Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Carol Thompson Pt. 2

Episode Date: November 4, 2020

When Carol Thompson’s murderer confessed to his crime, he implicated another person in the ordeal — and a shocking murder-for-hire plot began to unravel. 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 home invasion, as well as dramatizations and discussions of murder and assault that some people may find offensive. We advise extreme caution for children under 13. By June of 1963, the lingering frost of that year's winter had finally thawed around the small Minnesota City of St. Paul. Blue skies promised a summer of hot days and warm nights, a welcome change from the harshness of the colder months. But for Norman Maestrian and Dick Anderson, the arrival of summer was only another reminder of how time moved forward without them.

Locked in their jail cells, the two men had been charged with the first-degree murder of Carol Thompson with no hope of making bail. Both men tried and failed to seek lighter sentences, but these two criminals weren't going anywhere. The police were missing their accomplice, the mastermind behind the murder. The police hoped that over time,

one or both of these men would crack. And as the June heat crept inside the stifling confines of his cell, Dick Anderson grew more and more desperate. On June 20, 1963, he finally caved. With nothing left to lose, Dick Anderson was willing to turn state's witness. Welcome to Solved Murders, True Crime Mysteries, a Spotify original from Parcast.

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 close the case. You can find episodes of Solved Murders and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free, exclusively on Spotify. This is our final episode on the murder of Carol Thompson.

Last week, we covered the hunt for her killer. This week we'll cover the conviction that shocked the nation. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. On March 6, 1963, Carol Thompson was brutally attacked in her home. By June, Dick Anderson was named as her killer and Norman Maestrian as an accomplice. But while the two criminals languished in their cells, Carol's husband, T. Eugene Thompson, returned to business as usual.

He had played an important role in the indictment of these two criminals, having delivered over five hours of testimony at their trial. T. Eugene considered his actions instrumental in the arrest of his wife's killer. And because of this, T. Eugene hardly showed any remorse. Neighbors noticed that the Thompson House was active with. visitors. Often they saw men enter the house and assumed these guests were clients or associates of Eugene's law practice. Occasionally neighbors saw women arrive at the house, stepping delicately out of taxis and leaving the building several hours later. This, onlookers

assumed, was an entirely different sort of visit. T. Eugene Thompson was always a charismatic, outgoing person, but after the indictment trial, his demeanor became a great, aggressively cheerful. He made a point to say hello to any police officers or lawyers involved in the case. Detective Barkley, Detective Williams. Boy, am I glad to see you two. Good evening, Mr. Thompson. Ever the charmer.

I know you two are all business all the time, but I'm going to get you some drinks on me. Eugene, that will hardly be necessary. Now, now, I won't hear it. You two brought peace to my family. and justice to the memory of my darling wife, Carol. Two bourbons over here, please, for these gentlemen? The case is enclosed, Eugene. You're celebrating something that hasn't happened yet.

Tomato, tomato, detective. Cheers, to your excellent service to me and my family. Carol Thompson's murder remained big news in Minnesota, but T. Eugene Thompson was unshakable in his positivity. Still, he wasn't out of the woods yet. Back at St. Paul Police headquarters, the investigation was anything but over. By this point, Carol Thompson had been dead for over three months. After weeks of waiting, Detective Barkley finally heard what they were hoping to hear.

Dick Anderson was ready to talk. Slumping down into a metal chair, Dick looked terrible. He had an alcohol dependency, and his many weeks spent behind bars had subjected him to a brew withdrawal period. Visibly shaking, he lit a cigarette, he slowly exhaled the smoke with closed eyes, and wiping his brow with the hem of his sleeve, finally began.

I might as well start with this. I killed Carol Thompson. All right. And when did you kill her? March 6th. A little after 8.30 in the morning. The side door was unlocked. I had been told to go.

go through the side door and wait in the basement until everyone left. Over the next two hours, Dick Anderson spelled out in exhaustive detail how he murdered Carol Thompson. He also implicated Norman Maestrian, whom he had met on March 3rd. Dick's clothes were soaked with sweat, and as he spoke, he smoked cigarette after cigarette. In no time, the ashtray in front of him was spilling over with cigarette butts. Mastrian said I would get paid $3,000 for the head. He drew me the floor plans of the house and everything. But Norman Mastrian wasn't the man who hired you to kill Carol Thompson.

Did you know the man who was working with Mastrian on the murder? No, I hadn't heard of him before. He was some criminal attorney. I didn't know. Did he tell you his name? Damn it! Now is not the time to skimp out on the details. His name!

