Police have arrested a man for allegedly murdering a woman and dumping her body into a trash can, ABC 7 reported Wednesday.
Gregory Thomas, a 36-year-old from Thorton, Colorado, was arrested just miles from the Canadian border by authorities, according to ABC 7 Eyewitness News. Investigators believe Thomas murdered 21-year-old Lavanya Destoniy Jain before stuffing her body into a trash can inside a storage unit and will face first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body charges, according to a statement from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office received a call on May 20 about the discovery of human remains inside a storage unit at a facility in Welby, Colorado. “Upon arrival, deputies and detectives confirmed that the body of a deceased adult was in a large trash bin inside the storage unit,” the statement from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office on Facebook read. After inspecting the remains, the Adams County coroner was able to positively identify the remains as Jain, according to KMGH. “With the assistance of the Adams County Coroner, it was determined that the female victim had been killed by gunfire,” the Adams County Sheriff’s Office would later say.
Authorities obtained the address of the individual who owned the storage unit, and executed a search warrant at a residence in Thorton, Colorado, according to ABC 7. The “search of the residence revealed an additional crime scene and members of the ACSO Crime Scene and Laboratory Team collected multiple items of additional evidence,” the sheriff’s statement read. (RELATED: Mother Who Fatally Sealed Baby In Plastic Bag Loses Appeal Over Murder Conviction)
The executed search warrant on the house led authorities to determine Thomas was the primary suspect, and believed Thomas had fled to Washington state after Jain’s remains were discovered, ABC 7 reported.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office, with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Lynden Police Department in Washington, arrested Thomas at an RV park just miles from the Canadian border, according to the sheriff’s office statement.
“Thomas was arrested for an outstanding Colorado Parole Violation arrest warrant and was subsequently extradited to Colorado,” the sheriff’s office statement claimed. “An arrest warrant was obtained for Thomas for the homicide and on June 28th, 2021, the defendant was arrested at the Adams County Detention Facility while held on the Parole Violation warrant,” it added.