3: Thomas Steele
Thomas Steele, 36, was found August 14, 1986, near 71st Street and Halldale Avenue. Cause of death: one shot behind right ear. Dumped in road fully clothed.
The Junction at 71st Street and Halldale Avenue
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DOB: 8-30-52 (57 years old) Height: 5' 7" Weight:170 lbs Occupation: Mechanic (retired) Arrested: 9:20 a.m. Wednesday 7th July 2010 Location: 1728 W 81st St South LA. Charged: 10 counts of murder. One count of attempted murder.Special circumstances allegations of multiple murders. Victims: 11 confirmed Official LAPD News Release (Wednesday, July 7, 2010) ... LONNIE FRANKLIN Picture archive |
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51 Responses to “3: Thomas Steele”
December 6th, 2008 at: 8:57 pm
this murder has to have something to do with the previous murder, it is the ONLY male, and it is the ONLY murder where the body was not dumped in an alleyway.
It must have been a reactionary event. Maybe he witnessed the murder of the 2nd victim, and the killer had to cover his tracks.
December 6th, 2008 at: 8:57 pm
This definitely seems like an unplanned murder, the victim is a guy, it is not typical for a serial killer to target men, much less if he has proven to target a specific type of woman…
December 6th, 2008 at: 8:58 pm
This victim was shot differently. He was shot behind his ear? Maybe he knew the killer. For someone to get shot behind the ear, they have to subdue you, threaten. Why would he not want to see this mans face as he shot him? He shot the females in the chest, he could see their face.
Maybe a grudge? Something. I think this victim and his background should be key. The killer targets WOMEN. He raped every single one. So something is amiss here.
I’m sure the police have done their homework even if it took awhile. Minority victims are often neglected by law enforcement. But I think this victim should have been focal.
December 6th, 2008 at: 8:58 pm
I’d like to point out, in addition to ’somethoughts’ comment, as he points out as well as ‘Curious in Texas’.
I agree that this murder seems unplanned. But, don’t killers have a habit of going overboard with people they know? A single shot behind the ear…it’s rather methodical wouldn’t you agree?
It’s possible he saw one of the murders and fled…but if that were the case does that mean the shot was accurate at at least a moderate distance (perhaps implying some training with firearms use?) or is it as Curious said where he subdued and executed the man?
As well, does anyone know if the fatal gunshot was of the same caliber as the rest of the Sleeper’s victims? Was there any evidence of powder residue near the wound to give us an idea of distance?
December 6th, 2008 at: 8:59 pm
I thinks this guy was related or friends with the killer.. He had to know him personally. Could be his brother, cousin, friend and they had a fallen out and he shot him. It makes no sense to kill him. Know one lets someone get that close to them without knowing him.. I would tell the police to pull the dead guys records and go from there. (posted 08 Nov 2008, 23:59)
December 14th, 2008 at: 1:03 pm
Trying to rule out Thomas Steele as a victim because of a breakage of pattern is silly. Steele was Grim’s third victim (if you think he did indeed kill Steele). Two victims for a serial killer, that follow the same pattern doesn’t leave much room for experimentation. My thoughts are that Steele was one of Grim’s victims and an experimentation. All the future victims have been female again just like Grim’s first two most likely because he had a hard time with a male target. Steele may have been fleeing the killer and have fallen or even been thrown to the ground, which would explain the gunshot behind the ear. As for the body not being in an ally, well the killer might have been interupted and not had time to dispose of the body the way he would of liked to.
February 25th, 2009 at: 8:05 pm
Thomas Steele was a co-conspirator with Grim Sleeper. Their meeting was purely coincidental so connection is not known by Steele’s family. After GS realized that the killing was going to be easier than initially he thought he decided that assistance was no longer needed. Better to kill “helper” Thomas than to worry over when/if he might go to cops or branch out on his own get busted and than spill the beans. The 14 year gap is because GS moved to another state. Look for similar, not identical, cases in a small south eastern town. Fewer and farther apart than the LA cases but still occuring. Familial ties prevent GS from doing what he does as often when not in LA. LA is the catalyst the inducer for GS. He feels tainted when in LA or reminded of LA.