He said his name was Thompson. And just like that, Dick Anderson provided the third and final piece of the puzzle. Despite all his crying, his lamenting, and his conviction in his own innocence, T. Eugene Thompson orchestrated the whole thing. In the early hours of June 21, 1963, a single day after Dick Anderson's confession, a small fleet of police cruisers made their way to Forest Lake. The small Minnesota City of Forest Lake was the perfect place for a cottage. About an hour's drive from St. Paul, it exchanged the manicured lawns of suburbia for dense forests and smooth, clear lake water.

Carol Thompson's parents, Tony and Otto Swaboda, used the cottage as a verdant getaway, and we're only too happy to share their home with Carol and her family. The Thompson's regularly vacationed at the Forest Lake Cottage in the same. summer, a place for their four children to splash in the water and run through the woods. But after Carol's death, the lakefront cottage was being used for a slightly different purpose by T. Eugene Thompson. While it still offered his children the opportunity to run wild in the June sunshine, the cottage's distance from St. Paul gave T. Eugene a break from the unpleasant reminders of his wife's death.

In Forest Lake, no one knew T. Eugene. He could come and go as he pleased without being watched. It was the perfect hideaway. T. Eugene Thompson wasn't at the cottage when the police arrived. All they could do was wait. Within an hour, in-walked Thompson. Despite the summer heat, T. Eugene was dressed to impress, wearing a summer suit, matching tie, and a pocket handkerchief, and a straw fedora. This was the man who, according to Dick Anderson, had orchestrated his own wife's murder. But for a criminal, T. Eugene was surprisingly unbothered by the presence of a police officer in his living room. Good morning, Mr. Thompson. Well, good morning to you, sir. Officer... That's Detective Earl Miles, sir.

Oh, pardon me, detective. What could I do for you this fine summer day? T. Eugene Thompson, you've been implicated as... responsible for your wife's murder. I'm afraid you're under arrest. Oh, who told you that crock of hooey? I'm sure there's been a misunderstanding. I'm afraid not, sir. You're coming with me. Can I at least wake my kids to let them know I'm leaving? No, you need to come with us right away. Up next, T. Eugene Thompson goes to trial. Hi, listeners, here's a show I think you'll enjoy. When it comes to love, every story is unique.

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or wherever you listen to podcasts. Now, back to the story. T. Eugene Thompson was quickly taken back to the St. Paul Police Station and charged with the first-degree murder of Carol Thompson. And on June 25th, he was indicted for the crime. His bail, like that of Dick Anderson and Norman Maestrian, was posted at $100,000. But unlike the two criminals, T. Eugene Thompson could afford such a sum.

Now, an indicted murderer, T. Eugene left jail days after he was indicted. And unsurprisingly, he was met with a shouting horde of reporters. Mr. Thompson, Mr. Thompson, what do you say in your defense? I say what I have been saying since the moment my wife was horribly murdered. I did not kill Carol. But how can anyone believe you? You were just indicted for first-degree murder. And I am sure law enforcement were just doing their due diligence.

I am certain they will feel very foolish soon. Until then, I'm happy to be a good sport. But Mr. Thompson, what will you tell your children? I will tell them the truth. T. Eugene Thompson had paid his way out of jail, but he wasn't free from suspicion. His indictment was only the beginning, and it promised a trial to determine his guilt. As a lawyer himself, T. Eugene knew that he could spare no expense in his attorneys for the case. He chose two men, Hyman Siegel and William Fallon, highly respected and well-connected lawyers in the Twin Cities.

Hyman Siegel and William Fallon wasted no time. From T. Eugene's indictment on June 25th through the rest of the summer, the two lawyers bombarded the courts with pretrial motions, asking for evidence and demanding that all children, charges be dropped. This bought time for the defense, as these requests delayed the trial for months, and each passing day gave his team a chance to perfect their case. But as the summer months passed, rumors spread far and wide. The murdered housewife remained stuck in the public consciousness all across Minnesota. Everyone had a theory about it. Good evening, St. Paul. It's August 1st in 1963. Several anonymous calls.

to police have suggested that T. Eugene Thompson fathered multiple children with other women while his wife was still alive. The rumors grew stranger and stranger with the arrival of autumn. It's September 3rd, 1963. And tonight's top story, a tip line at St. Paul Police has been overrun with claims that murdered housewife Carol Thompson is, in fact, alive, and has been spotted across the city. The sensational nature of this crime lent itself. well to endless press coverage. The case had everything. Money, sex, and murder. No one could resist. The defense team had successfully delayed T. Eugene's trial for over three months, but on October 28, 1963, the time had come. Inside a municipal court in Minneapolis,

