Bio

Brandon Tholmer was born in 1949 in Los Angeles, California. Growing up, he lived in a city known for its entertainment industry and diverse neighborhoods. Not a lot is known about his early childhood or family life.

In his early adulthood, Tholmer became involved in various criminal activities. In 1975, he committed a serious crime involving the sexual assault of a 79-year-old woman. After being arrested, his fingerprints were matched to evidence found at the crime scene. He pleaded guilty, claiming that he was under the influence of LSD during the crime.

As a result of this conviction, Tholmer was sent to Patton State Hospital to receive treatment as a mentally disordered sex offender. He spent three years in the facility before being released in 1979. After his release, he continued to attend treatment at an outpatient rehabilitation center in Silver Lake, a neighborhood in Los Angeles.

During the years following his release, a series of violent crimes against elderly women in Los Angeles began to attract attention. From 1981 to 1984, there were many reports of elderly women being murdered. Investigators connected some of these crimes to a suspect known as the "West Side Rapist." Although Tholmer was never officially charged with any murders during this period, he was suspected of being involved.

On November 7, 1983, Tholmer was arrested after police had him under surveillance. They noted similarities between his past crimes and the ongoing investigations into the elderly women's murders. Evidence later linked him to stolen items from one of the victims.

Murder Story

Brandon Tholmer was a serial killer who targeted elderly women in Los Angeles from 1981 to 1983. He was suspected in the deaths of 34 women but was formally charged with only four murders. His victims included Rose Lederman, 80, who was found strangled in her home in August 1981. Wolloomooloo Woodcock, 69, was also strangled and beaten in her East Hollywood home in August 1982. In August 1983, Dorothy Fain, 70, was stabbed in her Hollywood home, and Mary Pauquette, 72, was beaten to death in her apartment in September 1983.

Tholmer's violent acts included methods of strangulation, stabbing, and beating, which shocked the communities where he operated. Police linked Tholmer to these crimes through evidence collected at the scenes, including items stolen from victims. He was under surveillance when he was arrested on November 7, 1983. The authorities noticed similarities between the murder methods and crimes he had committed previously.

The case against Tholmer developed as investigators reviewed his criminal record and connections to the earlier unsolved murders. A jury convicted him on July 25, 1986, for charges that included murder, rape, sodomy, arson, and burglary. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole. Despite being suspected of numerous other murders, he was not charged with those due to lack of sufficient evidence.