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in: California, 1991, 1992,
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Tom Roche

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Tom roche

Tom Roche with Barbara Rondeau

Real Name: Thomas Richard Roche
Nicknames: Tom
Location: Burbank, California
Date: September 13, 1991

Bio[]

Occupation: Machine Shop Manager
Date of Birth: November 17, 1954
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 210 pounds
Marital Status: Dating
Characteristics: Caucasian male. He has tattoos of a Viking and a wizard.

Case[]

Details: Thirty-six-year-old Tom Roche and thirty-two-year-old Barbara Rondeau of Burbank, California, loved nothing better than to fire up their Harley-Davidson and hit the road. They belonged to a club that often drove on weekend trips across California. They were well-liked by their fellow club members. Tom was originally from Pittsfield, Massachusetts. After serving in the Navy, he moved to Rhode Island. He and Barbara met there in 1976, then moved to California in 1988 to escape the cold weather (which aggravated arthritis in his knee). After sixteen years together, cycling was a passion they shared. They spent all of their extra time riding. They had a very close relationship. She described him as her “lover, teacher, guide.” She felt that he was her whole life.
Like their fellow cycle club members who were lawyers, plumbers, and accountants, Tom and Barbara held steady, everyday jobs. She worked at a blueprint company. He was an expert in metal playing. In Fall 1991, he accepted a well-paid management position with a company that plated aircraft parts. He quit his previous job as a supervisor in a machine shop and was scheduled to start at the new one on Monday, September 16. Three days before, on Friday, September 13, he drove Barbara to work. They made plans to meet for lunch. But he never showed up and never called to explain.
When Barbara’s lunchtime came around, she waited outside for him, but he was not there. She hung around for several minutes. She thought that he might have gotten caught up at his new place of employment. However, she felt certain that he would have called her and told her he was not going to make it. She did not believe that he would have left her "hanging there" waiting on him.
By the time Barbara got home to their Rogers Street apartment at about 5:30pm, she still had not heard from Tom. She was surprised to find the front door unlocked. She searched through the house but could find no sign of him. Everything seemed to be in place except for him. But an ominous pattern soon emerged. The newspaper was still unopened. Strange, since Tom rarely left the sports page unread. A motorcycle battery that he had planned to install that morning was on the counter. The answering machine was off, suggesting he had planned to be at home most of the day.
Barbara had no choice but to wait and hope. She did not sleep at all that night. She spent the time trying to figure out where Tom was and why he had not called to let her know where he might be. The next day, she reported him missing to the police. Detective Carl Costanzo notes that there are a lot of different circumstances for different types of missing persons. They could take off because of family problems, money problems, or a number of other reasons. Detective Constanzo says that they usually do not know the reason until they talk to the person’s family or friends.
Barbara noted that if Tom did want to get out of their relationship or had a problem with it, he would have told her. She, along with other family and friends, did not believe he would have left his beloved Harley-Davidson motorcycle behind. They also pointed out that he had no criminal record and was not a drug user. Routine questioning around the neighborhood turned up nothing significant. Police could not determine whether Tom had left voluntarily or become the victim of some kind of violence. It was as though he had simply evaporated. However, Barbara was convinced something terrible had happened to him. She circulated missing person flyers at his usual hangouts. No one came forward with any information, and he was officially listed as a missing person.
Five days passed. Barbara’s father flew in from Rhode Island to be with her. Then, on Thursday, September 19, a letter arrived addressed "to the family of Thomas Roche.” In the envelope were Tom’s driver’s license, credit card, and the earring he had been wearing the day he disappeared. They were enfolded in a letter – a bizarre confession that would wrench the case in a sinister new direction.
The letter begins by saying: “You don’t know me and hopefully never will, but I am the one who killed Tom Roche. I sent along some personal belongings of his just so that you won’t think this is some kind of sick joke or anything.” Finally, the self-proclaimed killer goes on to say, “I am very sorry for what I have done. I know in time that the guilt will leave me. So will your pain.”
After reading the letter, Barbara immediately contacted police. She was devastated. Had Tom been murdered, or was the letter a hoax? It yielded no fingerprints, bore no return address, and was, of course, unsigned. Despite the letter, Barbara did not want to believe that he was dead. Authorities immediately renewed their efforts to track Tom’s activities on Friday, September 13. Bank records show he made two deposits (one being his paycheck) at approximately 8:20am. He did not withdraw any money, indicating he had no plans to leave town.
Tom was next seen by a neighbor, talking with an unidentified white male at about 9:30am. If the letter is not a hoax, then police believe this man may have been Tom’s killer. The neighbor further stated that she had seen Tom and the man standing by a pickup truck, looking into the truck bed. She said that they were not arguing. It looked like they were just carrying on a normal conversation and there was nothing suspicious about it. Police believe that this was the last time Tom was seen alive.
However, testimony from one eyewitness suggests the letter may indeed be a hoax. Andy Marsala, an employee at a motorcycle parts store in nearby Glendale, is convinced Tom came in on Saturday, September 14, one day after the letter said he was killed. According to Andy, Tom acted somewhat strange because he did not joke around with him like they normally did. They would always joke around about what kind of motorcycle Tom rode and about it leaking oil and stuff. Andy felt that he knew Tom well enough to know that he was in the store that Saturday.
Andy said that he went in the warehouse to pick up some parts for a customer. When he came back out, Tom was gone. He believes that Tom left while he was in the warehouse. He felt that it was strange that Tom did not say anything to him when he came in or when he left. Authorities believe Andy did see Tom but suspect he is mistaken about the date. However, the account raises a disturbing possibility. Perhaps Tom intentionally fled and wrote the grotesque letter to cover his tracks.
Four months passed. With no clues, no eyewitnesses, and no further letters, the investigation dragged to a standstill…until January 11, 1992. That afternoon, authorities in Placer County, California, almost 500 miles north of Burbank, were called to investigate a report of weathered bone fragments and other personal effects strewn over a hillside in a remote, wooded area in the Sacramento Valley. Motorcycle emblems on some of the clothing eventually led authorities to link the items to Tom.
The scattered possessions included: a duffel bag, flashlight, hunting knife, bottled water, two pairs of prescription eyeglasses, an empty prescription medicine bottle, a belt, a boot, and several shirts. If the items were indeed Tom’s, he seemed to have been packed and ready for the road. Investigators contacted Barbara. She recognized all the shirts and a pair of eyeglass frames as Tom’s. She believes that the remains found with the belongings are Tom’s. However, she still has a slimmer of hope that he is still out there somewhere, and that she will find him.
What is the truth about Tom Roche? The mysterious letter, taken at face value, would explain his disappearance unless it was by Tom himself. Since his disappearance, he has had no contact with his family or friends. Barbara describes the time since his disappearance as a “nightmare” and “hell”. She says that she still lives for him, as he is “[her] life.” There is not a minute that goes by that he is not in her thoughts. She says that he will always be within her.
It is interesting to note that the letter claims that Tom was murdered and then buried in the mountains near Los Angeles, nearly 500 miles south of Placer County. In November 1992, DNA testing began on the bone fragments in an attempt to finally prove whether they are Tom’s remains. Until then, the only person who may be able to answer the questions in this case is the author of the letter. And for now, his identity remains a mystery.

