Suspect Claims Additional Killings Pleads Innocent To Tacoma Murder; Boulder Police Interested

A man who incriminated himself in connection with a Tacoma woman’s slaying has begun confessing to killings in at least three other states.

Claims made by Kelly Ray Thompson, 30, prompted two Boulder, Colo., police detectives to come to Tacoma on Wednesday to interview him about an unsolved murder in their area.

“We’re being cautious about the information” from Thompson, said Tacoma police spokesman Jim Mattheis said. “We’re going to take a real serious look at his claims.”

Thompson pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of first-degree murder in the killing of Cathy Jean Jacks-Webb, 41. He was ordered held in lieu of $2 million bail.

At least one of Thompson’s claims was proved false. He told investigators he killed two people Tuesday at a Tacoma house, but police found only one, Jacks-Webb. Jacks-Webb’s boyfriend was alive, but slept through the killing.

“I couldn’t recollect if I’d killed him or not,” Thompson explained in a 25-minute interview in the Pierce County jail, where he is being held in a special crisis cell after expressing a desire to kill again.

Articulate and well-read, Thompson insists he’s sane. He said he completed the 11th grade and his favorite book is “Man and His Symbols” by Carl Jung. He said he’s been drifting for years after a childhood in California. He said he first killed while a teenager.

During the interview, Thompson confessed to killing Jacks-Webb and Susannah Chase, a student at the University of Colorado, who was beaten to death. He said there have been other victims, but he won’t say who else he killed, where or when.

Thompson said killing comes natural to him.

“Why do you wake up in the morning?” Thompson asked in a soft, even voice. “Why do you eat?”

Jacks-Webb was found dead in her South Grant Street home early Tuesday after a Lewis County sheriff’s deputy said Thompson confessed to the killing. The deputy had stopped Thompson for erratic driving and found him splattered with blood.

Thompson said he confessed because he wants to be executed, the sooner the better. While he said he feels no remorse, he is tired.

Pierce County deputy prosecutor Mike Johnson asked Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson for the high bail because of the number of aliases Thompson has used, the many birth dates he’s given and his statements about other homicides.

Police spokesman Mattheis said investigators were still trying to verify Thompson’s claims, but declined to disclose the number of killings Thompson has admitted.

In addition to a Colorado slaying, Thompson also reportedly has admitted to crimes in Texas and California.

At one point during Thompson’s arraignment, his lawyer said his client no longer wanted to talk with detectives. But when Tollefson asked Thompson whether he was exercising his right to remain silent, he replied: “No, I’m not.”

After speaking with Thompson, the Boulder detectives remained interested in his claims and will try to verify them, Mattheis said.

Chase, 23, was found unconscious in an alley on Dec. 21 with a bloody baseball bat nearby. She died the next day.