BALCH SPRINGS The 65-year-old woman police say was killed by her much younger live-in boyfriend was found with her Achilles tendons sliced and had cuts on her arms, wrists and neck, police said Wednesday.
Balch Springs police on Tuesday charged Josh Thurber with the killing of Linda Kaye Jordan, who was found dead in the bathroom of her home on Monday night, said Balch Springs Lt. Mark Maret.
Police were called to the residence in the 14300 block of Cimarron Dr. at 10 p.m.
Maret said a friend had seen Jordan's body in the home earlier that day but left to get 'his thoughts together.' He had his mother call a police officer he knew to pass along the information. According to a police affidavit, Thurber told the witness that he killed his girlfriend and showed him her body in the bathtub.
When officers arrived Monday night, Thurber, 39, opened the front door and spoke to police outside the home.
'Information obtained from him indicated there was a body inside the residence,' Maret said.
Thurber was detained and questioned at Balch Springs police headquarters while the Dallas County Sheriff's Department processed the crime scene. Maret said deputies released the home late Tuesday night, although Balch Springs police have not detailed what was found inside. Maret said deputies removed 'a lot of evidence' during the search.
Thurber's blood was taken to test for narcotics or alcohol; investigators are awaiting the results. According to the affidavit, Thurber 'appeared to be intoxicated by swaing front to back, difficult (sic) answering questions, and enlarge pupil size.'
In the affidavit, the witness who initially saw the body told police he brought methamphetamine to the home for him and Thurber to use on Sunday. When he arrived, the suspect 'came running out of the house naked acting crazy' and made the witness leave. A second witness, a female, delivered food to Thurber's home the next day and said he told her that he cut his girlfriend up, the document says.
The woman left, but told the other friend about it. The man returned to the home, which is when Thurber showed him the body and proclaimed, 'I tortured her,' according to the affidavit. Thurber was clutching a machete during this interaction, the witness told police.
Thurber has been charged, although Maret said he has refused to cooperate with authorities and requested a lawyer. When police initially made contact, however, the affidavit says Thurber nodded his head 'in a up and down motion' when a detective asked if there was a dead body in the tub.
'There's a lot of unanswered questions that he could answer for us if he just would but he refuses,' Maret said.
Neighbors said they heard a scream come from the house at about 8 p.m. the night the body was found. Mary Brown, who lives on the block, said she saw Thurber run outside chasing his dogs.
'I wait a few seconds and come back out, he's gone, the dogs are gone, and that front door is open but the screen is shut and his car is in the middle of the street and it's a dark mid-sized car and it takes off,' Brown said.
The medical examiner has performed an autopsy, the results of which are forthcoming. The affidavit lists her cause of death as blunt force and sharp force trauma.
Jordan suffered trauma to her head and had cuts on her neck and arms. Maret also said her Achilles tendons were each cut. Investigators are awaiting autopsy results to determine when each injury was sustained, Maret said.
'We don't know exactly when each thing was done, when the Achilles tendons were cut,' Maret said. 'Mr. Thurber refused to have any comments, he refused to say anything to us other than he wants his attorney.'
Thurber is being held at the Balch Springs Jail on $100,000 bond. Maret expects him to be transferred to Dallas County by the end of the week. Investigators did not perform a mental health evaluation on him.
While unsure of the specifics of Thurber's criminal history, Maret said it 'stretches through our state and another state.' He also said police have responded to 911 calls from the home 32 total times. However, Maret emphasized that as the total amount some of the calls could have been reports of suspicious behavior observed at a city park that's located caddy corner to the home.
