On the evening of March 12, 2015, in Alamogordo, New Mexico, the life of 30-year-old Hispanic female Jessica Thompkins was tragically cut short in an act of violence. At approximately 10 p.m., gunshots shattered the peace at her residence on North Florida Avenue, where she was with her four children and her boyfriend, 33-year-old Phillip "PJ" Banka.
The perpetrator was identified as Jessica's ex-husband, 33-year-old Terrick L. Thompkins.
Dressed in full tactical military gear and heavily armed with an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun, he launched a violent assault on the home. Thompkins fired multiple rounds into the front door to gain entry. Once inside, he fatally shot Jessica in front of two of her children. Phillip Banka was also shot and killed as he heroically attempted to barricade a door to protect the children, an act that allowed one child to escape through a bedroom window. In the midst of the chaos, a 13-year-old boy, one of Jessica's children, was struck by a bullet fragment but survived his injuries. The other three children present in the home were physically unharmed.
The motive for this horrific attack was a bitter custody dispute. Two of the children Jessica shared with Terrick had been removed from his care following allegations of child abuse, a loss of custody that reportedly triggered his deadly rampage. Investigators found a total of 34 bullet and shell casings throughout the property, a testament to the intensity of the violence.
Terrick Thompkins was apprehended shortly after the murders. He was subsequently charged with two counts of first-degree murder, four counts of child abuse shooting at an occupied dwelling, and aggravated burglary. In May 2018, a jury found him guilty on all counts. He was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences plus an additional 45 years in prison. His conviction and sentence were later upheld by the New Mexico Supreme Court in April 2020. During the trial, his defense attorney argued that Thompkins, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
