Justin Eugene Thurber
We’ve all probably known a guy like 26-year-old Justin Thurber. Justin is the guy who’ll start telling you all his plans for his life, and while he’s talking you’re always thinking “What freaking planet does this guy live on”. Because you know he’s not that bright, and women think he’s creepy, but he always believes he’s going to be the best at some high profile job and hook up with the hottest chicks in town. Justin Thurber was, well, Justin was an asshole.
In Justin’s case, he wanted to be a bounty hunter more than anything. Back in 2006 and 2007, he would tell people he worked for Morris and Son Bail Bonds in Arkansas City, Kansas as a Bail-Bondsman, but Roger White, who operated the agency, says that Thurber never was employed by him and never completed a contract. That didn’t stop Justing from running “investigations” where he sometime portrayed himself as a police officer. He just loved to play policeman.
What he actually did for a living was not nearly so glamorous. He worked for American Waste Management Inc., according to court records obtained from the Kansas Department of Labor. He worked at the company’s recycling facility at Strother Field Industrial Park in Winfield, KN during 2006 and 2007. His average weekly wage was $300.
He sometimes bragged that he was drawing money playing for a semi-pro football team in Oklahoma, but despite being 6 feet 2 inches tall and 230 pounds most folks doubted that he was talented enough to be a paid athlete.
Thurber has a long list of misdemeanor charges on his record, including battery, careless and reckless driving, stop-sign infractions, and driving without proof of insurance. He has also been charged with impersonating an officer, burglary, forgery, theft, drug possession and disorderly conduct.
But it was his behavior with young women that was the most disturbing. If you were young, petite and pretty, and you caught Justin Thurber’s eye, you were in for months or years of obsessive attention and stalking that wouldn’t stop until he moved on to another victim. The more a women would resist his advances, the more aggressive his 
methods of getting your attention became.
He had a job with Kentucky Fried Chicken in 2001, and began terrorizing a 16-year-old coworker. He once dragged her into his car through the window and refused to let her leave for over three hours. He would often get into her face, yelling and clenching his entire body, at the very edge of self control.
One young woman, Alexis Swartzell had to file a petition for protection for herself and her 5-year-old daughter. From Jan. 1 through Jan. 8, Swartzell wrote in the petition, Thurber followed her and text-messaged her frequently. “He sits outside family members homes for hours,” Swartzell wrote. “He tells my family he will have to come pick me up for Moriss bonds if he cannot talk to me,” referring to a bail bondsman Thurber wanted to work for.
Another girl, Nicole Topper also filed for an order of protection against Thurber. She wrote that he would follow her for hours, text and phone her obsessively, and threatened her when she refused to go out with him. During one incident, Thurber showed up at Subway restaurant where she worked at about 7 a.m. “He showed up… in the back of the Ark City Subway needing a ride home. I told him no. I said he could use the phone, but he didn’t want to,” Topper wrote.
And there were many others – Donell, Michelle, Jamie, Arcelea, Mariela & Meghan. They all suffered the attentions of Justin Thurber, and all experienced the same obsessive behaviors.
And then there was Jodi Sanderholm. Jodi, 19, was a Cowley College student and a member of the school’s Tigerette Danceline team. Justin Thurber has been described as a “Groupie” of the dance team, and has attempted to date several of the members, including Jodi.
On Friday, January 5th, 2007, Jodi Sanderholm disappeared.
She had been last seen driving to a friends house, but never arrived. A massive search was immediately undertaken, and appeals went out to the public for information, especially regarding any sightings of Jodi’s car, a black Dodge Stratus. Several people observed Jodi’s car near Cowley County State Fishing Lake. There’s also security tapes from Cowley College of Justin Thurber’s Blue Caddy pulling into a parking lot almost immediately after Jodi’s car.
From the start, Arkansas City, Kansas police suspect Justin Thurber was involved in the disappearance, so a detective was assigned to watch the Thurber’s house on January 6th.
