Before viciously stabbing the Missouri couple and killing the man at an Interstate 80 rest area, witnesses claim they heard an Ohio guy demand the keys to a Jeep that was being towed behind their RV. The incident was partially filmed on dash cam.
The day after the attack at a rest stop in Grand Island in eastern Nebraska, James Thompson Jr., 22, was formally charged with first-degree murder and ten additional felonies on Thursday morning. Thompson’s public attorney in Hall County, Ohio, declined to comment on the matter. Thompson is an Elyria, Ohio, resident.
According to the affidavit Hall County Sheriff’s Sgt. Joshua Moline filed in court, that part of the attack was seen on a trucker’s dash cam, but some of it took place inside Gary and Mary Weaver’s RV at about 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to Moline, a male was seen entering the RV and making jabbing movements toward the woman before vanishing from camera view. The woman emerged, and the man followed, stabbing her in the head multiple times before she collapsed and momentarily paused to curse at the semi-truck driver.
Gary Weaver had injuries to his head and chest when deputies discovered him inside the RV. Later thereafter, the 72-year-old passed away in a Grand Island hospital. Beside the RV, Mary Weaver, 71, was sitting on the ground and bleeding. With injuries the sheriff described as potentially fatal, she was first listed in critical condition but on Thursday, her condition stabilized.
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Blood was on the Jeep, which was separated from the RV. Before being attacked, the Missourians, who are from Eureka, had been traveling throughout Nebraska.
Before the police came, Thompson drove away from the rest area in a Ford Focus, but he was soon discovered by a Nebraska State Trooper as he was pulling off the interstate at Wood River.
Thompson passed another vehicle while traveling at 120 mph across I-80 and then collided with the Platte River. He was taken into custody close by, his hand and clothing covered in slashes.
The Nebraska State Patrol posted on social media, praising the “excellent teamwork” between Troopers and Hall County Deputies in their haste to find and capture the culprit. “Our hearts are with the two victims and their families.”
According to Victoria Eudy, the couple’s daughter, they had been together for 46 years, as reported by KSDK-TV.
“The only thing that could help is that it’s difficult to see reporting that doesn’t highlight what a fantastic person and father my dad was,” Victoria Eudy told the station in a statement. “He was a well-known musician in the 70s, playing with The Walter Scott Band, and a longtime pianist for Third Baptist church, for example, not to mention what an incredible father and grandpa he was.”
