In August of 1974, a 19-year-old female grocery store employee of South Asian descent, Sandra Jane Ramsamooj, was shot and killed while at her job in Salem, Oregon. Her life was cut short in a violent act that would later be linked to a man with a chilling history of violence that spanned multiple states.
Authorities believe that Thomas Eugene Creech was responsible for Sandra's death. Creech, a known serial killer, had a history of violent crimes throughout the early 1970s. Prior to the incident in Salem, he had been committed to the Oregon State Hospital, only to be released after a few months. Following his release, he found work and a place to live at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Portland, where he was hired for a maintenance position.
It was during his time in Portland that investigators believe he committed another murder, taking the life of 22-year-old William Joseph Dean, whose body was discovered in Creech's living quarters at the church. It is alleged that he then traveled to Salem and killed Sandra. Creech's violent spree did not end there. In November 1974, he was arrested in Idaho for the murders of two house painters, Thomas Arnold and John Bradford, who had given him and his girlfriend a ride while they were hitchhiking.
While in custody, Creech confessed to a multitude of killings. Law enforcement was able to substantiate some of these confessions with the discovery of the bodies of other victims in Nevada and Wyoming. Although he was initially sentenced to death for the murders of Arnold and Bradford, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1976. However, his violent tendencies continued even behind bars. In 1981, he murdered a fellow inmate, David Dale Jensen, which resulted in the reinstatement of his death penalty. Thomas Eugene Creech has been convicted of five murders across three states and remains a suspect in several others.