Later on the 6th, officers received permission from Kevin Thurber, Justin’s father, to search the family home. Detectives obtained some of Justin’s clothes and shoes from the Thurber house and a storage shed. Justin Thurber was arrested for previous charges of impersonating an officer and disorderly conduct.
The shoes attained during the search were given to trained trackers of the search and rescue team, to compare to tracks near the Kaw Wild Life Center, near the Cowley County, Kansas, State Lake.
On January 7th, investigators found several clear tracks that matched the pair of Justin Thurber’s shoes that were seized earlier near Silver Dale Lane, and the Cowley County State Fishing Lake. There were also tracks that were flat and much smaller with the larger set of tracks. There were only a couple of the smaller tracks and they vanished abruptly. The search team knew Jodi had to be in there. Several unopened letters addressed to the Sanderholms were found in a latrine of the Cowley County State Fishing Lake. Also found were a pair of dance shoes, a pair of boxer shorts, one blue flip flop, and a danceline jacket.
Early in the morning of Monday, January 8th, the search team saw two fingers sticking out of a pile of brush. Jodi’s body was found posed and covered with logs, twigs and leaves. The face was found beaten beyond recognition. The debris was removed from the body. At about 4:30 p.m. Jodi’s black Dodge Stratus was removed from the Cowley County State fishing lake about 8 miles from the body. Autopsy reports concluded that Jodi died by strangulation, and both her anus and vagina were stuffed with pieces of wood.
Medical Examiners would later testify that the branches and wood that were jammed into Jodi’s vagina and anus were done so while she was alive. And they weren’t just shoved into her orifices – Thurber sodomized her with with such force that there was “significant tearing and tissue damage”.
The doctors also testified that it took almost 12 minutes for Justin Thurber to strangle Jodi Sanderholm to death. That means he choked her to unconsciousness, allowed her to wake up, and repeated the process over and over, for his own sexual pleasure. Police estimate Thurber tortured, raped, beat, and sodomized Jodi for over four hours before he killed her.
On Wednesday, January 17th, 2007 he was charged with the Murder, Aggravated Kidnapping, and Rape of Jodi Sanderholm.
On February 12th, 2009, Justin Thurber was convicted of Capital Murder, and five days later, on February 17th, the jury sentenced him to Death.
Does Justin Eugene Thurber Deserve Hell
- Are you kidding? Yes, Yes, Yes. (100%, 371 Votes)
- No (0%, 1 Votes)
Total Voters: 372
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74 Comments »
I’m not usually in favor of the death penalty, but I say the jury got it right this time. I hope the appeals don’t drag on for years and years, either. Oh, and I hope that while he’s in prison, that Bubba and his friends will re-enact the sodomy Justin inflicted on that poor woman over and over and over and over again on Justin. Because despite all his bravado, Justin is just a little twerp.
Do i get to Vote him to HELL? guess he doesn’t really need a vote seems to me that he has a signed VIP pass with his picture on it to meet Satan back stage.
Woops, I knew I forgot something.
not only that, but satan’s gonna show him around to all the gang and get that special hell greeting.
He needs a wooden hell greeting card.
I hope he bends over for soap for sure. What a nut and WHY in the HELL was he still walking the streets???
That poor girl.
You posed the best question, Tracey. Why was he still on the streets?
I have worked in Domestic Violence for over twelve years and I’ve seen a lot more abusers let go than prosecuted. Usually the elected officials and police don’t take these behaviors seriously, and they love to blame the victim…
If you have money, or status nothing will be done, AND if you are a repeat offender usually nothing will be done because the courts/police are tired of dealing with you so instead of enforcing the laws they just give up. Sad, but true.
We need more average citizens to become aware and educated regarding these abusive behaviors and the lack of consequences within the court/justice systems.
I hope he gets raped so violently in prison he’ll need a colostomy for the rest of his useless life.
He deserves what he got.
