Where is Ty Theis?

A few years ago, America’s Most Wanted released a set of playing cards featuring 52 wanted criminals. Most had been profiled on the show many times. Tyrom Walter Theis has been walking free for more than fifteen years. He is accused of murdering three innocent women who worked at a service station. As many readers know from my previous posts, I have an immense sympathy for those souls who toil day in and day out at convenience stores, gas stations, and other jobs that put their lives in danger. The murders of these women cry out for justice.

It was early in the morning of January 17, 1994, when a masked gunman entered the Leather's Oil Company gas station in Gresham, Ore. The three women working that day were well-known in the small community. Mary Beth Garey, 25, and her mother-in-law, Rosalie Girtz, as well as Kay Endicott, were all victims of a robbery gone wrong - a robbery that cops believe was committed by a young man Kay knew all too well: former Leather's employee Tyrom Theis.

Tyrom, or Ty to the locals, worked at the gas station in the months prior to January 17. Described as wholesome, on-time, and conscientious, Theis only had one spot of trouble during the time he worked at Leather's: he took $30 from the till, confessed, and was placed on suspension. During the forced leave, Theis eventually told his boss that he wouldn't be returning to work and that he needed "a change of scenery."

Investigators believe Theis targeted the gas station that Sunday morning because he knew the cash register would be full with the weekend's receipts. They also think he laid in wait, staking out his former workplace, until he made his move. What he may not have planned on was Kay working on January 17.

Once Theis had the cash, close to $9,000, he herded the three women into the garage workshop at gunpoint and ordered them to lie face-down on the floor. Cops say that's when he opened fire, shooting all three women in the head.

Police tell AMW that Theis didn't skip town right away, staying in town for a few days and going about his usual business. It wasn't until two accomplices cracked and confessed to authorities that Theis fled.

Fifteen years after the horrific triple murder, cops believe Theis is still in the United States and living under a new identity.

According to the AMW website, the suspected killer is six-feet-four inches tall and at the time of the murders weighed 180 pounds. He has brown hair and brown eyes. His habits at the time of his disappearance included chewing his nails down to the nub, drinking Jack Daniels and Budweiser, and smoking Marlboro Reds.

[This profile was compiled by Robert Brown of the AMW Staff. I have edited it.]