the case of the state of Minnesota v. Tillmer Eugene Thompson was finally underway. The lead prosecutor was a man named William Randall. A lanky, wise-faced man, his colleagues frequently compared him to Abraham Lincoln in physical appearance. Leading up to the trial, he had read every single evidence request made by the defense. Because of this, William Randall knew the case like the back of his hand. He was convinced that T. Eugene Thompson was guilty,

and he was ready to prove it. On November 4th, over the hushed week, whispers of onlookers, prosecutor Randall stood up, prepared to make his opening statement. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have never seen a case as despicable as this. T. Eugene Thompson looks like a law-abiding citizen,

but I am here to show you the gruesome truth behind that visage. He is a murderer. T. Eugene removed the telephone from the master bedroom. He gave away the beloved family pet. He took out $1.1 million. in life insurance policies against his wife within a year of her death. Tell me, does this behavior appear innocent to you? William Randall's statement was long,

driven by his conviction that these so-called links proved that T. Eugene was guilty. But after he finished, it was the defense's turn to state their case to the jury, and Attorney Hyman Siegel didn't mince words. The defense will show that Eugene Thompson played no part in this heinous act. And he is, in fact, incapable of doing so based on his background, his profession, and his position in the community. Thank you. The most anticipated trial in the state of Minnesota was underway.

As the trial commenced, the media circus surrounding the case only grew stronger. Hordes of people gathered outside the courtroom every day to catch a glimpse of T. Eugene Thompson. And when he was spotted, shouts of outreacts of outrearves. Rage and anger greeted him as he made his swift way to the trial. Wife killer! The scope of the trial reached far beyond Minnesota newspapers, attracting the attention of the New York Times and even a handful of international news outlets.

Across the country, people waited to see what would happen to T. Eugene Thompson, the archetype of American success who was being accused of murder. The trial would last for over two months. and in that time, 107 witnesses were called to the stand. That included Dick Anderson, who painted a damning portrait of T. Eugene Thompson. But the strangest testimony came close to the end of the trial

when T. Eugene Thompson took the stand in his own defense. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I am here to squash any doubt you may have regarding my character and my innocence. The prosecution claims to have these, links connecting me to Carol's death, and I plan to address them one by one. Over a total of 11 hours of testimony spaced across three days, T. Eugene Thompson confronted each supposed point of suspicion in exhaustive detail, adding flourishes about his upbringing, his courtship of Carol, and their marriage.

T. Eugene was even keen to mention the accusations of adultery that had dogged him throughout the investigation. admitting that this had been a problem between himself and his wife. One night, I tried to tell Carol about my terrible mistake. I said, darling, I have done something awful. But before the words could leave my lips, she told me that she knew. She had always known, and that she forgave me. On December 5, 1963, nine months after Carol Thompson was murdered, the jury began their deliberation.

While the cloud of suspicion around to Eugene Thompson had only thickened, no one knew what the jury would decide. The prosecution had a large collection of evidence, but all of it was circumstantial. There wasn't anything tangible that connected to Eugene to his wife's murder, apart from a series of bizarre actions and the claims of two criminals. The public waited for the climax of a scandal that had gripped headlines for nearly a year. And around 12 hours later, they got it.

The jury was ushered back into the courtroom shortly after 6 p.m. on December 6th. The foreman stood up and delivered the words many had been waiting to hear. T. Eugene Thompson was guilty as charged. Coming up, we'll retrace the plan that led to Carol Thompson's death. Now back to the story. Exactly nine months after Carol Thompson was, was murdered, the final piece of the puzzle had at last been found. Her own husband was the man who ordered her death. On December 6, 1963, the judge told to Eugene Thompson that he would be

spending the rest of his life in prison. Fighting back tears, he received this sentence with uncharacteristic silence. After months of scandal and intrigue surrounding the case, residents of St. Paul finally breathed a sigh of relief. The mysteries surrounding the brutal death of a doting housewife was solved, and all three men involved were behind bars, forever. While T. Eugene Thompson held fast to his belief that he was completely innocent, there was no one left who believed him. During the trial that sealed his fate, the prosecution put together the exact series of events that led to Carol Thompson's death. As a criminal defense lawyer, T. Eugene was familiar with quite a few criminals in the Twin Cities.

And that was how he became acquainted with Norman Maestrian. The two first met when T. Eugene defended Norman Mastrian in a possible false arrest claim in 1962. After that first case, the two men saw each other regularly. Norman Mastrian was not one to stay out of trouble for long. So when T. Eugene began considering the idea of killing his wife and collecting her insurance money, Norman Maestrian seemed like the best man for the job. But to T. Eugene's surprise, Norman demurred. He was a criminal, but even he had limits.