Wow. This son of a bitch deserves the death penalty for sure. This guy was basically some whiny little who couldn’t get over the fact that he couldn’t get his way and was a complete asshole about that, and decided it was other people’s faults that he didn’t get his way. Everything that is coming to him is no one’s fault but his own.
How many restraining orders were against this sick fuck? How many does it take for authorities to notice that this person is a walking time bomb and this sort of thing was eventually going to happen? Two? Three? Ten? He was a stalker, now he is a murderer.
I fell awful for that young girl. This guy was a poser little bitch and I hope that Bubba in prison finds the time to shove shanks up his orafices. He needs the death penalty, he needs hell, he needs everything that is coming to his useless ass. What a little bitch.
I had to leave something out because the story was getting too long. Thurber had been arrested a couple of nights before the murder for impersonating a police officer and disturbing the peace, but he faked chest pains, so they had to take him to the hospital. He knew because the charges were misdemeanors, that they wouldn’t leave an officer to wait for him to be discharged, and he could go home. You want to know why they didn’t want to wait on his discharge for the hospital? Because if they did the county would be responsible for the bill. He should have been in jail the day he killed Jodi, but it was cheaper to let him go and pick him up on a warrant later. I’m not saying he wouldn’t have done something like this anyways, but try telling that to the Sanderholm family.
This is a perfect example of negligence on the part of law enforcement. Did they not see this coming? Come on. Yeah, tell the Sanderholms that their daughters life had to be taken because god forbid the county pay for asshole’s hospital stay. The Goddamn county seems to pay for everyone else’s medical bills, so what was the problem this time? Assholes.
By the looks of a simple google search, you could write a freaking disseration on this predator, disgusting, stalking bastard. I read somewhere that he held an eleven year old girl and her aunt against their will with him in his car and exposed himself. He let the two go eventually, they filed a report, they picked him out of a line-up. Somehow, charges were never filed. What the *uck???
This murder could have been prevented. Plain and simple. I mean look, the writing was on the wall.
1. He was a fucktard, first and foremost.
2. He stalked women, multiple women.
3. He had restraining orders against him, multiple restraining orders
4. He impersonated police men and others in positions of power.
5. He used drugs.
6. He exposed himself to women and children.
7. His crimes were becoming progressively violent and aggressive.
How much is enough? This is a total outrage that Jodi was raped and murdered. His being out in society was risky to say the least. It was negligent on the part of local law enforcment. They are partially responsible, I believe that 110% and I hope that there is an investigation as to why he was never thrown in prison before. I hope all parties who did not do their jobs and use common sense answer for this. Jodi’s blood is on their hands too. .
I don’t think we can blame this girl’s death on the police officers- even if they had arrested him and stayed at the hospital, the charges were misdemeanors, and he would have been back out on the street the next day anyhow. Free to commit this crime. I think the problem lies with the law makers- and the penalties for this guy’s crimes. They should be better designed. It’s not hard to recognize this guy as a threat. I don’t see anywhere that he was ever charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, etc- just some misdemeanors. It’s because those charges were never filed that he was out roaming the streets. It’s more likely than anything that the complainants just didn’t follow through with the charges. That leaves the hands of law enforcement tied- what can you do in that case? Just a restraining order isn’t going to do it, unless he is caught violating it. I guess what I am getting at is that he was never actually (based on what I am reading here) charged with anything that could keep him in prison. So what could they do? They aren’t going to lock him up just because he is creepy. Granted, if they had- it would have been so much better for this girl. At least they gave this fucker the death penalty.
Logically, you are right Diana. I know. But it is so damn frustrating, look at all those restraining orders. I know that police, individually, are not to blame, but being in that field involved in any capacity to this crime, how could you not personally feel that you are to blame? There are definately some serious issues with the way in which these types of crimes are handled. It is just so frustrating….
