Since its debut in 1992, NBC’s “Dateline” has been sincerely diving into a variety of mysterious true-crime stories in order to shed light on the darker aspects of human nature. Therefore, it stands to reason that its season 21 episode 49, fittingly titled “Fatal Attraction” (2013), which details the shockingly savage murder of Elizabeth “Beth” Anne Lochtefeld in the autumn of 2004, is in no way different. We now have information available if you simply want to understand more about the incident, with an emphasis on the events that occurred, the subsequent investigations, and the aftermath.
How Did Beth Lochtefeld Die?
Beth had actually built a beautiful life for herself in wonderful Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, despite being born in Pennsylvania and raised in New York, when everything flipped upside down. The truth is that she was a skilled architect, a successful businesswoman, and a kind person who had months earlier traded her rapid life for calm elegance, blissfully oblivious to what lay ahead. After all, the last homicide on the island occurred in 1984, and she was discovered dead inside her adorable little Hawthorne Lane cottage home on October 25, 2004, frightening this entire community to its very core.
At 1:15 p.m., Beth’s brother called 911 to ask for a welfare check after discovering that she had been uncharacteristically not returning calls, only for his worst worries to shortly come true. This is due to the fact that the 44-year-old was discovered in the living room lying in a small pool of blood; further blood was splattered in her bedroom, and there was an overturned stool close to her lifeless remains. However, the fact that there was no forced entrance and it was discovered that she had been stabbed 23 times—indicating that she most likely knew the person who performed this overkill—is undoubtedly the worst part.
Who Killed Beth Lochtefeld?
Given that Beth had no actual adversaries, only one person—her ex, Thomas Toolan III—was thought by Beth’s family to be capable of planning her death from the beginning. She had broken up with this consultant just two nights prior, and she had escaped his New York apartment, keeping in touch with her brother the entire time because she was so terrified. They claim that the 37-year-old not only had a drinking problem but was also exceedingly violent and sexually harassing while intoxicated, which ultimately caused Beth to leave.
In fact, the couple had only been friends for a month when they met over Labour Day weekend in September, just hours after Thomas had revealed his problems. However, because Beth was naturally a “fixer” and attracted to his charm, she consented to continue things because she felt she could help him get beyond whatever difficulties he might have. According to her friends’ accounts, the couple did fall in love instantly, only for things to change within weeks due to his angry, jealous, and dominating tendencies, which led to numerous ultimatums from his fiancée.
Even after Thomas broke up with Beth in a drunken rage following a trip to California, he swiftly made amends by showing up at her home with his dog and a ferocious declaration of his love. Even though marriage, children, and moving on had already been frequently discussed, Beth decided she’d had enough when he intimately assaulted her on October 20–21. The couple nevertheless found themselves at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on the 22nd, when Thomas dropped down on one knee just as his girlfriend was gathering the confidence to break things up.
Beth just responded that she needed more time, to which her beau’s enraged retort was, “Well, if it’s not now, it’s never,” and she added never before attempting to collect her belongings from his flat. Unfortunately, this only made matters worse because he was able to corner her inside; he grabbed her luggage, tossed it across the room, and growled, “You’re not going anywhere,” to the point where she began to fear for her life. So she tried to reason with him before offering dinner, but when she finally chose to lie down, he accidentally went one step further by sleeping between her legs so he’d know if she moved.
After Beth managed to escape around 4 am and make it to the airport to fly home, she allegedly told her brother in detail about all that had happened, unaware that this would be their last conversation. After all, on October 25, he received a call from his sibling’s landlady, who had seen Thomas arrive before midday but hadn’t seen her tenant since, which was uncommon. The fact that Beth was meant to pick up her nephew from school but her car was sitting in the driveway caused him to phone her in a panic before calling 911 was reason enough to start looking for Thomas.
It became out that the banker had arrived in Nantucket the same morning, rented a car, driven to two different shops to buy knives, hurried to Beth’s house, and then fled to the airport. Records showed that Thomas then took a trip to Hyannis, Massachusetts, where he rented a different car and continued driving until he was discovered and detained in Rhode Island a few hours later.
On February 10, 2005, he was formally charged with premeditated first-degree murder and assault with a dangerous weapon, but he entered a not guilty plea. Therefore, he was put on trial for it. He was found guilty not only in 2007 but also on June 10, 2013, the latter coming after the Supreme Judicial Court overturned the previous decision on appeal in 2011.