February 26th, 2009 at: 5:24 am
I think this man may have seen the murder or knew the grim sleeper. he may have had info grim had to do him. vic#2 was killed aug 12 1985. vic#2 on aug 14 1985. just two days after. the only 2 murders out of all 11 with that date span.
February 26th, 2009 at: 8:12 am
Two days after Henrietta Wright was killed he killed Thomas Steele. Something is really amiss here. I wonder if they knew each other.
February 26th, 2009 at: 2:43 pm
I believe the victim knew the killer, and discovered what his “friend” was doing, early in a career this guy is likely to make mistakes. This was regretfully for Thomas one of them.
February 26th, 2009 at: 8:39 pm
I THINK THOMAS STEELE KNEW THE KILLER HE WAS KILLED 2 DAYS AFTER HENRIETTA WRIGHT WAS KILLED THE REASON HE WAS SHOT IN THE EAR I THINK IS BECAUSE HE OVERHEARD SOMETHING SAID AND CONFRONTED THE KILLER HE MAY HAVE WORKED WITH THE KILLER AT SOME TIME THINKING NO IT COULD NOT BE HIM BUT LOW AND BEHOLD IT WAS OR MAYBE HE WAS FRIENDLY HUGGING THE KILLER AFTER A CONVERSATION AND KILLED HIM BECAUSE HE KNEW TO MUCH CHECK OUT HENRIETTA’S FRIENDS AS WELL AS THOMAS STEELE’S LOOK FOR A WIMP WHO PREYS ON WOMEN THAT HE SEE’S HAVE PROBLEMS AND HE MAKES IT HIS GOAL TO GET THEM TO BELIEVE HE IS GOING TO HELP THEM AND HE IS GOOD AT IT
March 1st, 2009 at: 4:42 am
I have to agree with some of the comments above about Steele. It is very curious that Steele’s murder is so unlike the others in timing and method, and the fact that after Steele is murdered, the killer disappears for over a decade. My feeling is that Steele was killed because he either knew, or the killer thought he knew, who the killer is. This presupposes some kind of relatively close relationship. I find it curious that no information regarding Steele is given out–job, lifestyle, what kind of person he was. My feeling is that the killer knew he’d come close to being discovered and so moved away from Los Angeles after killing Steele. After more than ten years, the killer decided coming back and continuing was not a big risk any more–or “came back to LA” for other reasons entirely and then “got the urge” again (if he didn’t continue elsewhere). The lack of DNA may be because the killer may be in an occupationally well off field–perhaps investment or financial field, which may presuppose a move to New York after the 1987 “crash”. I don’t find the “crack/violence” time period compelling. I find more compelling the timeline to “stock market” stable and then climb periods, with October of ‘87 bringing a “crash” that may have led him to say something in an emotional outburst that may have alerted Steele (or he thought COULD have alerted Steele). So, yes, I feel Steele is definitely a key victim whose full story could tell of the Grim Sleeper’s identity and explain the “lack of DNA match”.
March 1st, 2009 at: 5:30 am
Okay, sorry. Got Steele confused with “Jackie” in the timeline. Something odd there. Why did he let her go? The “relationship” between the “drop areas” and churches may offer a clue. It may also offer a clue as to some kind of relationship between the Pinto and the van (church or other “organization” owned vehicles)? The “AIDS” napkin could be an alert that the killer has aids (and was “too sick to kill” for a while, but essentially “recovered using drug cocktails” eventually), but my feeling is that it also could be a an intentionally complete “red herring”. My basic feeling is that the killer moved away for the open time period, perhaps overseas (military possible).
March 3rd, 2009 at: 12:00 am
Sometimes its better to think without eyes. Consider yourself the killer, and think of what you would want them to find, and not.