Tom roche letter1

Actual letter sent by the alleged killer

Suspects: Several days after Tom's disappearance, an unknown individual sent a letter addressed "to the family of Thomas Roche", claiming to be his killer. Mailed with the letter were one of Tom's earrings, his driver's license, and his credit card. The writer starts by saying:
I am suffering a great deal of guilt right now about what I have done and I feel it is necessary to write about it for my sake and yours. You don't know me, and hopefully you never will, but I am the one who killed Tom Roche. I sent along some personal belongings of his just so that you won't think that this is some kind of sick joke or anything.
The writer continued:
I loved being in Vietnam. In fact... those were the happiest days of my life. I felt such a rush whenever I had a confirmed kill that it was hard to switch it off when I came back to the states. For 18 long years I have held this in check despite the nightmares and fantasies about killing. This Jefferey Behemer [sic] thing really got to me and I wondered if I could still do it... I figured L.A. would be the best place for what I had in mind. I did not want just a random thing cause you can get caught that way so I set up a plan.
The writer described meeting Tom at a topless bar and planning to "quickly and efficiently" kill him after luring him to a prearranged meeting:
He fell for it and we arranged to meet on Friday the 13th...I must assure you that it was neat and quick. I do not think he suffered at all.
He later states in the letter:
I am very sorry for what I have done. I know that in time the guilt will leave me, so will your pain.
The entire contents of the letter have not yet been disclosed, nor has the letter's postmark. The letter contained no fingerprints and bore no return address. Investigators confirmed at least one portion of the letter: Tom was known to frequent topless bars. However, they were uncertain whether the letter was written by Tom's killer or Tom himself. Barbara could not think of anyone who would have wanted to hurt him.
Tom was seen talking to an unidentified white male at 9:30am the morning he vanished. The two were seen talking to each other while looking into the bed of a brown pickup truck. If the letter is not a hoax, police believe that this man was Tom's killer.
Extra Notes:

  • This case first aired on the April 7, 1993 episode.
  • It was also featured on "The Trail Went Cold" podcast.

Results: Unresolved. In January 1994, DNA testing confirmed that the bones found in Placer County were Tom's. The testing was delayed because investigators had to get DNA samples from his siblings on the East Coast to compare to the remains. The cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound. On January 11, the remains were released to his family. A memorial service was held in February. The exact circumstances of his death and the identity of the letter’s author remain a mystery.
Sadly, on January 4, 2010, Barbara passed away at the age of forty-nine.
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