EVANSVILLLE, Ind. (WEHT) — The Evansville Police Department has released new details in an ongoing murder investigation after a dead body was found wrapped in twine.
Michael L. Thomas, 33, was arrested Friday for murder. The victim in the case, Patrick White, had been missing since July. During an interrogation, Michael claims he wasn’t responsible for White’s death.
According to an EPD affidavit, Michael told police that his girlfriend murdered White. Police say he talked about a visit in which he was getting high while visiting his mother’s friend “Pat”. During the visit, Michael alleges that he came back from the bathroom and saw Pat trying to take advantage of his girlfriend.
Michael told police that he put Pat in a choke hold and they started fighting. The affidavit states that Michael said he heard a gunshot during the fight, and looked over and saw Pat with a gunshot wound to the head. EPD says that Michael told them that his girlfriend, Patience Thomas, had the gun.
His girlfriend, however, had a different story from Michael’s. Patience told police that she was over at Michael’s apartment and asked why it was so dirty and smelled so bad. According to affidavit, Michael allegedly told Patience that he had shot a guy and needed help moving the body. His girlfriend Patience says that she thought he was joking at first. The affidavit claims that Patience wanted nothing to do with it once they talked about it more.
According to EPD, officers received a phone call in July from a woman named Misty Cunningham. She claimed that she overheard a heated conversation between her daughter, Patience Thomas, and Patience’s boyfriend, Michael Thomas. The affidavit claims that Cunningham told police that Michael asked Patience to help move a body because he was afraid it would stink and he’d go to prison. Patience allegedly said she didn’t want to go to prison either. The affidavit claims that Cunningham felt her daughter didn’t have a direct involvement in Michael killing anyone, and seemed reluctant in getting involved.
The full affidavit can be read below.