March 12th, 2009 at: 10:01 pm
According to the AMW (America’s Most Wanted) website Thomas Steele was not a Los Angeles resident. He was visiting his sister here in L.A. but lived in San Diego. I agree with others who have commented on how this particular murder, however, stands out from all the others. Considering that Thomas Steele did not live in L.A. I find the idea that he was an accomplice of the Grim Sleeper rather far-fetched.
March 13th, 2009 at: 7:55 am
what information did thomas steele sister provide? maybe tgs met thomas through her
March 13th, 2009 at: 2:16 pm
Probably unable to be confrontational in a face-to-face manner with a man, perhaps a disagreement broke out and GS was perhaps humiliated and when Steele walked away the anger/rage that he tries to hide in everyday society kicked in and he shot him in the back of the head. A new trigger unrelated to those of his female victims. Just speculating of course.
March 13th, 2009 at: 10:54 pm
as tv often says many prostitutes(what he likes)and some of his victims has drug problems. this guy sounds like a hit. was he into drugs use/selling? sounds like he put victims and killer together and died for it.
March 15th, 2009 at: 10:13 am
What caliber gun was used in Janecia Peters killing? It seems like he went dormant after the failed killing and when he resurfaced in early 2000 he didn’t have a gun, resorting to strangulation on a weaker and more vulnerable person (14 year old). By reading all the given facts it’s my guess he was recently released from prison (or in and out of prison) keep in mind the 13 year gap. He was not sentenced in L.A. county. He fled the L.A. area (he felt he failed and ‘Jackie’ would identify him) and was probably arrested in another jurisdiction/county for a violent crime (back then in the 80s, there was no DNA database). Upon his release, he had to have paroled to the only place he knew, HOME. Look for continuing parole violations involving drugs and the parolee eventually in and out of prison so much they finally said time served. This guy is a drug addict/ex-drug addict, he is involved in church and uses that clean cut persona to charm his victims, has trouble interacting sexually with women brought on by insecurities and rejection. He is the quite and smooth type. He obviously feels very confertable in the L.A. area, dumping these women within the dark alleys that he so often rode his bike through when he was a child. He isn’t as slick as everyone thinks and does not go on the prowl but acts more on instinct and urge after a drug induced frenzy. He doesn’t crave the attention but is rather annoyed that he’s on the radar. He will and has changed his MO a bit but he will always slip up due to is instinctive impulses (saliva on breast, semen. etc…). I really would like to know ALOT more about Thomas Steele’s murder. I believe that is the link!!!!!
March 19th, 2009 at: 2:55 am
This is right up the street from that cosmopolitan church. I wonder if that church was some type of cult. I think this guy knew grim. Maybe had something to do with the other 2 murders. Could not take it anymore, was going to rat grim out. So grim had to do him in…
March 21st, 2009 at: 6:41 pm
ii think HE saw the grim killing
March 22nd, 2009 at: 11:12 pm
MY FIRST THOUGHT ABOUT THIS ONE. IS HE’S NOT THE WORK OF THE GRIM SLEEPER. HE WAS KILLED IN 1986 FOR ONE. THE GRIM HADN’T QUIT GOTTEN STARTED.This one is deffinatly out of context. I also think IF this guy possibly was the work of the grim,Then HE knew the grim. He maybe pissed him off without knowing it. That’s how the grim got the best of him. Cause two men in a confrontation. The grim should have gotten hurt trying to do this one. Unless he caught him off gaurd. Here’s what I think.. “Sounds like this victim was driving a car and his killer was behind him, in the same car, like the back seat, he shot him, Then dumped him.”. But still I say this MAY-NOT have been the GRIM SLEEPER..
