Oct. 11, 2001 Seattle Murder of Federal Prosecutor Thomas Wales On the evening of October 11, 2001, Wales was sitting at his computer in his home office in his basement. A gunman avoided the security lights in Wales' backyard and shot him in the neck, through a window, with a handgun. The killer left shell casings behind. Seattle Times: "If he was killed because of his work, he would be the first federal prosecutor in the nation’s history to be slain in the line of duty" Some objected to his off-duty activism as a leading gun-control advocate. As of 2011, this murder case remains unsolved and no evidence has been found to establish a motive. It was just one month after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks but the terrorist-style shooting has never been linked to terrorism.
*Wikipedia
Thomas C. Wales - Wikipedia Thomas Crane Wales (June 23, 1952 – October 11, 2001) Thomas Crane Wales (June 23, 1952 – October 11, 2001) was an American federal prosecutor and gun control advocate from Seattle, Washington, who was the victim of an unsolved murder.
Life and work[edit]
Wales was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Wales was a graduate of Milton Academy, where he roomed with Joseph Patrick Kennedy II, whose father Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated. Wales graduated from Harvard University. He attended Hofstra Law School, where he graduated with distinction in 1979 and served as the Editor-in-Chief of the school's Law Review.
In 1995, a student at the high school that Wales's son attended brought a gun to school and shot and injured two classmates. Soon after, Wales became involved in Washington CeaseFire, most visibly as a vocal supporter of an unsuccessful 1997 state referendum that would have required gun owners to use trigger locks. Wales later became president of CeaseFire. As a community volunteer, he was active in civic organizations and served as a trustee of the Federal Bar Association.
Wales worked as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle specializing in the investigation and prosecution of fraud in banking and business.[1]
Death[edit]
On the evening of October 11, 2001, Wales was sitting at his computer in his home office in his basement. A gunman avoided the security lights in Wales' backyard and shot him in the neck, through a window, with a handgun. The killer left shell casings behind. The shots were heard by a neighbor who called 9-1-1.[2]
Legacy[edit]
In his memory, the Thomas C. Wales Foundation was set up to support civic engagement.[citation needed]
Marlis DeJong organizes the annual Tom Wales Memorial 5K Run.[citation needed]
Thomas C. Wales Park is dedicated to his memory. It is located at 2401 6th Ave. N, Seattle, WA 98109 and is administered by the City of Seattle. https://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/thomas-c-wales-park
Murder investigation[edit]
As of 2011, this murder case remains unsolved and no evidence has been found to establish a motive.[3][4] An airplane pilot that Wales had prosecuted was investigated and his home searched, but he was not charged. The Bellevue airline pilot, once prosecuted by Wales, was also a firearms enthusiast. Agents believed he resented Wales' off-duty activism as a leading gun-control advocate.[5] The pilot later filed a malicious prosecution claim, but the suit was dismissed.[6]
It has been suggested by the media that U.S Attorney John McKay was dismissed in part due to his request that resource allocation for the Wales investigation remain high. In June 2007, the FBI cut the staff assigned to the case down to two. There is an open reward of one million U.S. dollars for information leading to the conclusion of the case.[7][8]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ An Unsolved Killing August 6, 2007, The New Yorker
- Jump up^ Federal Prosecutor and Advocate of Gun Control Is Shot to Death October 2001
- Jump up^ Unsolved murder: Investigation into the shooting of Tom Wales moves slowlyDecember 19, 2001
- Jump up^ Assassination on Queen Anne: A year later, there are few leads in the slaying of assistant U.S. attorney and gun-control advocate Tom Wales September 18, 2002
- Jump up^ http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/FBI-cuts-agents-looking-into-murder-of-Tom-Wales-1205270.php
- Jump up^ FBI scours 2 houses owned by pilot in Wales case September 20, 2006
- Jump up^ "Help Us Find a Killer". Federal Bureau of Investigation.