Even though he refused to do the hit himself, Norman Maestrian still offered to find someone who would. In February, 1963, he began shopping around for a hitman who would be willing to kill a church-going housewife for $2,000. He asked several men, and one by one they turned him down. But then, a low-level criminal named Richard Sharp

suggested that Norman reach out to someone named Dick Anderson. Dick took some convincing, but on March 4th, he agreed. According to Dick Anderson's testimony, T. Eugene Thompson planned out the murder. The original idea was to make Carol's death look like an accident. T. Eugene had taken extra precautions to make sure everything went smoothly. He had removed the Yappy family dog to make sure no one was alerted of potential danger. He had also removed the upstairs telephone, making sure that the only remaining phone in the house was located in the kitchen.

He even planned to lock the front door the day of the attack so no one could enter the house while the murder was taking place. Norman Maestrian relayed the plan to Dick Anderson. T. Eugene Thompson would leave the side door unlocked, and Dick was instructed to enter the house early in the morning and hide in the basement until everyone had left for the day. Then T. Eugene would call his wife, forcing her to come to the kitchen and answer the phone. The entrance to the basement opened onto the kitchen, which would give Dick the perfect moment to attack Carol with a hose

and carry her upstairs to the bathtub. To make sure Dick Anderson was fully prepared for the attack, Norman Maestrian drove him through the Thompson's neighborhood, even drawing up diagrams of the house for reference. The plan was solid and the two criminals agreed that the hit would be carried out on March 5th. But when the fateful day came, Dick Anderson didn't show up. Frustrated and confused, Norman Maestrian confronted Dick Anderson about this unacceptable mistake. Dick admitted that he had gotten cold feet and asked Norman to give him a gun as extra protection.

Norman Maestrian was determined to get the plan back on schedule and borrowed a stolen Luger pistol from a friend, Willard Ingram. Dick Anderson planned to execute the hit the next day, March 6th. That morning, Dick Anderson was a wreck. He later testified in court that he drank several shots of vodka in order to push him. himself to leave the house. But quickly, he made his way to Highland Park. The suburban streets were nearly empty, and Dick was able to enter the Thompson house unnoticed. Sure enough, the side door was unlocked. Delicately closing it behind him, Dick Anderson followed the plan. He headed towards the basement. But the basement stairs creaked, and Dick Anderson feared that he would be noticed.

Still, he waited in the dark, listening to snippets of conversation from the floor above. A little after 8 a.m., the hum of morning activity had died down. Dick Anderson was sure that everyone had left the house. Now it was just him and Carol Thompson. He waited for Mr. Thompson to call the kitchen telephone, but when the call came and Carol Thompson descended the stairs to answer it, Dick Anderson didn't move. The squeaking stairs still worried him.

He decided to improvise on the plan. Instead of attacking Carol Thompson in the kitchen, he waited for her to finish her call and make her way back upstairs to the bedroom. After he was sure that Carol had walked upstairs, he left the basement, moving silently into the master bedroom. He pulled out the Luger pistol and told Carol to turn away from him

and lie down on her stomach. She did as she was told, and Dick Anderson moved to her side of the bed. Holding the handle of the garden hose, he slammed it down against her head, knocking her unconscious. Dick Anderson carried her to the bathroom, where, as planned,

the bathtub had been filled with water. But when Dick placed Carol Thompson in the bathtub and tried to drown her, she woke up. Splashing and flailing, her arms, Carol broke free of Dick Anderson and scrambled out of the tub, running back into the bedroom. Panicking, Dick whipped out the gun and pulled the trigger. But the gun misfired, and Carol ran. Deeming the pistol useless, Dick Anderson hit Carol with the butt of the gun,

knocking her to the floor. But undeterred, Carol stood back up and ran down the stairs. The locked front door kept Carol. from making a swift escape, and Dick Anderson was able to catch up to her. He hit her many times over. The force of his blows broke the handle of the gun, sending shards across the floor. Still desperately trying to flee, Carol lurched into the kitchen. Dick Anderson was shocked by the determination of the housewife. He followed her back into the kitchen and grabbing a pairing knife from a nearby drawer, stabbed her in the neck. Carol Thompson collapsed onto the floor. Assuming he had finally rendered her incapable of escape, Dick Anderson quickly ran upstairs

to wash the blood off of his hands and face. He ran into the bedroom, desperate to make it appear as though her violent attack had been an accident. But Dick Anderson was wrong about Carol's condition. While he was rummaging around upstairs, she used to what little energy she had left to prop herself up and run out of the unlocked side door. Dick ran downstairs and realized that his victim was gone. But by now, it was too late. He had no other choice but to leave the scene and drive away. Carol Thompson had withstood so much injury that he figured she wouldn't make it very far. And unfortunately, he was right. It was never fully explained why T. Eugene Thompson would want to come