March 22nd, 2009 at: 11:34 pm
Henrietta Wright was murdered on August 12,1986 this is only two days before Thomas was killed. maybe Thomas was with the Grim when she was killed,possibly he helped and got paranoyed,then had a change of mind. So he threatened to tell what he and the Grim did so he killed him. Or maybe he was just an innocent victim. Not even connected with the Grim like I said earlier….
March 29th, 2009 at: 10:16 am
For all we know, Thomas Steele might have gotten into a verbal altercation and turned his back on the grimm sleeper. That’s as simple as it gets. I don’t believe he was working with or even knew the grimm sleeper. He got shot in the back of the head and .25 caliber is a quiet shot.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 8:30 pm
Comment # 1 by SomeThoughts: You think like I do. If you watch the video on AMW where the LAPD describe this murder, “there are a 100 different reasons why it could have happened.” But, my thinking is that he may have been a witness to the killer somehow. Or, perhaps this murder victim was the original owner of the 25cal gun and the killer didn’t want a link to the weapon. This was murder # 3 that they identified, which means that he may or may not be actually # 3… there could be dozens more victims that were not linked, yet.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 9:10 pm
CuriousInTexas on Comment # 3: I’m not sure that “every single female victim was raped.” I’d have to go back & review the victims again, but I think rape was not confirmed in “every single one.”
As to the man getting shot behind the ear, that possibly meant (to me, anyway) that the killer wanted the guy dead in the FIRST shot to avoid a fight. He may have shot the women in the chest for the specific reason NOT to kill them immediately. i.e. the killer may enjoy the women struggling to live, or to struggle to fight him even though they’re near death. The sole survivor victim said she was shot FIRST in the chest & then sexually assaulted. A chest shot, thus, might be his way of not killing the victim too quickly whereas the male victim he wanted dead right away.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 9:16 pm
Comment #4 by D : I’d say the single shot behind the ear was a clear execution and not from a distance. A distance shot would be pretty darn lucky to hit right there and the killer’s usual style isn’t to shot from a distance but to kill close up. And, no, killers usually don’t go overboard with people they know unless there is a fit of pent up rage. Murders are usually just murders. A shot behind the ear isn’t ‘overboard,’ either.
The motive, as the LAPD says, could be 100 different reasons. Its even possible that the killer simply robbed the man for needed cash and decided to kill him on a whim or maybe not. As I’ve posted elsewhere, the single male victim could have been a witness or “known too much” as the LAPD detective stated.
Look at the serial killer “Zodiac” (never captured) who killed in different manners, also. He killed with stabbing, he shot from a short distance, and he too killed one victim with a single shot behind the ear.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 9:19 pm
Tray Pierce said in comment # 5: Know one lets someone get that close to them without knowing him..”
Wrong, Tray. The man could have picked up the killer while the killer was hitchhiking, for example. They drive a short way & the killer pulls out his gun to pretend a robbery. Tells the driver to pull over & look the other way as he supposedly will take the mans wallet. As the driver turns away as instructed, the killer simply shots him in the head.
There are all sorts of ways a person could get shot at close distance without knowing the shooter.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 9:21 pm
Janet Polluck in comment # 7: That is pure speculation and based upon no facts whatsoever. Or have I missed a part of the story. Where did you see something that pointed to the killer & victim knowing each other.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 9:24 pm
Comment #21 : I agree with you. He might have been a witness.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 10:10 pm
Comment #22, CreTasha: If the LAPD said the man was killed with the same weapon as the others, why do you think the male victim “may not” have been a true GS victim?
The weak link in all of our comments is that the police ALWAYS hold back information from the public to keep the investigation from being overrun by a bunch of idiots. So, in addition to the same gun being used, there were probably other pieces of evidence (not made public) that the LAPD used to link the male victim to the other victims and the same killer.
April 2nd, 2009 at: 10:19 pm
Although the LAPD won’t provide a detailed biography on each victim, its too bad that we can’t see a complete bio on each. The lifestyle each led often would demonstrate how they connected with other people around them.
