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Man Strangles Girlfriend After Released From Psych Ward, Prosecutors Say

By Erica Demarest | July 2, 2015 5:00pm | Updated on July 2, 2015 7:29pm
 Police found Vanessa Taylor, 49, dead in her West Garfield Park home.
Vanessa Taylor
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COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A West Side man accused of killing his girlfriend had been making Molotov cocktails and pacing his apartment with a samurai sword days before the murder, prosecutors said Thursday.

James Earl Thomas, 49, was taken into police custody Sunday after he cut his apartment's gas line, barricaded himself inside the unit and waved a Samurai sword and butcher knife at police, and told officers they'd have to "burn him out," police and prosecutors said.

Thomas was taken to Stroger Hospital, 1969 W. Ogden Ave., for a psychological evaluation, and released Monday, prosecutors said.

About 2 a.m. Tuesday, police found his girlfriend's dead body in the couple's West Garfield Park apartment. Vanessa Taylor, 49, had been strangled with a computer cord, court documents show.

Taylor's son posted a photo and tribute to his mother on Facebook Tuesday.

 

Me and my family has lost one of the caring loving and giving person in this world. my mother words can't describe the...

Posted by Walton Lawrence on Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Thomas, who had lived with Taylor in the 4300 block of West Flournoy Street for the past three years, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated battery to a peace officer. He admitted to a doctor that he killed Taylor, prosecutors said.

"Sir, you have no control over yourself and you pose a danger to everyone," Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. told Thomas during a bond hearing Thursday. "No bail."

The chain of events preceding Taylor's slaying started Sunday when Taylor and her 28-year-old son noticed Thomas burning grease in the kitchen, Assistant State's Attorney Akash Vyas said during a bond hearing Thursday.

Taylor and her son called police, who found Thomas barricaded inside the apartment, prosecutors said. He wouldn't let police enter, according to an arrest report, and told officers they'd have to "burn him out." Police saw Thomas pouring grease into empty bottles, then stuffing the bottles with cloth to make Molotov cocktails, the report said. Vyas noted in court that the officers also saw Thomas pacing with a samurai sword and butcher knife.

Police eventually were able to subdue Thomas and bring him to Stroger Hospital, authorities said. According to police, the apartment was evacuated because Thomas cut the gas line.

Thomas was released from Stroger Hospital on Monday.

Officers were once again called to Thomas' West Garfield Park home on Tuesday when Taylor's 28-year-old son requested a well-being check, prosecutors said. He and his older brother noticed odd Facebook posts on their mother's account, Vyas said, adding that Taylor didn't answer multiple phone calls.

One of the posts said, "My girlfriend was part of the mob. She came to kill me so I killed her," according to Vyas.

When police arrived at Thomas and Taylor's home about 2 a.m. Tuesday, they spotted Thomas leaning out of a third-floor window, an arrest report said. Thomas allegedly told authorities Taylor wasn't home. He went on to say that he [Thomas] was dead already, police should just kill him and that he had taken poison three times that day, Vyas said.

When officers entered through the rear of the apartment, they found Thomas with a knife in his hand, Vyas said. Police were able to subdue Thomas, and found Taylor laying unresponsive on the floor with an electrical cord around her neck, Vyas added.

Taylor's death was ruled a homicide. According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, she died of asphyxiation and ligature strangulation.

Police took Thomas to Loretto Hospital, where he confessed to a doctor that he had killed Taylor, according to prosecutors. A possible motive is not clear.

On Thursday, Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. ordered Thomas held without bail.

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