Death Foretold: All Jane wanted was a loving relationship. What she got instead was a liar, a cheat, an abusive thug. And those were his better qualities.
Raised by Killers: What would you do if you found out that the people who raised you, your beloved parents, were both wanted for murder?
In the Name of Lust: Carl had an eye on his cousin’s attractive girlfriend. The fact that she was heavily pregnant in no way deterred him from his evil plan.
Paranoid: He was a quiet man, a former Marine now employed as a janitor at Cal State. He was also deeply psychotic and close to a meltdown.
The Ultimate Sin: A bored housewife decides to go online looking for casual sex. Her infidelity will exact a heavy price… on an innocent victim.
The Scissor Sisters: A Kenyan immigrant gets involved with a divorced Irishwoman and starts physically abusing her. Her daughters take exception.
In the Blood: His uncle had been a notorious serial killer. Matthew was determined to follow in his footsteps.
The Killer in the Rain: The city of Fort Wayne is under siege. As soon as the rain starts falling, a killer stalks the streets.
Plus 10 more riveting true crime cases. Scroll up to get your copy now.
Click the "Read More" link below to read the first chapter of
Murder Most Vile Volume 30
Odd Man Out
Divorce is a traumatic event in anyone’s life. For Gailen
“Gene” Thurnau, it was doubly so. Gene had nursed his wife of 20 years through
a life-threatening illness, devoting himself to her care. Then, after she
recovered, she told him that she didn’t want to be with him anymore, that she
was taking up with an old flame. Devastated by this betrayal, the
forty-something Thurnau threw himself into his work. He was an air traffic
controller at Columbus Municipal Airport in Nebraska, where he was popular with
co-workers and good at his job.
Also working in the control tower at that time was a man
named Robert Dean Peterson. He was a year older than Gene, but the two of them
were polar opposites. Where Gene was trim and good-looking, Bob was pudgy and
bald; where Gene was loquacious and outgoing, Bob was quiet and reclusive. It
wasn’t that Bob was unpopular with his colleagues, just that he kept mostly to
himself and seldom engaged anyone in conversation that wasn’t work-related.
The sole exception was Gene, who occupied the cubicle next
to him. Bob was far more chatty with Gene. In fact, he appeared to be in awe of
him. When Gene bought a new truck, Bob went out and purchased one of the same
make and color; when Gene brought pictures of his pet Dachshunds to work, Bob
went out and got a dog of the same breed; and when Gene announced in 2002 that
he was transferring to Florida to be closer to his family, Bob appeared
devastated. Although he wished his colleague well in his new endeavor, he did
so with tears brimming in his eyes.
The move to Florida was a good one for Gene Thurnau. His
siblings and parents were already living there, and the support of family
helped to salve the wound of his failed marriage. He had also not given up on
romance and hoped that he might find love again someday. At St.
Petersburg/Clearwater Airport, his natural charm quickly won over his new
colleagues, especially a divorcee named Jaye-Jaye, who had her eye on him from
the start. Gene was attracted to her, too, but determined to take things
slowly. He’d been hurt before and did not want to go through that again.
And then, after three months in Florida, Gene caught sight
of a familiar figure entering the controllers’ office. It was Bob Peterson. As
before, he had emulated Gene and put in for a transfer to Florida. Now here he
was, in the flesh, beaming and holding out a hand to his “best buddy.”
Gene wasn’t quite sure what to make of Bob’s sudden
appearance in Florida. On the one hand, he found it creepy, almost as if the
man were stalking him. On the other, he felt a bit sorry for Bob who seemed
like he was all alone in the world. In any case, life soon settled down to a
familiar routine of shift work and leisure time. Jaye-Jaye continued to flirt
with Gene at work and he to return her interest with a dazzling smile. It was
she who eventually took the initiative and asked him out for coffee. After
that, the couple started dating, keeping their relationship a secret for two
years until Gene eventually plucked up the courage and asked Jaye-Jaye to be
his wife. She, of course, said yes. When they announced their engagement to
their colleagues at work, there was a spontaneous round of applause. Everyone
seemed delighted for them, even Bob, who heartily shook Gene’s hand. Gene could
have sworn, though, that he again saw tears welling up in Bob’s eyes.
Gene and Jaye-Jaye had decided even before their engagement
that they wanted to build their dream home together. And since there was no
time like the present, they put both of their existing properties on the market
and bought a spacious lot in an upscale gated community in Lutz, Florida, some
15 miles north of Tampa. There, work was started on the home they would share.
In the meantime, Gene had interest in his current property. Bob wanted to buy
it, although he had one rather odd request. He wanted Gene’s linen to be
included in the sale price. A sale was eventually negotiated, although Gene
held on to his sheets and pillow cases.
The work on the Lutz property was by now advancing at pace.
Before it was done, Gene walked Jaye-Jaye down the aisle in a small ceremony
that included only family and close friends. Bob seemed slightly aggrieved that
he wasn’t invited, but he nonetheless bought the couple a very expensive
Swarovski crystal vase as a wedding gift. If his intention was to make the couple
feel guilty for not including him, he succeeded admirably.
Months passed until finally their dream house was built and
Gene and Jaye-Jaye could move in. But they barely had their furniture through
the door when Bob was pestering them for a dinner invitation. He said that he
had a special house warming gift that he wanted to give them. Gene wondered why
he couldn’t just hand it over at work, but Bob was insistent that it had to be
at their house. He said that they would understand when they saw it.