For example, the girls who were prostitutes engaged in a lifestyle notoriously dangerous. Prostitutes all over the globe are murdered and beaten every day. Its a known fact. So, when they go into a solitary place with an anonymous male, they are totally alone and at risk.
But this male, what was it about his lifestyle that put him in the position of risk? Was he buying drugs or selling drugs? (another notoriously dangerous lifestyle). Was he seeking out a male prostitute for himself and ended up with the GS ? Did he like to hang out with other men who carried weapons? Or, was he just a victim that happened, as other posts have said, to anger the GS in some way and got lured into a place where the GS could shoot him?
One thing that is a huge puzzle to me is that the GS seems UNafraid to dump his bodies in public with people all around the area. Even in alley’s where it might seem to be isolated, people are in their back yards and taking out trash and working on cars, etc. I once lived on an alley & activity in the alley always draws your attention because its usually quiet. When you hear a car go down the alley, you look. There were plenty of times where I’d look over the fence to see what people were doing. Yet, the GS doesn’t seem to understand that or he just doesn’t care. Very odd.
April 3rd, 2009 at: 3:39 pm
Just reading whats available and all the great theories I have a couple thoughts. I just don’t know ALL the details of the investigation to know if my thoughts have already been tried, and I don’t want to offend the professionals. Was AIDS/HIV tests ran on all the victims? What if it is coming from a totally different angle: a sick man who thought he was saving society from these people who may have become infected and somehow he knew this info. Or another idea from a diff commentator was drug frenzy, well if the 3 were killed in a 6 day period maybe it was just that and he knew all them from that lifestyle and he was just simply acting crazy. Thr other victims had a toxicology report showing why doesn’t Steele? Also were those drugs digested willingly or part of the plan, because they varied. So there are many questions that make it hard to determine which angle would be correct one. Also as far as the gap I think he moved and of course didn’t stop killing, it seems that is hard for him to do in South L.A. so why would any other town get so lucky? I would think the DNA has been ran across databases across the country but if not that would definitly be a good idea just to try to confirm if he indeed traveled with his own sick circus.
April 4th, 2009 at: 5:28 am
THIS ARTICLE SAYS THOMAS STEELE WAS A PIMP.
THIS COULD EXPLAIN AN ARGUMENT, TURNING AROUND AND GETTING SHOT IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD.
http://www.laweekly.com/2006-06-08/news/the-sex-murder-files/
April 5th, 2009 at: 12:07 am
Jay in Comment # 34: which article says male victim was a pimp ?
I’ve been thinking. Why would the single male victim not be dumped in an alley like the rest of the victims? Why did his body end up “in the middle of an intersection.” (I’m not sure if that intersection is correct, but he ended up dead on a street).
My guess: he was shot in the car as the other victims were, but he managed to pull the handle on the car door & jump out. The killer had no choice but to keep driving as bystanders would be possibly watching. Luckily for the killer, the male victim died there on the street possibly because of not only the gunshot wound, but possibly due to hitting his head on the pavement jumping from a moving vehicle.
Anyone have any better idea as to why the male victim ended up on a public street? the killer usually doesn’t want to be seen dumping the body.
April 5th, 2009 at: 4:38 pm
This guy was probably driving when dispatched by the killer. The door was then opened and the body dumped. Steele looks scrappy so I think he never saw it coming. This could be confirmed by lack of torn clothing, or no sign of a struggle etc. His eyes suggest that of a moderate/light drug user. yeah this guy new the killer. I wonder if it was Sunday?
April 5th, 2009 at: 5:48 pm
This victim was from out of town, visiting his sister. Did sister have a boyfriend? Someone close to her that she introduced him to and maybe he saw too much…. Maybe sis talked GS into giving the guy a ride somewhere & he hadn’t cleaned up his vehicle so the guy saw blood in the car and had to be dealt with.
If this guy just randomly killed him for money, why is this the only instance? People who do these types of things are very controlled, they don’t go into rages unplanned - everyone said Dahmer was a nice, quiet neighbor, same w/Gacy & BTK.