Believe me when I say that I wish that this guy would have been off the streets. Like I said before, it sounds like people were not pressing charges against this guy when they should have. It’s like women who refuse to press charges on their boyfriends- the cops hands are tied. I imagine that the cops involved deal with this case the same way I deal with my job. If someone dies in my ambulance, I go over everything I did. Once I have satisfied myself that I did everything that I possibly could have, I let it go, knowing that there was really nothing else I could have done. As long as these cops did what they feasibly could, I hope their conscience is clear. If they didn’t they should look into another job. As far as the misdemeanor thing- them letting him sit at the hospital- I think I get that. Doesn’t sound like he was comitting any violent acts, and it can be a huge waste of police resources when the outcome would have been the same had they waited or not.
oh yes u can blame her death on them …. it’s verrryyyyy simple . if he were in jail on that day , as he should have been , none of this would have happened at all . the police and courts everywhere are wayyyyy too lenient on people , especially when it comes to jail time . too many stupid , naive , ignorant , bleeding heart , and in denial idiots are not coming down on people like they should . it’s ridiculous , i’m honestly embarrassed to live in this country , it’s so wimpy that way . so yes , diana , it is their fault to a degree , because if he was where he should have been , she would be where she should be …. alive .
and another thing diana , he was charged with a myriad of things , but the idiot cops never followed through to make sure he went to jail . if he was in jail , as he should have been , for all those misdemeanors , it may have ended up being a deterrent to him the next time . if the pig gets away with it every time , of course he’s gonna do it again , and again . the cops hands are not tied here as they are when a woman doesn’t press charges . the difference is that this guy was ALREADY charged and wasn’t put in jail as the charge warranted . when a woman won’t press charges , there are no charges , so of course police can’t do anything . it’s very simple , until the courts , cops , and judges get tougher on these pigs , they’re gonna be out there doing what they do … it doesn’t take a rocket scientist .
Too bad the jury could not impliment the sentence in the court room.
Given the bleeding hearts in Washington DC the only way to kill this guy may be to feed him McDonald’s for the next 20 years…. Although if what I hear is true about them getting beef from South American countries, he just might die in 10!
He definitely needs a loving and understanding husband, I hope that he likes being “Bubba’s Bitch”. Maybe Bubba will share – I sure hope so!
Maybe if someone had taught this bastard a lesson a while ago, this might not have happened, but law abiding citizens are not supposed to handle their own problems – either call the police or hire a lawyer……. Uncle Sam has been neutered!
I believe that this case should make the stalking laws harder on the criminals instead of the victims. I believe that if anyone is charged with more than one restraining order that for every one after the initial one that there should be jail time. Charge them with something like disorderly conduct or being a public nuisance or something. I do not feel like someone should have to wait for the order to be broken until the police are allowed to do something. Orders do nothing except reinforce to the perp that the victim does not want them which makes them all the more determined to have them. He deserves what he got.
While what you say is good, such may also be abused.
My first wife threatened to call the cops on me and tell them I did XXX, which I did not do. Her reply to that was “who do think they will believe?”… (My reply was if I do the time, I will come out and do the crime- stopped the bitch from picking up the phone)
While I agree that there should be better ways to deal with stalkers, most stalkers operate in a way such that the legal system can not respond to fast enough and would strain law enforcement resources. The best way to handle stalkers is with an armed public with rights to defend themselves.
Stalkers are generally whimpy bullies, waiting for the best times to strike. Very few actually would stalk a six foot black belt in karate, so logically few women would be stalked if they carried even pepper spray and the police leaned a bit more to “sucks to be you” in such cases where a victim defended themselves.
too bad i am not able to punish him the way that I want to. The laws really should change for people that have had to have multiple restraining orders against them by different people. there was a pattern there and it is sad to think that we could have prevented this terrible tragedy…
Man is he ugly. And what he did was even uglier. Why do we allow the “last straw” to happen before the cops take action on these type of people? He obviously had (many) issues.
I HATE people like this….i cant even comment right now i am so angry.
“on February 17th, the jury sentenced him to Death.”
