The Life and Crimes of Thomas Francis Edwards: The Bethesda Butcher

Early Life and Troubled Youth

In 1944, Thomas Francis Edwards was born in Bethesda, Maryland, into an affluent family who adopted him as a young child. Growing up alongside his brother, Terry, Edwards was influenced by the shadow of his father, a government official based in Washington, D.C. However, life took a turn when his father passed away in the late 1950s. His mother, left widowed, moved the family to 5126 Manning Drive.

Edwards' adolescence was marked by violent tendencies. At only 14, he terrorized local children, wielding a black bullwhip, and later upgrading to a shotgun and bow. His actions went largely unchecked until a chilling incident in 1962. During a Girl Scout camp-out in the backyard of the Boesch family, Edwards attacked a teenage girl, Barbara Smeak. Seizing her from behind, he cut off her ponytail and slashed the tent before fleeing. Identified by one of the girls, Edwards faced arrest. Although he was deemed fit to stand trial after a psychiatric evaluation at Springfield State Hospital, the charges were mysteriously dropped.

Criminal Escalations and First Internment

On January 22, 1963, Edwards and two accomplices attacked Richard W. Robins, a bowling manager. Their attempt to rob him resulted in a scuffle, leaving Robins injured but only with a pair of stolen bowling shoes. This crime remained a mystery until September, when one accomplice, caught for an unrelated offense, implicated Edwards and the other youth. Sent to a reformatory in Hagerstown, Edwards became a victim of bullying despite his size.

Transferred to the Patuxent Institution for psychotherapeutic treatment, Edwards' time there remains shrouded in confidentiality. His release in 1968 to a Baltimore halfway house saw him befriending Martin Salisbury. Edwards, now nicknamed "Teddy Bear," was described as affable yet plagued by intense sexual rage directed at women.

The Bethesda Butcher Murders

January 16, 1970, marked the beginning of a series of brutal murders. Sherry Bristol Kennedy, a 14-year-old from Potomac, had an argument with a friend and left to walk home. Along the Cabin John Creek Regional Park, she encountered Edwards. He abducted her, stabbing her seven times with an ice pick, slashing her throat, and shooting her with a .22 caliber Ruger pistol. Her body was discovered by a motorist, the ice pick still lodged in her skull. Despite the ferocity of the attack, coroner John G. Ball found no evidence of sexual assault. Local authorities, desperate for leads, dressed a mannequin in Kennedy's clothes, displaying it on television.

Merely twelve days later, 33-year-old Catherine O'Brien Kalberer was found murdered in Bethesda. Her body, bearing 124 wounds, was discovered in her neighbor's car. The crime scene was drenched in blood, a testament to the savagery she endured. The pattern of violence continued on February 2, 1970, when 18-year-old FBI clerk Donna Sue Oglesby was found dead in Alexandria, Virginia. Her nude, stabbed body was found with sewing scissors impaled in one of her wounds. Authorities were hesitant to link her death to the Maryland cases, but public speculation suggested otherwise.

Second Internment and Move to California

In November of that year, Edwards was secretly held as a suspect in the murders of Kennedy and Kalberer. His home search yielded knives and guns, violating his parole. Edwards was re-interned at Patuxent, yet with insufficient evidence, he wasn't charged. The state law change in 1977 resulted in his release, despite concerns about his violent alter ego, "The Beast."

Edwards married Lisa, moved to Huntington Beach, California, but struggled with employment due to paranoid delusions. Injured at work, he became increasingly erratic, eventually living out of his camper van. His odd behaviors, including spying on young girls, went unpunished.

The Murder of Vanessa Iberri

On September 19, 1981, in the Cleveland National Forest, Edwards spotted 12-year-olds Vanessa Iberri and Kelly Cartier. Luring them closer under false pretenses, he shot both in the head and fled. A witness memorized his license plate, leading to a manhunt. Iberri died from her injuries; Cartier survived after surgery. Their classmates rallied, raising a $300 reward for Edwards' capture.

Capture and Legal Proceedings

Edwards fled to Maryland, checking into a Days Inn. Aided by friends, he was surrounded by police, eventually surrendering. Edwards feigned ignorance during questioning, citing blackouts, but this was deemed a ploy for insanity defense. Despite his attorney's efforts, Edwards was extradited to California, where he faced trial.

Convicted of murder and attempted murder, Edwards initially avoided a death sentence due to jury indecision. A second trial led to a death sentence, which he contested, resulting in a third trial. Prosecutors revealed disturbing details, including violent fantasies enacted with his wife. Edwards was sentenced to death again. Joseph Iberri, Vanessa's father, expressed relief at the verdict, frustrated only by the delayed justice.

Death and Posthumous Revelations

Edwards spent his remaining years on death row at San Quentin State Prison, appealing his sentence. He succumbed to lung cancer on February 14, 2009, at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. Joseph Iberri, relieved yet angered, lamented the lack of execution.

In 1985, Montgomery County detectives revisited the Kennedy and Kalberer cases, focusing on a bloodstain found in 1970. Advances in DNA technology linked the stain to Kennedy, closing the cases in January 2012, naming Edwards as the killer.

Sources

For further details, visit the original Wikipedia article: Thomas Francis Edwards.