Thomas Eugene Creech

Serial Killer

Thomas Eugene Creech: Convicted Serial Killer and Longtime Idaho Death Row Inmate

Overview

Thomas Eugene Creech, born September 9, 1950, in Hamilton, Ohio, is an American serial killer whose criminal history spans several states and more than a decade. He has been convicted of five murders committed in Idaho, Oregon, and California, while investigators have connected him to several additional killings. Creech became particularly notorious because of the extraordinary number of murders he claimed to have committed. At various times he asserted responsibility for dozens of deaths, including claims of as many as 42 killings. Investigators concluded that many of those statements could not be substantiated, and some were regarded as fabricated or greatly exaggerated. Nevertheless, several murders outside his five convictions were supported by evidence, confessions, or information Creech supplied that helped authorities locate victims. Creech's confirmed criminal history is unusual even among serial murder cases because it continued after he had already been convicted and imprisoned for murder. After receiving life sentences for two Idaho killings and additional murder convictions in Oregon and California, Creech killed fellow prisoner David Dale Jensen inside an Idaho correctional institution in 1981. That killing ultimately placed Creech back under a death sentence and made him one of the longest-serving death-row prisoners in the United States.

The 1973 Tucson Murder Case

One of the earliest homicide investigations associated with Creech involved 70-year-old Paul Schrader in Tucson, Arizona. Schrader was killed at the Downtown Motor Hotel in October 1973. Creech and his wife had been staying at the motel, and investigators alleged that Creech left with property belonging to Schrader, including his vehicle and financial items. Creech was arrested in Utah and returned to Arizona to face a murder charge. Creech went to trial in 1974 but was acquitted. Because a jury found him not guilty, Schrader's death is not one of Creech's murder convictions and should not be described as a legally established Creech murder. Authorities nevertheless continued to regard the case as part of the broader history surrounding him. ...

Confirmed Victims: (5)

Edward Thomas Arnold Age: (34), Date of Death: 1974-11-04

Suspected Victims:

Daniel Ashton Walker Age: (21), Date of Death: 1974-10-01

Gordon Stanton Age: (44), Date of Death: 1974

Charles Miller , Date of Death: 1974

Sandra Ramsamoog Age: (19), Date of Death: 1974-08-17

Rick Stewart McKenzie Age: (22), Date of Death: 1974

Paul Schrader Age: (70), Date of Death: 1973-10-22

Survivors:

William O. Fischer , Date of Attack: June 16, 1975

David Dale Jensen Age: (23)

Thomas Eugene Creech - Wikipedia