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Family Of Slain Woman Suing NYPD For Allegedly Ignoring Her 911 Calls For An Hour
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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via DCPI
By
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Published Mar 11, 2014
Modified Mar 11, 2014
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The family of Danielle Thomas, the 27-year-old Astoria woman who was tortured and killed by her boyfriend Jason Bohn in 2012, is suing the NYPD for ignoring Thomas's frantic calls for help on the night of her murder. Bohn was found guilty of murdering Thomas last week.
Thomas had attempted to call 911 while Bohn was menacing her, leaving her cell phone on as Bohn threatened her and told her he was going to kill her. The murder itself was captured on a voicemail that Thomas had left as she struggled to call for help.
Instead of trying to locate Thomas (a neighbor also called 911 about the ongoing incident) the NYPD instead went to check on a report of an “unsupervised juvenile” in the area, according to the lawsuit. "The call revealed [Thomas] was being imprisoned and tortured... and when the perpetrator found about the call, he tortured her some more as he hung up the phone," the lawsuit says.
Bohn left Thomas's dead body in a bathtub filled with ice before he called the NYPD days later, asking them to check up on her. According to then-commissioner Ray Kelly, Bohn told detectives "we had a dispute, I threw her against the wall and somebody should go check to see if she's alright."
In a letter written to the deceased Thomas from his prison cell, Bohn wrote, “Unfortunately, the police never even came to our door, despite us having issues in the past. They could have saved two lives that night. I hope your family brings a lawsuit against the city.”
The family is suing the NYPD for $10 million.
Tagged
9/11
danielle thomas
jason bohn
murder
nypd
Max Rivlin-Nadler
Max Rivlin-Nadler has been a contributor to Gothamist since 2013. He has also reported for the New York Times, NPR, and The Intercept. His years-long investigation into New York City's arcane civil forfeiture laws led to a series of reforms which altered a practice that had been taking millions from poor communities for decades. Recently, he brought back a surfing habit from a few years on the west coast, and would love to see you all out in the Rockaways.
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