GOOD. Too bad he gets a nice, easy injection or whatever instead of impalement.
Anyone else think this guy would have done it again if he hadn’t been caught? I do. It’s hard to look at Jodi’s picture. She looks like on of those girls who could do whatever she wanted to in life. So sad that a parasite like Justin had to come along and ruin that for her.
I’m a person who is always in the opposition of death penalty, but I say the jury got it right this time. This rude boy actually deserves what he got.I totally hate people like this who are just for the sake of rudeness exists on the earth.
you’re welcome to comment here, but I can’t allow you to post under the pseudonym you used because it’s the name of a spam website. If you’d like to continue commenting, please pick another pseudonym
-editor
how’s about first enforcing one of my personal favorites, the good old “eye for an eye” style of punishment?
I believe that this case should make the stalking laws harder on the criminals instead of the victims. I believe that if anyone is charged with more than one restraining order that for every one after the initial one that there should be jail time. Charge them with something like disorderly conduct or being a public nuisance or something. I do not feel like someone should have to wait for the order to be broken until the police are allowed to do something.
I agree with you matey. Here in Australia, to get a restraining order, you have to appear before a judge and prove that your being threatened or stalked ect and that you fear for your well being. Then if your lucky, the judge sends out a little paper to both you and your stalker stating that he is not to approach you. The stalker then gets 30 days in which to object to the restraining order. If they do, you have to appear before another judge along side your stalker.
Believe me, its pretty intimidating to have to sit there with someone you are afraid of and prove they have done something to make you feel threatened.
Most women appear without lawyer present.
And what good is a peice of paper whe he comes around and either beats or kills you?
Its really pathetic.
Oh.My.God. This dude should have already been in jail. What about the 16year old girl that he pulled through his window and held for 3 hours??!? Does that not warrant an arrest? WTF is wrong with the freakin system!?!? I just don’t get it… someone has countless restraining orders against him and he’s allowed to roam free? Roam free enough to torture a girl for 4 hours and then kill her. I’m so pissed right now. I think the DP is too easy…but I’m glad he’s not going to be alive anymore. I just wish his death was slower and more painful. My heart goes out to her family! I don’t think hell is even going to want this dick head.
Ladies, Buy a gun. Gut shot scum like this the first time they try anything.
It’s guys like this that make me glad I’m fat and ugly! :)
lmao! I know exactly where you’re coming from thesml. But personally I think we’re just fine, it’s the beautiful people that have the problem.
what a freak, glad he was caught. also, article too long!! when you have to scroll a bunch just to see the victims photos once more, too long.
I’m sorry, but I write my stories with adults in mind. Perhaps you should try Mother Goose’s Bad Man Page, Mr. Rogers Explains Why Daddy Shouldn’t Touch You There, or Barney The Purple Dinosaur Diddles The Deaf Kid
All books Max has stated above are copyrighted by the Sexual Harassment Panda and are not to be distributed unless under legal consent of said author.
I for one like the long posts, the more information the better in my opinion.
Right on Max.
Don’t forget the Dr. Seuss classic, Green eggs and stalking, raping, murdering apes.
That is a good one. Lol.
lolly, as much detail as this crime had behind it, it’s the writers job to provide as much information as possible. if he doesn’t, then what’s the point of the article?
When the prison decides to perform planet of the apes, This guy is so set.
Oh- I was thinking that!
That’s who he reminds me of lol.
Yeah, hahaha, “Get your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape!!!”
Why would an employee of subway be there at 7am ? they dont open til 1030 or 11. hmmmm
I know what your saying. I mean what kind of poor ass subway doesnt have self baking bread and shit. I know when I turn up to work the pixies have already done all my prep work the night before. God damn subway, get some pixies on the payroll already.
I have housework faries. They do all my housework while im asleep. I love them;)
Amy, FunkDupp, you gotta hook me up with some faries. I’m getting too fat to bend over.
lol bread-baking faries.
Sorry but pixies get to bake the bread. The fairies only get to clean the house. Shit union I guess.