And so, Gene and Jaye-Jaye eventually acceded and invited
Bob to dinner. In truth, they would have preferred to say no. Bob’s persistent
intrusion into their lives was beginning to wear on them. But they still felt
guilty about the expensive vase he’d bought them, and Gene still harbored some
compassion for his long-term work colleague who seemed so lonely. He didn’t
want to hurt Bob’s feelings. What was the worst that could happen? A boring
evening with weird Bob. After that, their guilt would be allayed and they could
get on with their lives.
Bob arrived early for dinner on the evening of Friday,
November 3, 2006. This was not necessarily a bad thing. Gene and Jaye-Jaye had
plans for later. An early start with Bob meant that they could get him out of the
door at a reasonable hour. But Bob didn’t appear to be in a rush to go
anywhere. After working his way through salad, entrée, main course and dessert,
he said that he was still hungry and had seconds of everything. Then he
anchored himself in a lounger and sat there, not saying much but showing no
intention of leaving either. Gene and Jaye-Jaye cast a furtive glance at each
other. When was this man going to leave? Not any time soon was the probable
answer.
Eventually, Jaye-Jaye could wait no longer. She was about to
tell Bob that they really had to leave when he suddenly blurted out, “I almost
forgot about the house-warming gift I have for you!” He then reached into the
bag that he’d kept between his feet throughout the evening and produced an
expensive, leather-bound photo album, embossed in gold with the name Thurnau.
This he proudly handed over to the couple who began paging through it. It was a
photographic record of the construction of their home with each page containing
a large glossy picture. Page one showed the empty lot; the final image was of
the completed residence with drapes on the windows and furniture in the den.
Bob was clearly a talented photographer and the pictures
looked professional. Still Jaye-Jaye could not help feeling violated. “You’ve
been coming to our house throughout its entire construction?” she asked
incredulously.
“Every couple of days,” Bob Peterson beamed, before adding,
“I’ve photographed everyone’s houses from work.” He seemed oblivious to how
creepy that sounded.
It was at this point of the evening that a minor twist
occurred, one that may have saved Jaye-Jaye’s life or alternately may have cost
Gene his, depending on how you look at it. Jaye-Jaye was just about to ask Bob
to leave when her daughter pulled into the drive. She wanted her mother to
accompany her on a few errands and Jaye-Jaye agreed to do so, with Gene staying
behind to entertain their guest. She hoped that Bob would be gone by the time
she returned.
Jaye-Jaye would be away from the house for approximately an
hour. When she returned, she was pleased to see that Bob’s truck was no longer
parked in the driveway. But her relief soon turned to annoyance when she saw
what looked like dark spots of paint spattered all over the front steps. Then
she entered the house and her irritation was supplanted by anxiety. Here there
were drag marks, and what she had thought was paint wasn’t paint at all. It was
blood. Thinking that Gene might have hurt himself, hoping that it was something
trivial, like a nosebleed, she called out his name. Only silence answered.
Frantic now, Jaye-Jaye entered the lounge, where she had
left Gene and Bob just an hour earlier. It was here that she spotted Gene’s
t-shirt, lying on the floor. Then she saw his jeans and underwear, thrown under
the Christmas tree they had erected just that afternoon. She then dialed Gene’s
number and heard his phone ring from under the tree. Bob’s cell returned only
voicemail. And then Jaye-Jaye saw something that had her immediately punching
911 into her phone. It was a spent cartridge, lying on the floor next to the
couch.
Units were soon racing towards the residential complex. But
before they arrived Jaye-Jaye would make one more discovery, perhaps the most
disquieting of all. It was a three-page letter, folded open and positioned on
the backrest of the couch. It was in Bob’s hand and addressed to Gene.
Jaye-Jaye started reading, her revulsion growing with every word.
“I have loved you for some time now,” Bob had written. “But
I’ve always chickened out when I tried to tell you.”
“I envy Jaye-Jaye,” he continued, “because she gets to touch
and see your naked body every day.” He concluded by saying, “I have had sex
with 25 men in my life, but I have never loved another man until I met you. I
want to have sex with you. I am not leaving until I taste your manhood in my
mouth.” By the time the first cruiser pulled up in front of her house,
Jaye-Jaye was in tears and seriously concerned about her husband’s safety.
And the police shared those concerns. Reconstructing the
scene, they believed that Bob had probably handed his “love letter” to Gene
soon after Jaye-Jaye left. Gene would have read it, been horrified by its
content, and most likely asked Bob to leave his house. That was when Bob would
have pulled the gun and pointed it at Gene. There were no signs of a struggle
suggesting that he’d fired without warning. He’d then dragged Gene’s body
(either dead or unconscious) to his truck, loaded it up and drove away with it.
If Gene was not yet dead, then every moment that it took to find him was
crucial.
Units were soon racing toward Bob’s residence in Ellenton.
The property, however, stood dark and empty. Wherever he’d taken Gene, it
wasn’t here. The police then carried out a search of the house hoping to find
some clue as to the fugitive’s whereabouts. It would be two days before they
located a rental agreement for a house in Safety Harbor, Florida. It appeared
that Bob had been planning this for some time. Officers were immediately
dispatched to the area. They walked in on a grisly scene.
Bob Peterson was on the bed in the master bedroom, wearing
only a t-shirt and underwear. He had shot himself in the face. On the floor
beside the bed lay Gene Thurnau, shot in the head with the same .22-caliber
handgun. And that wasn’t even the worst of it. Peterson had also mutilated the
body, using a straight-razor to hack off the genitals of the man he professed
to love.
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