Twenty year old Maron Thomas was arrested at 3 AM early Sunday morning (Jan 17) in Bellville when a neighbor held him at gunpoint. Maron was allegedly naked and was trying to break into a car. Apparently, he had already broken into a house. The bodies of five family members to Maron were not discovered until 2 PM, later that afternoon.
Maron is the son of one of the victims, Debra Washington, 54. Maron also lived in this single-story brick home that is isolated and has lots of pastureland around it. Capital murder charges will likely be brought against Maron Thomas for this quintuple slaying.
I assume that authorities have the weapon and are performing ballistic tests on it. I have heard the weapon is a shotgun. The sheriff’s department for Austin County have not made public how they can tie the suspect to the killings. They are also trying to determine how many times each of the victims were shot.
The motive of the shootings is still a mystery as well. It is very strange indeed that the suspect was naked when he was apprehended. Speculation on Jane Velez-Mitchell’s Issues Monday night was that the suspect may have needed to get rid of his clothes
The clothes may have had blood and powder burns on them that would be incriminating. But if he was at home after shooting the five family members why not put on some fresh clothes? And why wasn’t he trying to dispose of the weapon? Why not flee the crime scene? Why commit a botched burglary? Lots of loose ends.
Other fragments have come to me from the internet and TV news. A neighbor heard a gunshot at around 11 PM on Saturday night. This is the landlord of the Washington home, Archie Seals, who heard the blast. This would need to be the outside shooting in the woods. The body of Cedric Thomas, 19 was found in a thick wood behind the house.
The landlord, Archie Seals has a high opinion of the Washingtons’. “There were well-respected,” said Seals, who recalls that the retired husband was friendly and would wave while doing his yard work. “He had a smile on his face all the time. He and his wife were real nice.” (The Herald-Man questioned after 5 found dead in Texas home by Juan A. Lozano-AP writer)
Again, the motive is not known, but why was there such an outburst of violence in this small Texas town, and with a seemingly happy family? We may know soon. Senseless homicide? Perhaps. Usually, Bellville, a town of 4,000, is tranquil. Yet just last September a prominent physician was shot on his ranch. The peacefulness of Bellville may be a thing of the past.
Archie Seals has lived there for 35 years but he still thinks Bellville is safe. “In the big cities, things happen, but even in small cities, things happen, but I most definitely feel safe here. I’m not going anywhere.” So maybe two outbursts of violence in just four months is a coincidence? Or is something more ominous going on here?
A final tidbit was picked up last night on CNN Headline with Mike Galanos. I don’t have the exact transcription, so it’s from memory only. Mike interviewed Courtney Zubowski, a reporter CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston. Courtney has the best scoop on the suspect. One thing that she said is that Maron had to be restrained when the police were taking blood samples. He really tore up the lab, I’ve heard.
The other thing is that Maron was acting strangely in the days leading up to the shootings. He was ranting and raving about white people and black people and talking about voodoo too. Exactly what he was saying and who heard him say it, is yet to be determined. Even more puzzling is the fact that Maron Thomas has neither a criminal history nor a mental illness record.
Maybe it was an out-of-body experience or some type of demonic possession, I don’t know? Suddenly, the Amityville slaying comes to mind. He would have to be crazy to be naked and breaking into a car, wouldn’t he? Was the devil involved, or was it just drugs? Bizarrest thing that’s happened around these parts in a while.
Five people shot to death in a small Texas town
