An inmate in Abbotsford who was convicted of two killings, including one with a 14-pound sledgehammer, has died of natural causes, according to Correctional Service Canada (CSC).
A CSC press release on Tuesday (Sept. 23) states that Thomas Anthony McDonald – an inmate at Pacific Institution/Regional Treatment Centre – died Sept. 19 at the age of 74.
McDonald had been serving an indeterminate sentence, which began on Nov. 20, 2015, according to CSC.
McDonald was convicted of killing Earl Dean Jones on Sept. 26, 1981 in Dawson Creek, B.C. after an altercation in the bar of the Windsor Hotel.
Court documents indicate that McDonald waited for Jones and his wife to leave the bar, followed them in his truck to the outskirts of town and fired a single round from a rifle at the vehicle in which Jones was travelling.
The bullet hit Jones in the head, killing him instantly.
McDonald was living in the United States at the time, but was in Dawson Creek for work-related reasons. He left Canada the morning after killing Jones, and lived and worked in the U.S. from 1980 to 2002, committing a number of petty crimes, according to court documents.
Although he had been the primary suspect in the killing of Jones, there was insufficient evidence at the time to connect him to the crime, the court documents state.
In 2002, McDonald was deported from the U.S. and then spent some time in South Africa before travelling to England in July 2003.
While in London, he roomed with a man, Roger Wilton, whom he killed on Aug. 4, 2003 with several blows from a sledgehammer during an altercation.
Court documents state that McDonald was angry at Wilton for failing to find work for them.
A jury later convicted McDonald of manslaughter and he was sentenced to six years in prison.
McDonald was released in the UK in August 2007, and after violating his parole, entered Canada “surreptitiously,” according to the court documents.
The RCMP became aware of McDonald’s whereabouts and began a “Mr. Big” investigation against him in December 2010 in relation to Jones’ killing.
The investigation led to him confessing to Jones’ murder, and McDonald was arrested in October 2011.
McDonald was tried by judge alone and was convicted of manslaughter in relation to Jones’ killing. He was designated a dangerous offender and, as such, received an indeterminate sentence.
