Frighteningly Normal
A mild-mannered draftsman for a municipal water department, Thomas Dillon liked to cruise the back roads of southeastern Ohio pretending he was something he was not. In his fantasy life, Dillon pretended he was a multi-millionaire, a life-saving scientist who cured AIDS, or a Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
Frequently driving hundreds of miles immersed in his own thoughts, Dillon also liked to envision himself as a special forces soldier, out hunting for enemy combatants. What no one knew for three years during the late 1980s and early 1990s, was that as far as his soldier/hunter fantasy was concerned, Dillon had crossed over into reality.
Between April 1989 and April 1992, Ohio authorities were baffled as a serial sniper killed campers, outdoorsmen, and joggers with impunity. A joint local-state-federal taskforce was established to take charge in the investigation of the murders of five men shot with a high-power rifle.
The first killing occurred near New Philadelphia, a quiet community about 100 miles south of Cleveland, on April 1, 1989, when Donald Welling, 35, was shot while jogging. Dillon claimed it was simply an urge, prompted by a voice in his head, that prompted the shooting.
“He said, ‘What’s up?’ just before I shot him. Just from me to you, just five feet away. This guy was just trying to be friendly and he blew, you know, I killed him. It wasn’t premeditated, I told you guys that,” he confessed later. “Just, I was just driving along and came up on him and that’s it, Welling…And just, I heard, a voice in my head said, ‘Open fire on him.’ And I did. And in 10 seconds, from the, the time I heard that voice ’til I shot him and killed him.”
The next two murders occurred in relatively rapid succession. Twenty-one-year-old Jamie Paxton was shot to death while he was hunting outside St. Clairsville, an Ohio community near the state border with West Virginia. The next killing occured in Muskingum County on November 28, 1990 when 30-year-old Kevin Loring of Massachusetts was slain also while he was hunting.
On March 14, 1992, 49-year-old Claude Hawkins, a blue-collar father of four children was murdered as he fished in Coshocton County.
“(I) drove by and he waved at me. I heard a voice that day that said, “Go back and get him,” Dillon said about Hawkins’s shooting. “I saw him fishing down there, I heard a voice in my head say, ‘Go back and get him.’ Went down there and killed him. Shot him right in the back.”
In April 1992, West Virginia resident and father of three children Gary Bradley, 44, was struck down fishing near the county seat of Noble County.
All except Loring were shot on a weekend — two each on Saturday and Sunday — with a high-powered rifle, most likely from a nearby road, investigators said. Loring, who had three children, the oldest of whom was eight, was killed on a Wednesday (at a time Dillon was on vacation), and the bullet that shattered his skull was never found.
“His hat blew straight up about 20 feet,” a remorseless Dillon confessed later to police. “I knew I had to blow his whole head off.”
At each of the murder scenes there was little to go on. The killer left virtually nothing like spent casings or other forensic evidence, and no witnesses ever saw any cars.
It would take a letter to a local newspaper written by the killer a year after he shot Paxton that gave authorities sufficient reason to believe they were seeking a serial killer. Dillon introduced himself in an anonymous two-page photocopied typescript addressed to the Times Leader, as well as to Sheriff McCort and to the Paxtons. The letter had been mailed from outside the Martins Ferry post office.
I am the murderer of Jamie Paxton, …Jamie Paxton was a complete stranger to me. I never saw him before in my life and he never said a word to me that Saturday. The motive for the murder was this - the murder itself. …
Paxton was killed because of an irresistable (sic) compulsion that has taken over my life. I knew when I left my house that day that someone would die by my hand. I just didn’t know who or where. … Technically, I meet the defintion (sic) of a serial killer (three or more victims with a cooling off period in between) but I’m an average looking person with a family, job, and home just like yourself. Something in my head causes me to turn into a merciless killer with no conscience. Five minutes after I shot Paxton I was drinking a beer and had blacked out all thoughts of what I had just done out of my mind. I thought no more of shooting Paxton than shooting a bottle at the dump.