admit such a horrific crime. He had a spotless record up until his wife's murder, and while he was certainly fond of his wealth, he didn't seem like the kind of man who would go to extreme measures to maintain it. The prosecution suggested that T. Eugene had fallen in love with another woman and was determined to rid himself of his suburban life in order to start anew, but nothing much came of this idea, and no one came forward to confirm it. For his part, T. Eugene Thompson refused to admit any guilt in the plot to kill Carol Thompson, even after his sentencing. Behind bars, he still attested that he was incapable of doing such a terrible thing. But hardly anyone was convinced. Dick Anderson and Norman Maestrian, also facing life sentences, were far less vocal. The murder of Carol Thompson had haunted the two men ever since.

March 6, 1963, for them there was nothing else to say. While the three men spent their days in a Minnesota prison, life continued without them. The four Thompson children grew up living within the shadow of their family's horrific scandal. The oldest son, Jeff Thompson, grew up to practice law himself, first as a prosecutor, and then as a judge to Eugene sought out as counsel during his most. multiple parole requests. Jeff offered to read through the trial transcripts from 1963, including the reporting done around the case.

But by the time he was done reading through the mass of documents, Jeff Thompson was convinced his father was guilty. Even after coming to this conclusion, Jeff felt his father was more of a delusional liar than a cold-hearted killer. Despite everything, Jeff Thompson believed 20 years, years behind bars was enough. He wrote a letter to Minnesota corrections officials, writing in support of his father's third parole petition. Jeff Thompson shared his experience with numerous Minnesota newspapers, commenting on his bizarre life of being known as T. Eugene's son and a life of

visiting with his father behind a thick pane of glass. But Jeff Thompson was about to begin another strange chapter of his life in 1983, after multiple failed attempts, T. Eugene Thompson was paroled. There was no welcome home party waiting for T. Eugene Thompson when he left prison. His former friends weren't particularly interested in spending time with a convicted murderer. That didn't stop the felon from making the most of his new freedom. He swiftly made a small group of new friends and was frequently seen at bars and restaurants in the company of beautiful young women. But the past wasn't done with him. His four children, now adults and living all over the country, wanted to have one final conversation with their father to air their grievances and give

T. Eugene one last chance to prove his innocence. The Thompson Children plan for a family-run trial, and surprisingly T. Eugene agreed. to the plan. On January 24, 1986, the family reconvened at the home of one of the sisters in Minneapolis to set the record straight. For hours, each Thompson child took their chance to explain the trauma, bitterness, and terror that T. Eugene left in his wake. These were children largely ostracized by the community and left with a dead mother and a murderous father. Throughout these testimonies, T. Eugene remained completely silent. Listening to each of his children described the immeasurable pain his actions had caused them. When each Thompson child was finished, it was well past

midnight. Now it was T. Eugene's turn to speak. He opened his briefcase and handed his son, Jeff, a single document. I have something here that proves without a doubt that there was a third unidentified person present at your mother's murder. It was a photocopied blood report from the scene of the crime, which listed that a sample of blood was partially deteriorated, making it more difficult to identify. See, it says type B or O beta factor deteriorated. That has to mean that there was a third person there.

And I'm certain it was another one of Norman Maestrian's criminal buddies. It has to be Willard Ingram. Jeff Thompson looked at the document and glanced back at his father. T. Eugene looked as convinced as ever, eagerly awaiting his son's response. But nothing would be able to prove his innocence. To Jeff Thompson, his father was simply a liar

who had fallen for his own tricks. T. Eugene Thompson would remain convinced of his own innocence for the rest of his life, he stayed in St. Paul, eventually remarrying and moving to the quiet suburb of Roseville. He died on his 88th birthday in 2015. The case of the murdered housewife still lingers in the collective imagination of Minnesotans. Even now, any time a man kills his wife for insurance money, T. Eugene Thompson's name is likely to come up. His attempt to escape his old life, in action. Tarnished his legacy and destroyed his name and family forever.

Thanks again for tuning in to Solved Murders. We'll be back next Wednesday with a new episode. For more information on the investigation into Carol Thompson's murder, 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 Murder's True Crime Mysteries is a Spotify original from Parcast. It is executive produced by Max Cutler.

Sound design by Brian Gullab with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly, Madden, and Freddie Beckley. This episode of Solved Murders was written by Georgia Hampton with writing assistance by Giles Hofsef. The Amazing Cast, a voice actor's includes Bill Butts, Tiana Camacho, Joe Hernandez, KG Tang, 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.