Thomas Eugene Braun

Case details

Thomas Eugene Braun was sentenced to death in California.

People

• Thomas Eugene Braun — offender.
• Leonard Maine — Braun’s best friend and co-offender; sentenced to life imprisonment.
• Deanna Buse — victim abducted at gunpoint; forced to strip; shot five times; her car was torched after her killing.
• Samuel Ledgerwood — victim who saw Braun and Leonard Maine changing a flat tire; was shot twice in the head; his corpse was left where it lay; his vehicle was used as the killers’ vehicle.
• Timothy Luce — victim; was picked up as a hitchhiker and shot, leaving for dead.
• Susan Bartolomei — victim; was raped several times; was shot and left for dead; survived to describe her attackers.
• “Mike and John Ford” — suspects’ name used in motel room registrations (rooms 19 and 26).

Background

Thomas Braun was born in 1949 in rural Washington state. He lost his mother in early childhood as the result of a clumsy, illegal abortion. Braun was left in the care of his alcoholic father. Braun and his younger sister were frequently locked in a truck for safekeeping while their father made his rounds of local taverns. Both children were beaten on occasion. When Braun’s dog was accused of stealing chickens, Braun was forced by his father to shoot the animal.

The offence

Braun left his job as a gas station attendant in Ritzville, Washington on August 17, 1967 and picked up his best friend, Leonard Maine, on his way out of town. The two 18-year-olds had two pistols and a car, and had no clear destination in mind.

In Seattle on August 18, the pair stopped at a rooming house, asked about lodgings, and then pulled their guns on the landlady. They fled in panic when the landlady began to scream.

The next afternoon, outside Redmond, they pulled over 22-year-old Deanna Buse, pretending that something was wrong with a tire on her car. Forcing Buse into his vehicle at gunpoint, Braun drove on to Echo Lake, with Maine bringing up the rear in Buse’s sedan.

At their destination, Braun marched Buse into the woods, forced her to strip, and then shot her five times without taking time to molest her. They dumped their old car in Seattle and kept the new one. They then pushed south into Oregon.

On August 21, Samuel Ledgerwood saw them changing a flat tire and stopped to offer help. Ledgerwood earned two shots in the head for his trouble. The killers left Ledgerwood’s corpse where it lay. They torched Buse’s car and drove off in Ledgerwood’s vehicle, bound for California.

On August 23, they picked up hitchhikers Timothy Luce and Susan Bartolomei. Braun raped Bartolomei several times before shooting both Luce and Bartolomei and leaving them for dead on the side of the road. Though crippled for life, Bartolomei survived to describe her attackers. Police launched a massive search for the gunmen.

Investigation

Police launched a massive search for the gunmen after Bartolomei survived and described her attackers.

Four days later, in Jamestown, California, Ledgerwood’s car was spotted outside a motel where suspects registered under the names “Mike and John Ford” were listed in rooms 19 and 26.

Arrest

Braun surrendered without resistance. The killers were packed off to Washington for trial.

Trial

After conviction, Braun was sentenced to death in California. Leonard Maine escaped with a term of life imprisonment.

Timeline

• 1949 — Thomas Eugene Braun was born in rural Washington state.
• Early childhood — Braun lost his mother as the result of a clumsy, illegal abortion.
• Before August 17, 1967 — Braun was left in the care of his alcoholic father, frequently locked in a truck with his younger sister, and the dog incident led to Braun being forced to shoot the animal.
• August 17, 1967 — Braun left his job as a gas station attendant in Ritzville, Washington, and picked up Leonard Maine.
• August 18, 1967 — In Seattle, Braun and Maine pulled their guns on a landlady at a rooming house and fled when she began to scream.
• August 19, 1967 — Outside Redmond, Braun and Maine pulled over 22-year-old Deanna Buse, forced her into a vehicle at gunpoint, and drove to Echo Lake.
• August 21, 1967 — Samuel Ledgerwood stopped to offer help after seeing the pair changing a flat tire; Ledgerwood was shot twice in the head; Buse’s car was torched; Ledgerwood’s vehicle was used to drive toward California.
• August 23, 1967 — Braun and Maine picked up hitchhikers Timothy Luce and Susan Bartolomei; Bartolomei was raped several times; both Luce and Bartolomei were shot and left for dead.
• Four days later (after August 23, 1967) — In Jamestown, California, Ledgerwood’s car was spotted outside a motel; suspects registered as “Mike and John Ford” were found in rooms 19 and 26.

Outcome

Braun was sentenced to death in California. Leonard Maine was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Other details

The landlady in Seattle began to scream, prompting the pair to flee in panic. After the killings of Buse and others, the killers pushed south into Oregon and then toward California.