Even the interest prompted by the letter didn’t provide any breaks in the probe. The FBI’s Behaviorial Sciences Unit was asked to prepare a profile, with the hope that it would stimulate the moribund investigation.
The two-dozen points in the profile described the killer not only as an educated white male (Dillon had a college degree), but as someone with a predilection for crimes, such as arson and killing pets and farm animals. The profile, however, was not perfect. It predicted that the killer lived within a short distance of all of the crimes (Dillon lived as far away as 150 miles), and that the murderer would be in his 20s. Dillon was 42 when he was arrested. He might be a nominal family man, but was likely a loner, the report continued. He had a drinking problem and a history of compulsive vandalism and arson. Stress would trigger the shootings, which usually would be committed while he was drunk.
Like many serial killers, Dillon began acting out against animals and started setting fires to appease his demons. He would later admit setting more than 100 fires and killing more than 1,000 pets and farm animals. His trips through the backwoods of Ohio were always taken alone and he would stop on his way to buy beer.
It was a an August 1992 tip from a high school friend who became disturbed about Dillon’s animal slaughters and preoccupation with serial killers that finally broke the case.
“He asked me if I thought he could, or had, killed somebody,” the late Richard Fry told the Akron Beacon Journal in 1993. “The way he looked at me chilled my blood. I thought he had a secret to tell. It was the look on his face and in his eyes.”
As teens, the two men would drive through the countryside taking shots at road signs and critters and lighting small fires, but Fry recalled that Dillon began getting more violent and cruel by shooting family pets they happened across.
Dillon was not only cruel to animals, Fry recalled. Once, Dillon shot a chipmunk in his back yard, grabbed the dead animal and chased his son around the yard. When the little boy tripped and fell, Dillon rubbed his face with the bloody rodent.
Fry called a Tuscarawas County detective and finally after 39 months, the task force had a solid lead. The first clue linking him to the crime was that his off-duty and vacation time matched the dates of the killings. The FBI followed Dillon for about a month and watched him buy guns, drive around aimlessly and shoot at stop signs, animals, electric meters and even take pot-shots at populated areas. Most telling, Dillon visited Loring’s grave in Massachusetts.
“When I went to New England last year with my wife … I looked up on microfilm in the Plymouth Library where the guy lived and everything,” Dillon told police after his arrest. “He was from the Duxbury area. I just read, you know, to see what–who the hell he was. I didn’t know who he was.”
Throughout the summer and early fall, Dillon was shadowed by authorities who were only able to pin a cattle-shooting on him. As hunting season approached, they decided they had to move in to stop any further killings.
Authorities arrested Dillon on a federal weapons charge — he was awaiting sentencing for possessing a silencer — and announced that he was their suspect in the serial shootings. At a press conference they asked anyone with firearms transactions with Dillon to come forward.
On December 4 a gun dealer brought in a Swedish Mauser rifle he said that Dillon had sold him on April 6, the day after Bradley was murdered. Ballistics tests indicated that it was the rifle used to kill Bradley and Hawkins. On Jan. 27, Dillon was indicted on capital charges in both cases.
In return for the state dropping the death penalty specifications, Dillon pleaded guilty to five counts of murder and was sentenced to five consecutive life terms.
“I have major problems,” he said at the time. “I’m crazy. I want to kill. I want to kill.”
He blamed a turbulent childhood for his problems.
Dillon also publicly said he was afraid to be sent to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, site of a murderous riot just a few years before he was caught. In response to his concerns, family members of his victims began a petition drive to have him sent there. More than 8,000 Ohioans signed the petitions, which the State of Ohio honored.
The psychologist who examined Dillon at the request of his defense attorneys summarized why Dillon’s story is so frightening.
“What you see … is someone who looks and presents in a way that seems frighteningly normal,” Dr. Jeffrey Smalldon told CBS News. “And the reality is that most of the people who commit crimes like those that Dillon committed come across just that way.”
Shameless Self-Promotion
This person Dillon should have been sentenced to death. If our government would NEVER let
these jackasses out of jail the first time they do something crazy, then more lives would
be saved. The same goes for sexual predators.