Tell me about it. And meanwhile the elves are sitting on the welfare ( or should that be elvefare…ho hum hee hee) line…
It’s normal for crew members to get there in the early am hours especially when they have catering orders to prep….Subway has breakfast now, too. Not too out of the ordinary.
Don’t hook me up with any fairies. I’m fine doing my own housework.
Seriously, no fairies – I like housework. I’m not a homophobe or anything – I just, you know,….. like doing housework……….without the fairies………and you know, shit,……. no fairies
We could not call them fairies and call them trolls if it would help?
Yes, please.
Thank you.
No problem. I’d be intimidated for my manhood myself if I was in a room full of fairies.
Except for Tinkerbell. She’s kinda hot.
Now if I could only get my wife to share my enthusiasm – for Tinkerbell, not fairies.
that photo..is he trying to look cool or mean? coz he sure is damn creepy..he shoulda been a man and got his own girl, but na, he didnt have the brains or tact to do that. when he bends over to get that soap, hope there are two guys with a roughly cut log waiting to jam it in like madagascar I
…and hopefully it’s powdered soap.
These stories scare the crap out of me.
I have had a few guys like this that seem normal at first…
Then they get your phone number through a friend and start texting you everyday, getting creepier and creepier each time untill he asks you to meet him in strange places (like the middle of the woods, a farm or the airport?!) with your pet bird for a drink… thank god most of my guy friends are like 300lbs, very protective, and dont take kindly to people harrasing me. :P
its too bad the police/laws arent nearly as protective in cases like this.
i still cant figure out why i have to get a licesne to cary mase. they should hand it out to every girl who wants it.
restraining orders obviously mean nothing. if some asshole is going to rape and kill a person i hardly think a peice of paper is going to scare them strait. perhaps someone should look into some GPS device alerting police, im sure we have the technology. its scary how many countless stories there are where a person kills another that had a restraining order on them.
You never think it will happn to you, but who knows while im making my morning run, or wakling home from a night out with friends, or even sitting in my own house what can happen.
With your pet bird?
The restraining orders were not requested until Justin was already in jail and a suspect. I think what needs to happen is education on reporting someone, even if you think it may be nothing. So many girls are afraid of looking silly or simply do not know what to do.
Agreed.. the police also need to take these things more seriously.. I still don’t understand the wisdom in a “wait and see” approach.. that people can be terrorized and the police do nothing until after those people have been killed, or maimed.. What the hell are protection orders FOR anyway??
I agree with you too. I am from Kansas and the Sanderholm’s helped push through Jodi’s Law that better defines what police can do when someone is being stalked or a protection order has been issued and violated. I hope it helps those that are strong enough and wise enough to use it. Here is the bill http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2008/414.pdf
Amazing how a guy doesn’t get the hint with women. “She’s sending out signals that she finds me gross and disgusting, but I’m still going to date her anyway.”
RAGE, pure and simple. This guy was a time bomb ready to go off, and did. That poor woman.
Although I hate Sharon Stone, I also wanna use a soundbite of her for saying to this bastard. I said, this BASTARD:
“Is that KARMA?”
I rthink Justin Thurber had called home from the Lake to get a ride home. His father may have told the police of this when asked about his whereabouts on that day.
I Will Laugh When This Sick Fuck Fries And He Will Burn In Hell
My spouse and I arrived here since this internet site has been tweeted by a man I was following and am excited I made it here.
Wow.. I hadn’t read this one yet.. Horrifying. Concealed Carry girls…Concealed carry.
Jodi was the best person I knew. She was an angel. Never stuck her nose up anybody. Always smiling. This son of a bbitch deserves to rot in a desert somewhere. I went to school with Jodi for 8 years. She was our valedictorian and was going big places. I love and miss you Jodi. I know your smiling down on me and dancing in heaven with God.
Lethal injection is too good for this bastard. It’s a pity we don’t hang people anymore.