Abraham Thomas was born in 1928 in the United States. His early life remains largely undocumented, but by the time he entered adulthood, he had enlisted in the United States Army and was stationed in West Germany as a member of the 109th Infantry Regiment. Despite his military position, Thomas was reportedly of low intellectual capacity, and steps were already being taken to discharge him from service. He struggled to adapt to military discipline and seemed to have trouble navigating interpersonal relationships, especially with women.

While stationed in Gersthofen, West Germany, Thomas became infatuated with a local German woman named Walburga Wenderoth. Despite his feelings, Wenderoth was not romantically involved with him; she was seeing Corporal Edward Peters, another American soldier. The relationship triangle stirred strong emotions in Thomas, who reportedly grew jealous and unstable. After a domestic incident on February 5, 1954, where Thomas and Wenderoth got into an argument at her home, police were called. During a search, Thomas was found carrying a knife. Though taken into custody by military police, he faced only minor disciplinary action, classified as a simple delinquency.

Following this, Thomas was assigned to a training maneuver on February 8, during which he was issued an M1 carbine rifle. When he returned to the barracks on February 20, he violated protocol by failing to return the weapon. Instead, he disappeared briefly, only to reappear two days later at Wenderoth's home.

On the evening of February 23, 1954, Abraham Thomas returned to the home of Walburga Wenderoth in Gersthofen, West Germany. Earlier that day, Thomas had been violently ejected from the house by Corporal Edward Peters and Sergeant Bennett after a verbal and physical confrontation. Enraged and humiliated, Thomas returned to his barracks, where he cunningly obtained access to a key for the supply room under the pretense of retrieving a parka. Using this excuse, he accessed the ammunition room, secured a clip for his M1 carbine, and returned to his quarters, unable to rest. He later claimed that he was filled with uncontrollable rage and physically ill from the stress.

Around midnight, Thomas dressed, armed himself, and walked nearly two miles through the cold to Wenderoth's residence. He found the door unlocked and entered silently. Inside the bedroom, he discovered Wenderoth and Peters together. In a sudden act of violence, Thomas shot Wenderoth at close range, claiming she had cursed at him and triggered his rage. Turning to leave, he noticed Peters moving, believing he was reaching for a weapon, and fired at him as well.

In the adjacent kitchen, Thomas was confronted by Sergeant Bennett and Anna Wiegel, who attempted to subdue him. According to Thomas, Bennett lunged at him, causing his finger to accidentally pull the trigger. He then claimed that Wiegel grabbed him around the waist, and after failing to break free, he shot her too.

What followed was even more gruesome: Thomas retrieved an axe and mutilated the bodies of all four victims, including Wenderoth, Peters, Bennett, and Wiegel, further desecrating the crime scene. He then returned to the barracks and quietly turned in his rifle.

The murders were discovered later that day. Thomas was arrested without resistance and charged on February 28 with four counts of premeditated murder. He was tried by a military court-martial in Augsburg starting in April 1954.

Defense attorney Lieutenant William A. Bonwell attempted to have Thomas convicted on lesser charges such as voluntary or involuntary manslaughter, arguing that the killings were acts of passion or self-defense. The court rejected these claims. Medical testimony and forensic evidence revealed that the victims had been deliberately and closely targeted, with no signs of defensive struggle on Bennett, who had been shot while sleeping. The court ruled that Thomas’s actions demonstrated premeditation and cold calculation.

On April 15, 1954, Abraham Thomas was convicted of four counts of premeditated murder and sentenced to death by hanging. He was transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he remained on death row for over four years. All appeals failed, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower declined to grant clemency.

On the night of July 23, 1958, Thomas, who was dressed in a U.S. Army uniform stripped of insignia, was escorted to the gallows. Though religious in his final days, he showed signs of emotional volatility just before his execution, expressing anger at the President and accusing him of indifference toward the common soldier. Despite his outburst, he expressed gratitude to prison staff for their treatment. He was hanged at 12:04 AM and pronounced dead 17 minutes later. His body was returned to Georgia for burial.