Early Life and Family Background
David Courtney Thomas was born on December 21, 1967, to Roland and Inez Thomas. He had an older sister named Valerie and at least two brothers. Described by his ex-girlfriend as a fun-loving man with a penchant for hustling, David was known for his lively personality.
David Courtney Thomas’s Personal Struggles and Family Life
At the time of his disappearance, David was on probation for retail theft and had no permanent place of residence. He was a loving father of two children, though one of them tragically passed away in 1990. David had a 2-year-old daughter named Cortia, whom he visited regularly. He lived intermittently with his girlfriend, Chundra Beanland, the mother of his daughter, for a few years.
David Thomas Disappearance
David was last seen on September 24, 1990, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His family had last heard from him a month before. Although it wasn’t unusual for David to be gone for weeks at a time, his ex-girlfriend reported his disappearance to the police at the suggestion of David’s probation officer.
Read more: How did Tracy Edwards escape Dahmer?
Meeting with Dahmer
On September 24, 1990, three weeks after Ernest Miller’s murder, Dahmer ran into David Thomas at the Grand Avenue Mall. Dahmer offered David money to pose for nude pictures. At Dahmer’s place, he gave David a drink with sleeping pills. When David fell unconscious, Dahmer realized that he wasn’t attracted to him. Despite wanting to let David go, Dahmer feared David would be upset about being drugged. Consequently, Dahmer strangled and dismembered him, capturing the process on camera. Unlike some of his other victims, Dahmer did not keep David’s body parts as trophies. Authorities believe David’s remains were destroyed. David’s family learned of his fate 10 months after his disappearance when Dahmer was caught.
Inez Thomas’ Heartfelt Speech
At Dahmer’s trial in 1992, David’s mother, Inez, addressed Dahmer:
“First, I want to let you know, Jeffrey Dahmer, about the pain that you caused my family. That was my baby boy that you took away from me. His sister and his brothers can’t deal with this. He has a little child named Cortia. She’ll never see her father again. She was only two, and now she sits at the window asking her mother, ‘Mommy, where is Daddy? When is Daddy coming?’ I think that is a sad thing for a child to see, to go through all of her life not to know her father.”
The Family’s Grief
David’s cousin, Alice Thomas, recalled the family’s anguish after his death:
“When Uncle Roland cried to my father about David I saw my dad Buckle. I felt both their pain plus mine. I imagine that weight it’s still horrifying to me. I can’t hardly make room for it in my head to comment on blessings to all affected by this demonic creature.”
-Alice Thomas
Aftermath and Legacy
After the release of the show “Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” in 2022, both Inez and Alice spoke about the potential harm the show could cause. Inez stated that she had all the transcripts from the trial and that they did not match the events depicted in the series. David’s sister, Valerie, testified that she attended therapy for two years after her brother’s tragic death. Although David’s remains were never found, Dahmer admitted to killing him, and David’s family recognized him in the photographs from Dahmer’s apartment. David’s grave is at Wisconsin Memorial Park in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
