T. Eugene Thompson’s Crime was Eclipsed by the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

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T. Eugene Thompson’s Crime was Eclipsed by the Assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Frank in Galveston, Texas I have recently received a number of positive responses from Dehler descendents on the Richard Dehler homicides article I blogged on in September of 2017. The general consensus is that after years of rumors, it was nice having some information about what exactly took place. I personally feel it’s easier to bring resolution to a frustrating situation once you have the facts. Today’s blog is about the attorney who defended Richard Dehler, named T. Eugene Thompson, who later went to prison himself for murder. T. Eugene “Cotton” Thompson was a high stakes attorney, candidate for governor, and criminal. He was referred to as “Cotton” because of his white-blonde hair. The murder of his wife, Carol, was one of the most bizarre murders ever. The only reason it didn’t get large-scale national attention was because John Kennedy’s assassination occurred during the middle of Thompson’s trial. Carol’s murder occurred at the family’s home at 1720 Hillcrest Avenue in an area of St. Paul know as Highland Park. It was brutal and bloody.

Carol Swoboda Thompson, 34, was a housewife and the mother of four young children, ages 6 to 13, when she was slain on the morning of March 6, 1963. Carol was, in many ways, the prototypical early 1960s wife and mother. She was active in her church (Edgecumbe Presbyterian), active in the Scouts, and did all the things that stay-at-home mothers did in those days. She had a million friends with whom she played bridge and got together for coffee parties.

T. Eugene Thompson had an affair with his secretary, Jacqueline Oleson, whom he brought on trips when he went to the resorts around the Brainerd Lakes Area. As a matter of fact, a number of people who knew him in the Brainerd area at the time thought Jacqueline was his wife.

T. Eugene Thompson set up a "Dial M for Murder" scenario, straight from Hitchcock’s famous movie. Thompson had gone through hitman and former prizefighter Norman Mastrian, who hired the killer, Dick Anderson, to do the job. Anderson was to hide in the basement after the kids left for school, when Thompson would call his wife on the phone, as the phone was on the wall close to the basement steps. When Thompson called, the killer was supposed to approach her from behind and strike her. But the steps creaked as Anderson stepped up, so he waited until she went upstairs. Anderson entered the bedroom and told her to lay on the bed while he robbed the place. Dick Anderson hit her in the back of the head, to knock her out. He then stripped her and brought her to the bathroom to drown her. T. Eugene Thompson had left the bathtub full of water. Thompson also told his son to chain lock the living room door before he left for school.

Carol Swoboda Thompson fought a tough battle. Carol reawakened in the tub, as Anderson was attempting to drown her. Carol wrestled free from the bath tub, but unfortunately, first ran to her bedroom to grab a robe instead of escaping outside naked. Anderson caught her at the door, while Carol was trying to undue the chain.

Anderson tried to shoot her, but the gun misfired, so he beat in her face with the butt of a Luger pistol. The gun broke apart during the beating. Anderson then ran to the kitchen and found a knife and stabbed her more than 50 times. The blade finally broke off in her neck. Finally believing he had accomplished the hired hit, Anderson went to the bathroom to wash the blood off his body. When he returned to where he stabbed her, Carol was gone.

Carol Thompson was able to stagger to where a neighbor was home, three houses down, for help. When the neighbor answered the door, she found a woman standing barefoot, blood streaming from her head and face. It was said, “She was so bloody, we didn’t even know who she was.” She gasped, “I’ve got a knife in my throat. A man did it… He came to the door. Won’t you please help me?” Carol Thompson was rushed to Ancker Hospital, where surgeons took a 3-inch knife blade from her throat, but she died three hours later.

Thompson took out 8 separate insurance policies on his wife in the previous year.

After Thompson’s release from prison, the family held their own hearing, allowing their father to bring anyone in to prove his innocence to them. All of the children left convinced their father had killed their mother.

The hitman was former professional boxer, Norman Mastrian. Norman Mastrian graduated from Thomas Edison High School in Minneapolis, where he earned the nickname “punchy,” for constantly provoking fights. Following high school, he joined the Navy and then attended St. Paul’s Macalester College on the GI bill. Attending at the same time were T. Eugene Thompson and Carol Sowobada (who later became Thompson’s wife). Mastrian was a tough bird. In his last professional fight he had been knocked down 11 times, but kept getting back up. He was married twice but was most known for his involvement with “the underworld.” In 1962, Mastrian was arrested as a suspect in the execution style murder of Twin Cities restaurant owner Eddie James, who was a witness for the police. Mastrian hired T. Eugene Thompson to defend him, and Thompson got Mastrian cleared of the charges. It’s hard to say Mastrian was innocent, when later Thompson would go to Mastrian to have his wife killed. Norman Mastrian was convicted of being the middle man in Carol Thompson’s murder, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mastrian was released in February of 1983, and arrested again in 1986 for possession of stolen fur coats that he intended to exchange for cocaine. After serving 6 years in prison, he returned to Northeast Minneapolis, where he died in 2007.

The power of family: T. Eugene’s son, Jeff Thomson, is a respected judge who invited his father to attend the celebration of his promotion, since his father was out of prison at the time. Jeff’s explanation was, “He is my father.” Jeff also stated that he felt the court made the proper decision in his father’s case. T. Eugene Thompson died in 2015. Jeff Thomson stated at his father’s funeral, "T. Eugene was a multi-faceted person. Oscar Wilde said, 'Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.' Amen."

T. Eugene Thompson

Carol Thompson

A young Norman Mastrian Quotes:

“When I was 10 there wasn’t Chuck E Cheese! My mom said 'You wanna see a mouse pull the refrigerator out!” George Lopez

And 5 George Carlin Quotes:Honesty may be the best policy, but it’s important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.If it’s true that our species is alone in the universe, then I’d have to say that the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little. I finally realized that the only purpose of buying cocaine was to run out of it.In the U.S. anyone can be president. That’s the problem!And my favorite-- 5. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

Thanks for listening,

Frank