Thomas Kelley

WILMA WALLS' STORY

UPDATE: Due to a very generous plea deal given by the Franklin County Ohio Prosecutor’s Office, Thomas Kelley, a convicted rapist and murderer, has now been released from prison after serving his entire 50-year prison sentence. We commend the Ohio Parole Board for doing the right thing and ensuring Kelley served his full sentence.
 
Thomas Kelley will be under no supervision. To make matters worse, The Franklin County Ohio Court of Common Pleas refused to label Kelley a sexual predator, meaning those living near him will receive no notification of his whereabouts.
 
According to the Ohio Sex Offender Registry, Kelley is now living in Cleveland, Ohio. His registered address corresponds to the City Mission, which means he is likely homeless.
 
While we hope Mr. Kelley has been rehabilitated, based on his long violent history, his resistance to rehabilitation, and the fact that he raped and murdered an innocent wife and mother, we continue to believe that Thomas Kelley is extremely dangerous. We urge anyone who sees him to stay as far away from him as possible.
 
If you see Thomas Kelley engaging in any criminal activity, please notify The Cleveland Ohio Police Department at (216) 621-1234 or The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office at (216) 443-6265 or 216-443-6256.
 
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A Taxi Cab Ride Turns Deadly

On Saturday, March 13, 1976, Wilma Walls, a 47-year-old wife and mother of seven children, called a cab to take her to the grocery store. At approximately 8:30 p.m., Safety Cab Company taxi cab driver Thomas Eugene Kelley picked up Mrs. Walls. On the way to the store, Kelley began propositioning Mrs. Walls in an effort to get her to have sex with him. Mrs. Walls told Kelley to “stop it.” She became scared and started shaking. Mrs. Walls told Kelley to “stop the car” several times.

After noticing Mrs. Walls shaking, Kelley pulled the cab over to the side of a field. Mrs. Walls immediately opened the cab door and started running for her life. Kelley then got out of the cab and chased her down and tackled her. According to Kelley, while he was wrestling around on the ground with Mrs. Walls, he became aroused. Kelley stated, “I guess I kind of forced her to get naked with me.” Kelley then raped Mrs. Walls. After raping her, Kelley then got up and started to walk away.

When Mrs. Walls started screaming, Kelley ran back and started wrestling with Mrs. Walls again. Kelley said he became aroused again and raped Mrs. Walls a second time. Mrs. Walls kept screaming while Kelley was raping her. Kelley took off his belt, wrapped it around Mrs. Walls’ throat, and told Mrs. Walls to shut up. Kelley stated he pulled the belt a little too tight because the next thing he knew, she was dead. Kelley then fled the scene.

When Mrs. Walls did not return home, her family frantically began searching for her. On March 19, 1976, their search came to an end when a farmer plowing a field found Mrs. Walls’ body in a drainage ditch. Mrs. Walls had been badly beaten, and her blouse was ripped off, with several buttons missing from it. The blouse was used to bind Mrs. Walls’ arms behind her. Her pants were removed, and one pant leg was tied tightly around her throat. Mrs. Walls’ underwear was tied around her ankles. Police also found a man’s belt next to Mrs. Walls. The belt had the name “Thomas” written in blue ink on the inside of it.

A History of Violent Behavior

Police located Kelley at his mother’s house and arrested him on March 25, 1976. Kelley spent the next several hours leading police on a wild goose chase. He took them to houses and bars where he claimed to have gone to after he picked up Mrs. Walls. At every location, no one could identify him. While driving back to Columbus, Kelley finally admitted that he could have killed the lady in question, but did not remember. He also stated he did things in the past that he did not remember. Kelley stated Mrs. Walls made him mad, and he also mentioned his Marine Sergeant made him mad when he was in Vietnam. Kelley told police he was going to kill the Marine Sergeant until several other Marines restrained him and took his gun away. In the same breath, Kelley said he feels like killing his mother-in-law sometimes.

After Kelley’s arrest, it was learned that Kelley was an extremely violent ex-con. Kelley had been committing crimes since he was 15. He had a two-page rap sheet dating back to 1967. He was on probation for auto theft when he killed Wilma Walls. He also had a warrant for his arrest due to an assault on his estranged wife. Kelley’s ex-wife stated he had a very bad temper and would become extremely violent. She said he had assaulted both her and their 20-month-old daughter on multiple occasions. She told authorities he would forget or deny his actions the following day. Kelley had also served time in the Lima State Mental Hospital, where he was considered to be a “Psychopathic Offender.”

There was overwhelming evidence against Kelley. Several people connected Kelley to the belt that was found at the crime scene, and a button from Mrs. Walls’ blouse was found in Kelley’s taxi cab. In addition, a fellow jail inmate informed police that Kelley openly confessed to him that he killed Wilma Walls. Facing the strong possibility of a death sentence, Kelley took a plea deal rather than going to trial. He pleaded guilty to rape and voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 12-50 years in prison.

Poor Rehabilitation

Kelley’s prison records indicate that he has not done much to rehabilitate himself. As of 2007, almost 30 years after his conviction, Kelley had taken a minimal number of classes. He had not taken a victim awareness class, and he had not taken the comprehensive sex offender program. In 2004, the parole records state, “Pattern of resistance to discussion makes inmate an unacceptable risk to the community.” In 2007, the records state, “Inmate has not participated in and/or completed relevant institutional programming to address his criminal history; this makes him a more serious risk to the community. He does not have a reasonable release plan and limited community support.” Considering Kelley has shown absolutely no interest in rehabilitating himself, we find it difficult to believe that he has reduced his risk of committing another violent crime.

Community at Risk

Thomas Kelley brutally murdered a wife and the mother of seven children. He is a diagnosed psychopath who has not taken responsibility for his horrific actions. Kelley had done almost nothing in over three decades to address his criminal behavior. We believe Thomas Kelley poses an incredible risk to the community now that he has been released after fulfilling his full 50-year sentence. We urge anyone who encounters Thomas Kelley to stay away from him.