'The Jane Doe Murders': Was Kathy Thomas's killer identified? Investigators suspect it was someone close to her
Oxygen's latest true-crime special, 'The Jane Doe Murders' focuses on the investigation of the identity of the remains of a person found in Polk County, Oregon in 1996 and the subsequent homicide investigation. Leading the special is the forensic specialist and television personality, Yolanda McClary, who is best known for inspiring the character, Catherine Willows in 'CSI' played by Marg Helgenberger. McClary works with Polk County investigators who have worked on the case of the remains for more than 20 years.
The remains of a woman were found in Polk County in 1996 and through her hip bones, they were determined to be that of one who would have given birth at least once. The analysis also revealed that she would have had a cranial surgery and was in her early forties. However, because just the bones were discovered, the investigators were not able to figure out the cause of death or any other details.
Who is Jane Doe?
Through genealogy testing and meticulous tracking, McClary and the investigators identified the victim as Kathy Thomas, who was born in Oklahoma in the 1950s. Kathy Thomas had two older sisters, Sandra and Linda, and was separated from them when their parents divorced. However, all three sisters ended up being adopted -- Kathy in Oregon to where she had relocated with her father, Leo Thomas and Sandra and Linda in Oklahoma after their parents abandoned them.
From there, McClary traces Kathy's life and is able to determine that Kathy was adopted by a family with the last name, Buxton. In Oregon, the investigators find Kathy's adopted brother, Richard Buxton who informs them that Leo abandoned Kathy and then signed adoption papers to Aileen Buxton after she sent him money. While Aileen acted as a positive influence in her life, Aileen's cancer diagnosis when Kathy was 16 left the latter vulnerable. She met and married 18-year-old Carl Tracy after becoming pregnant.
Within a year, Kathy's first daughter, Tina, was born, she and Carl divorce and her mother died. A few months later, she entered her second marriage with James "Jug" Gardner, with whom she had two more children, James Jr and Candice -- all before she turned 24. She soon divorced Gardner and moved to Oklahoma, where she took the kids. However, her children were taken away from her when she kept leaving them unattended, repeating history. Tina was adopted separately, and though her fate is uncertain at first, McClary tracks her down and identifies her as Tina Lynn Grubb. McClary also meets Candice -- now Candice Thomas -- and connects the two sisters with their aunt, Linda Amsler.
After her kids were taken away from her, Kathy moved to Portland, where she met Brian Clifton in 1984.
Did Brian Clifton kill Kathy Thomas?
Kathy married Clifton in 1984, however, McClary is not able to determine whether the pair got a divorce as the investigators cannot find divorce filings -- unlike in the case of Kathy's first two marriages, for which investigators were able to find the records easily. They find this strange, including the fact that Clifton had not reported Kathy missing and Kathy had never been reported as deceased.
On further investigation of Clifton, the investigators learn that he was arrested in 1973 and sentenced in 1974 to life in prison for the murder of a female motel employee, allegedly over the latter stealing $65 from him. Clifton had strangulated her with the electrical cord of a vacuum cleaner. However, he was paroled in 1981, and he returned to Portland, where he met Kathy.
The investigators then try tracking as to where Clifton might be today. They learn that he purchased a house in Portland in 2003, with the deed listing another woman, Tina (not Kathy's daughter), as his wife. Following this, Clifton moved to Oklahoma at some point where he was arrested in 2016 for a traffic violation. The investigators also obtained an address, but before approaching him, they wanted to be certain that he had something to do with the murder.
Near Kathy's remains in Polk County, investigators had also found a tarp, ropes, and a bag containing clothes and underwear. Clifton's physical features matched those that were determined based on the clothes -- his height and weight at the time and the shirt found on the scene also matched one he was wearing in an old photo.
The investigators had DNA from the clothes, so they approached Clifton's sister, Brenda, who called Clifton the "scum of the earth" and stated that she would not be surprised if Kathy was killed by him and he illegally married another woman. Her DNA sample was tested and the results showed that it was a 99 percent sibling match to the DNA found on the clothes from the crime scene.
Was Brian Clifton arrested for killing Kathy Thomas?
As of the time of the release of the Oxygen special, Clifton was not interrogated or arrested by Polk County officials. McClary believes that Clifton strangulated Kathy with the ropes found at the scene of the crime. Oregon law does not impose time limits for the prosecution of murder or manslaughter charges, so it remains to be seen whether investigators will continue to pursue the case against Clifton and close the mystery of Kathy Thomas's murder.
'The Jane Doe Murders' premieres on Oxygen, on Sunday, January 3, 2021, at 7/6c.