Why dump the body in an intersection? The others were hidden, not well but hidden. He wanted the body found at a certain time — why? Must have had what he considered a solid alibi lined up for when the body was found.
I think knowing the hours leading up to this victims death and the sister’s bio are the key to finding this guy.
April 6th, 2009 at: 12:46 am
If Steele was popped behind the ear with no other signs of a struggle, than it is likely he knew GS, and his death came while inside a car. Otherwise this guy does not go down without a fight. Because it was a head shot it may be more difficult to link his death to all the others based on ballistics. Sheer speculation because I dont know about ballistics.
If he was capped in a car, it make it less likely he was being a good samaritan, or someone in wrong place wrong time.
April 6th, 2009 at: 9:28 am
Maybe he came up to him from behind.
Just a guess but the guy was a pimp and probably a drug dealer or had drugs. He sold drugs to the first victim like coke. The killer knew the first and killed her because of something in his mind about drug users. Went after her connection the second victim for the drugs and then the pimp/dealer. Maybe someone close to him went out and shot up drugs and caught AIDS. That person got him with vic 1.
The time frame is so close with the first three. I would say all three were connected.
I’m guessing the sexual assault is him escalating his kill then to the naked victims.
Where are you guys getting details on this? I’ve went through 4 websites from CNN and I haven’t found any of the information that you guys are pulling on them.
I would think he knew the first. Maybe it was a drug connection for a family member or friend. But I would say there is a good chance of the link.
The Van having no clues…Could be he had the victim in plastic. I thought I read at least on having a plastic bag.
I think he went to that Church. The stop gap was likely to be because he moved. And someone saying he fled because of a vic surviving would explain the Montreal thing. Fled the country to avoid getting caught.
April 6th, 2009 at: 12:43 pm
Was Steele intoxicated/ drugged while he was murdered?
April 6th, 2009 at: 2:42 pm
Perhaps thomas steele did know the killer in some way or another - perhaps he was even involved in the beginning…PERHAPS…it was HIM that made the phone call to 911? He appears to be about the right age…not that you can really age someone by the sound of their voice…
April 6th, 2009 at: 6:40 pm
Comment #41 by Sarah:
It would be an interesting possibility that Steele was the one who phoned the police and maybe even with the blessing of the GS….. and then the GS decided once the call was made to confuse the police that he’d shoot Steele to end the relationship.
I’m sure the police wondered the same thing.
But it would be easy to take the voice recording to Steele’s family & ask if it was his voice.
April 6th, 2009 at: 9:29 pm
Thomas Steele was in town visiting his sister. Maybe Steele’s sister was the target and Steele interrupted him in some way. Where was Steele visiting from, who was his sister, was his sister a viable target for the killer (did she fit his m.o.), and where did his sister live….?
April 7th, 2009 at: 2:22 am
JulesLady on Comment # 43: Thats a good question, Jules. Where did Steele’s sister live? If she lived a long way from the GS killing turf, then Steele was likely doing something shady or illegal which brought him into contact with GS. He apparently had an arrest record and usually criminals don’t change their behavior despite arrests. (Never trust an ex-con).
April 7th, 2009 at: 11:04 am
Here is the shortened testimony provided by the survivor to LA Weekly:
The night she was shot, Margette was still smarting from a breakup with her husband, her Inglewood High School sweetheart. She had just returned from a trip to Louisiana to visit cousins, and was helping out an elderly man in her neighborhood whose wife had recently passed away. As evening approached, she got ready to go to a party with her best friend, Lynda Lewis.
Around dusk, she walked toward her friend’s house, dressed in her favorite blue-and-cream peasant blouse and tight cream-colored Calvin Klein denim mini. She was passing D & S Market in South L.A. when she noticed an orange Ford Pinto with a white racing stripe on the hood. She remembers the parked car because “it looked like a Hot Wheels car,” she says, pointing to the run-down market on West 91st Street and Normandie Avenue where the car sat that day.