If someone kills him in the Ohio Pen, all I can say is it saves tax dollars.
Comment by arlee — 11/3/2006 @ 10:55 am
Kevin Loring was a friend of mine. A close friend that I think of often and miss very much.
Kevin was a family man first.
He worshiped his wife and kids and worked hard to provide them a good life.
Kevin was a skilled tradesman, Outdoors man, sports fan, A real all American mans man. The kind of guy that mad people smile and you just wanted to be around
The world is a lesser place with out him in it and there is a special place in hell for the man that took him away from us.
I just felt like I needed to let you know this.
Eddy
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 2/10/2007 @ 6:41 pm
Kevin was a friend of mine too. I miss him dearly. i think of him every time i go hunting or fishing, wishing he was still with us. there was a core group of 4 guys that always hung out together and hunted and fished together. He was an integral part of that group. he had the best stories and was always a true friend.
His death changed my life only to the point that i realized life is short and precious. i try not to waste it and i try to live it to its fullest.
I’m a bit more paranoid in the woods today because of this tragedy and am ready to shoot when i see someone else in the woods. i will not go the way he did. i hope that someday i will see him again in a better place and until then i hope that someone will do gods work and teach mr. dillon the lesson he so richly deserves. I miss you kevin! — Gary Davis
Comment by Gary Davis — 10/3/2007 @ 2:23 pm
I worked with Tom Dillon at the Water Department. Used to eat lunch with him. And the doctor is right - he was frighteningly normal. I liked the guy (until I found out he killed those hunters). He had a great sense of humor. We knew he was a little strange, but sadly, most of us never caught on what he was really about until he was arrested. We did know he liked to shoot animals, and we had a nickname for him “Killer”, believe it or not. We had no idea how accurate that nickname would later prove to be. Only afterward did his quirks add up to us and it made sense that this guy would turn out to be a serial killer. I feel so bad for the families of the people he killed. Such a horrible, sad story.
Comment by Don — 10/21/2007 @ 10:42 pm
He’s not the monster everyone made him out to be, he was my dad. What the media and everyone else did to him wasnt fair. I think he should have been sent to a mental hospital instead of prison, he’s not at Lucasville anymore thank god, he’s at Corrections Medical Center, which should help him more.
Comment by Jon — 3/21/2008 @ 6:49 pm
Jon,
“fair”? “He” wasn’t treated fairly?
He KILLED at least 5 people in cold blood and is suspected to have killed as many as 11. If that’s not the definition of a monster, I don’t know what it.
I’m sorry you lost your farther, I really am.
I can’t even imagine what it’s like for you.
BUT please don’t suggest he’s anything but what he is or deserves anything less then the punishment he’s received.
He’s pure evil and death should come to him slow and with as much pain as possible because it could never equal the pain he’s caused the people his atrocities have effected.
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 5/13/2008 @ 8:59 pm
Oh and Jon,
If your interested I’d honestly like to communicate with you personally in the future and learn more about Thomas Dillon.
I’ve tried to communicate with him over the years but never received a response.
Again, I’m sorry about your loss.
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 5/13/2008 @ 9:08 pm
jon , too bad you dad didnt think of his family befor he took innocent lives of unexpecting victims…jamie paxton was my cousin and his family misses him just as much today as we did the day your dad decided to take him from us.I am not a religious man but I do pray that there is a place in hell for “the killer”.Your dad didnt think of the sorrow he Was causing to the families of his victims so I could care less of the loss of your “dad”…every time I see my aunt , uncle or cousins , I feel the pain they live with everyday without jamie…now that I know you feel that pain of being without “the killer” , I will sleep better.burn in hell Thomas Dillon. not a monster? GIVE ME A BREAK…HE A COWARDLESS KILLER..
