun had been sitting in the mud for weeks. There was no chance that it could carry any fingerprints or blood samples that would conclusively link it to either of the two men.

But the pistol was only the first clue to be discovered in Elk River. Surveying the surrounding area, the police found a piece of fabric discarded on the side of a dirt road. It was cut into shreds, and it looked like it had once been a piece of clothing. It wasn't so strange to find pieces of trash, even pieces of clothing on the side of the road, but this cloth was special because on its label was printed a single name. Anderson. On May 8th, both Dick Anderson and Norman Maestrian were indicted for the first-degree murder of Carol Thompson. but still the case remained only two-thirds solved.

Police knew the men who'd killed Carol Thompson, but it still wasn't clear who had put the operation together in the first place. One thing was sure. Dick Anderson and Norman Maestrian knew something, and the police needed to get them talking. Thanks again for tuning into solved murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with part two of the murder of Carol Thompson. For more information on the investigation into Carol Thompson's killer,

amongst the many sources we used, we found the book Dial M, The Murder of Carol Thompson by William Swanson, extremely helpful to our research. You can find all episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. We'll see you next time. If we live till next time.

Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Part It is executive produced by Max Cutler, sound design by Brian Gullab, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden, and Isabella Way. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Georgia Hampton, with writing assistance by Giles Hofseth. The amazing cast of voice actors includes Tom Bauer, Joe Hernandez, Eddie Lee, K.G. Tang, Laura Faye Smith, and Jen Wong. It stars Wendy McKenzie and Carter Roy.

Remember to follow the newest Spotify original from Parcast, Our Love Story. Every Tuesday, catch an intimate glimpse inside a real-life romance, with couples recounting the highlights and hardships that define their love. Listen to Our Love Story free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.