From inside, the driver, a black man in his early 30s, asked her if she wanted a ride. He looked neat. Tidy. Kind of geeky. He wore a black polo shirt tucked into khaki trousers. She declined the offer. He kept asking her. She refused again, thinking, “I like chocolate milk, but he wasn’t my type.”
“He told me, ‘That is what is wrong with you black women. You think you are all that,” she says. The two traded friendly barbs back and forth. But his comment, which she took as a playful diss, prompted her to change her mind. Just 30, she enjoyed hitchhiking in those days, and accepted his offer of a ride for a few blocks to her friend’s house. Despite the drug violence raging in neighborhoods around her, it wasn’t neat-looking strangers who had her concerned. “It wasn’t a worry,” she recalls.
Once inside, Margette was impressed by the car’s interior. The gear-shift handle was memorable, pimped out with a ping-pong-sized marble ball. The inside was all-white, with white diamond-patterned upholstery. She liked what she saw, and when he invited himself to the party, she said he was welcome to come.
He merely needed to make a quick stop at his uncle’s house to pick up some money, or so he said.
They wound through residential roads in his sporty car, ending up on a street whose name she did not take note of. The polite stranger parked outside a mustard-colored house partly obscured by hedges, got out, walked up to the house, briefly talked to someone inside, and returned about 10 minutes later.
*
Orly Olivier
A “preppy black man”: That’s how Enietra Margette remembers the Grim Sleeper outside this market.
A “preppy black man”: That’s how Enietra Margette remembers the Grim Sleeper outside this market.
*
Orly Olivier
Detective Dennis Kilcoyne (left) and Chief William Bratton seek the public’s help. Below, an old headline points to the wrongly accused Deputy Rickey Ross.
Detective Dennis Kilcoyne (left) and Chief William Bratton seek the public’s help. Below, an old headline points to the wrongly accused Deputy Rickey Ross.
But now, she says, he was entirely different. He drove off, started to say something, turned a corner — then went quiet. “He asked me, ‘Why did you dog me out?’” she recalls. She had no idea what he was talking about. He called her by the name of a well-known local prostitute who walked the streets around Normandie Avenue and looked like Margette, except the streetwalker wore an auburn wig while Margette’s black hair was cropped short like a boy’s.
Margette remembers thinking that his weird use of the streetwalker’s nickname was an odd coincidence, because a few days earlier somebody else mistook her for the auburn-wigged woman. But Margette, a tough young woman who’d been involved in a few scraps, wasn’t scared. She was much bigger-boned than her thin, spindly-looking companion, and she was irritated by his hostile tone — something she heard often from the malingering drug dealers and gangsters in her area.
“Who do you think you are talking to?” she responded, showing him some attitude. He suddenly pulled a small handgun out of a pocket on the driver’s side of the Pinto, and shot her in the chest as he drove along the residential streets.
Incredibly, Margette did not lose consciousness, panic or flee. More than anything, she remembers being utterly baffled as blood began dripping down her blue-and-white peasant shirt. “That was something that stuck in my head,” she says. She demanded to know: Why had he shot her? And who would take care of her kids if she died? She felt blood trickle down her face, and her blouse grew wet with it.
She blacked out, but was startled awake by the bright flash of a Polaroid camera. The creep had taken her picture and sexually assaulted her. She remembers grabbing at him, and the two struggled. She pleaded to be taken to a hospital. He refused. Despite her half-conscious condition, she’s almost certain he told her he couldn’t take her to a hospital because he didn’t want to get caught.
The gunman peeled off through the night, Margette bleeding beside him. He finally pulled over, beat her senseless with his gun, opened her door and pushed her onto the darkened street.
But police say the Grim Sleeper had never met a victim quite like Enietra Margette. She picked herself up, and, in what is assumed to have been a state of shock, walked the many blocks to her best friend’s house, leaving a bloody meandering trail along the street and smeared on parked cars.
