Colorado man caught in Washington, charged with murder of woman found dead in storage unit
07/12/2021 11:37 am PDT
DENVER (TCD) --
A 36-year-old man was arrested in Washington after he allegedly killed a woman he met on an escort site and left her body in a Colorado storage unit.
Adams County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of human remains found in a storage unit at a property on the 8700 block of Devonshire Blvd. at about 9:37 a.m. on May 20.
An employee at the storage unit facility had called authorities about a “terrible smell” and a liquid that was coming from one unit, KUSA-TV reports.
Deputies found a deceased adult in a large trash bin in the unit, according to the sheriff’s office.
The Adams County Coroner ruled the victim, later identified as 21-year-old Lavanya Jain, had been shot to death.
On May 21, detectives served a search warrant at the Thornton residence of the storage-unit renter and reportedly found evidence related to the case, the sheriff’s office said.
Gregory Thomas, 36, was identified as a suspect. Thomas had gone to the state of Washington after the woman’s remains were found.
Sheriff’s deputies, local police and ATF personnel located Thomas in an RV park in Lynden, Washington, on June 6, and Thomas was arrested on a parole violation out of Colorado. Thomas was then extradited to Colorado.
On June 28, Thomas was arrested again while in custody at the Adams County Detention Facility and charged with first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body.
The unidentified victim had been reported missing in Commerce City, Colorado, according to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
KUSA reports Lavanya Jain was allegedly killed in March, according to court documents. Thomas told detectives the two had met through an escort website.
Thomas said Jain had been staying at his house, and when he came home on March 19, when he thought Jain wouldn't be there, Jain was sitting on the couch, according to an affidavit KUSA quotes. Thomas said Jain pulled a gun from under a pillow and pointed it at him, so he pulled a gun from his waistband and shot her, the affidavit says. Thomas said he shot her three more times.
KUSA reports Thomas said he went to a Home Depot to buy a trash can and then rented a storage unit on March 23, put Jain's body in the trash can, taped it up and put the trash can in the storage unit, the affidavit says.
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