- Jump up^ FBI cuts agents looking into murder of Tom Wales: At least two will remain on case of federal prosecutor June 3, 2006
Categories:
- 1952 births
- 2001 deaths
- American murder victims
- American prosecutors
- Deaths by firearm in Washington (state)
- Dismissal of United States Attorneys controversy
- American gun control advocates
- Harvard University alumni
- Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni
- Milton Academy alumni
- Murdered lawyers
- Lawyers from Boston
- People murdered in Washington (state)
- Unsolved murders in the United States
*Sources
Feb 20, 2018 Hired gunman possibly killed U.S. attorney in Seattle in 2001, FBI official says The Seattle Times has learned that former federal prosecutor Thomas Wales may have been the target of a conspiracy when he was gunned down in the basement of his Queen Anne home. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/crime/seattle-federal-prosecutor-thomas-wales-was-possibly-killed-by-hired-gunman-fbi-official-says FBI has found evidence strongly suggesting that the fatal shooting of Seattle federal prosecutor Thomas Wales in 2001 involved a conspiracy and a hired gunman, according to an FBI official familiar with the investigation. Agents had pursued a single-shooter theory in the case and focused on a former Bellevue-area airline pilot who has long been a leading suspect in the shooting. was working as a white-collar criminal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle when he was shot several times while sitting at a computer in the basement of his Queen Anne home about 10:40 p.m. on Oct. 11, 2001.
.Oct 7, 2016 - Investigators are trying to identify who shot Thomas Wales in Seattle on Oct. 11, 2001. If he was killed because of his work, he would be the first Investigators are trying to identify who shot Thomas Wales in Seattle on Oct. 11, 2001. If he was killed because of his work, he would be the first federal prosecutor in the nation’s history to be slain in the line of duty..
Tracing gun barrel is next hurdle in probe of federal prosecutor ...
https://www.seattletimes.com/.../tracing-gun-barrel-next-hurdle-for-investigators-in-200...Oct 7, 2016 - The handgun used to kill federal prosecutor Tom Wales in 2001 was fitted with a replacement gun barrel that has been the focus of an ...
The Search for the Killer of Tom Wales Goes On - The Atlantic
https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/10/the...tom-wales.../381380/
Oct 11, 2014 - One is that Tom Wales is believed to be the only federal prosecutor ever killed in the line of duty—that is, murdered or assassinated because of ...
Daughter to Seattle fed prosecutor's killer: 'I'm not afraid of you ...
www.seattlepi.com/local/.../Daughter-to-Seattle-federal-prosecutor-s-killer-2193909.p...
Sep 28, 2011 - Amy Wales reads a letter to her late father Thomas Wales as her brother, .... Wales, afederal prosecutor of 18 years assigned to the white collar ...
An Unsolved Killing | The New Yorker
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/08/06/an-unsolved-killing
Aug 6, 2007 - Tom Wales, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Seattle who became a ... Wales was forty-nine years old and had been a federal prosecutor for ...
Justice halted: The murdered prosecutor - Dateline NBC - Crime ...
www.nbcnews.com/id/26757562/ns/dateline.../justice-halted-murdered-prosecutor/
Sep 18, 2008 - Tom Wales, a federal prosecutor for 18 years, was murdered one month after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks while in his home. The murder looked ...
Who killed Thomas Wales? 15 years later, federal prosecutor's murder ...
kuow.org/.../who-killed-thomas-wales-15-years-later-federal-prosecutors-murder-still-...
Oct 12, 2016 - Kim Malcolm talks with former U.S. Attorney John McKay about the unsolved murder offederal prosecutor Thomas Wales. On October 11, 2001, ...
WA WA - Thomas Wales, 49, Seattle, 11 Oct 2001 - Websleuths
www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?77719-WA-Thomas-Wales-49...11...
Oct 11, 2001 - 15 posts - 6 authors"The FBI today released this sketch of a man sought for questioning in the 2001 killing of Seattle federal prosecutor Thomas Wales. He was ...
New Push to Solve Prosecutor Wales's Killing in Seattle - The New ...
www.nytimes.com/.../new-push-to-solve-prosecutor-thomas-waless-murder-in-seattle....
Sep 28, 2011 - SEATTLE — Ten years after a federal prosecutor here was shot to death ... Theprosecutor, Thomas C. Wales, 49, was killed late on the night of ...
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