April 11th, 2009 at: 6:04 pm
#41 & 42 - Wasn’t Steele killed before the 911 call was made? I thought the call related to the next victim, Barbara Ware.
I did think that Steele was a pimp and one of his “girls” was Henrietta Wright - he saw her with him the night of her death etc, but then found out he was visiting his sister. So he was on holiday at the time of his death, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that he didn’t know the neighbourhood or even the people. He could have grown up in this area, moved away and then came back to visit. Do we know where Steele grew up? Shame that more information can’t be accessed. Am sure that police know the answers to most of these questions and are way ahead of us all but its fascinating to read all the different theories and appreciate the work that they have cut out for themselves - as they say, the smallest details should never be dismissed.
July 14th, 2009 at: 5:02 am
If more details about Thomas Steele’s lifestyle and the information his sister gave to the LAPD were known then this information may just hold the key to The Grim Sleeper’s identity. What sets this murder apart from those of the other (female) victims is that no attempt was made to hide it–instead of dumping the body in an alley it was left at an intersection. The fact that Steele was shot in the back may (or may not) be an important clue but it’s clear this murder was committed rather hastily or sloppily. The fact that The Grim Sleeper’s only known male victim was from out-of-town only adds more mystery and intrigue to this already horrifying and fascinating case.
January 3rd, 2010 at: 9:35 pm
I think Tray is on the right track in the location those men were he had to know the killer to be that close to him. I personally think the man grew up there and had family remaining there, but joined the military and lived a few hours away, San diego perhaps. Military moves every 3 years approximately. Also, I think the Montreal information is key, and background of the male who was killed. Montreal is about a three hour drive to a military base, as for L.A. He isn’t stupid people he is going to go far enough away where he wouldn’t be on a daily basis. I think he gets a four day vacation or break, or maybe just a weekend and goes on hiatus. I profile him as very clean cut(military in my opinion),hates women who similar profile to his mother( abuse and neglect),went right wing extreme, has double life, this community does know him, he has killed everywhere he has moved (in a few hour vacinity, he was the caller or the guy he killed was the caller?, Speculation: the note with AIDS I think he views the women as an epidemic that need to be killed off like a discease, the name out of his pocket could have been the name of an author for a book he was wanting to check out or movie( homework or leisure, I also thinks he is the type of guy that he reads these articles and comments, he is prideful and wants to be known for succeeding in everything he does, has developed sexual fetishes in which the policef4 will find evidence ( i believe), he appears to be a success story to this area and a straight arrow type guy( no one thinks would think he could have done it(someone close suspects something though), he will be caught eventually if they reopen this case completely ( with the help of all of you! May God Bless you and your families that have lost anyone to such a violent crime.
July 8th, 2010 at: 3:29 am
The Grim Sleeper was an evangelical vigilante cleaning up the slums around his creepy church. Now that he has been caught, all will be revealed, hopefully. Mr. Steele was left in the street as a message to the public.h
July 8th, 2010 at: 8:58 pm
I was in shock to see that Thomas was one of the,”Grim Sleepers” victims. he must have really been slipping to let that man hit like that,cause Thomas was always on his toes. We used to call him Cadillac. For years we wondered who would kill him and why. he was my baby sister’s boyfriend and i will never forget the day she told me they found him dead in the streets. she cried forever. finally Cadillac and all the other victims will get the justice they deserve My prayers go out to all the familys of the victims of this monster. GOD BLESS YOU ALL. AMEN
July 13th, 2010 at: 2:18 am
Found this pic of Mr.Thomas Steele: LAPD took this pic April 22, 1986 and he was found dead on August 14, 1986. Less then 4 months later. Could he have been a friend of GS? Was he not down with the first murder GS did, was going to tell and may have been killed for it?
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k197/Bigmike21306/2493242_41.jpg
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