Comment by KEN PATTERSON — 6/23/2008 @ 2:50 pm
Kevin was my god father. He was my dads best friend. Not a day goes by that my dad doesn’t mention him, or some little anecdote about their childhood. Jon, I’m sorry you grew up with out a father, but its disrespectful to think what he got was unjust. There happened to be a little girl and two little boys who also grew up with out a father because of what Thomas Dillon did. Although I was 5 when he died, I loved Kevin and still do. What happened was a tragedy and it affected more people than you will ever know. Remember that next time you think your dad deserves a break. What break did his kids, or his wife, or his brother, or my dad get? Kevin was obviously well loved, and he deserved to live. To Eddy and Gary, you are not alone. It might seem foolish too miss someone I can hardly remember, but I feel as though he is still a part of my life. After my mom’s death my dad found so much solace in knowing Kevin was in heaven with her. Kevin has always been and will always be my guardian angel and I’m sure anyone else who knew him would feel the same way. Love and peace to all affected. Especially the friends and family of Kevin Loring.
Comment by Samantha — 7/4/2008 @ 9:19 pm
WOW, hold on a minute.
Sorry Ken believe me you I understand your passion BUT Jon’s just as much a victim as your Aunt or Uncle. Or any of us involved in this .
Jon lost his Dad and his family was ripped apart at no fault of his own.
From all reports his Farther fooled a lot if not most people in to believing he was a “normal” every day kinda guy.
No one wants to think their Dad, or anyone could be this insane and it not be recognized.
There is no doubt in my mind that Jon suffered unfairly though out all of this.
In fact I give him a lot of credit for coming on here and posting.
It gave me a little more insight from a direct source and I greatly appreciate that.
I encourage Jon to do more of it. He can do some good for himself and other people who have been affected by all this.
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 7/6/2008 @ 3:30 pm
Lol this was extremely entertaining to read. Quite an interesting fellow. Does it really matter if he was sentenced to death or not? It is better to have life in prison without possibility of parole as the punishment. With death, you get freedom. You no longer have to stick with the deeds you have done, nor do you have to sit alone in your cell day after day, year after year. Ever talked with a prisoner with that kind of sentenced. They lose their minds. With a death sentence, the state kills you after about 10 years or so due to all legal stuff that goes on.
Comment by OLlama — 9/10/2008 @ 2:05 pm
my condolences to all of the families and friends of the victims in this case. something has been nagging at me for better than fifteen years: was this kevin loring, of duxbury, mass., my old friend and school-mate who graduated from west bridgewater high school in 1981. if not, i can put to rest my worries about kev, my old friend, lover of life and of music from the beatles to ozzy.
Comment by andy sheehan — 12/4/2008 @ 3:06 am
Hi Andy,
No, this Kevin Loring was born and raised in Duxbury. I know he would have graduated before 81. I think it was more like 1979 from Duxbury High.
I’m glad to see this page is still available to people, I check it often.
In keeps me connected in a small way and every now and then a little comfort. glavin215@yahoo.com
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 12/19/2008 @ 9:08 am
My brother and father were hunting in the Zanesville area when all of this was happening . I was about 10. It terrified me. Now I’m a police officer and recently found out one of my classmates in college is a child of one of dillon’s victims. They have been effected in such a profound way that it is unimaginable. His victim’s families ( and his children too) are in my prayers
Comment by A friend — 4/6/2009 @ 6:04 pm
My dad was friends with him and when they were going hunting he fired shots at his feet
Comment by Sean — 5/11/2009 @ 12:38 am
jon, kevin was my brother, and one of my best friends. i still miss him every day. i remember watching you in court the day your dad was sentenced, and i felt just as bad for you as i did for my own family. we all lost here. you say your father is at a medical facility? i would like to know more. please post more info.
Comment by caryn loring — 6/8/2009 @ 7:31 am
He was there when I posted then, now he is back at Lucasville, but he isnt in good health.
Comment by Jon — 6/27/2009 @ 5:52 pm
And I wasnt there at court, the papers got me confused with someone else.
Comment by Jon — 6/27/2009 @ 5:58 pm
Thanks for clearing that up Jon.
Do you keep in contact with and or visit your Dad?
I’m curiouse as to what he’s like now vs before all this.
At least in your eyes.
Comment by Eddy Glavin — 7/10/2009 @ 5:01 pm