Case closed on oldest unsolved Tallahassee murder; TPD seeks tips on other cold cases

It's case closed for Tallahassee's oldest unsolved murder.

The 1957 homicide of Dorothy Thomas, who was killed in a dry cleaning store off of Tennessee Street, is no longer listed as a cold case, Tallahassee Police Department Chief Lawrence Revell announced Wednesday.

“Every single case is important to us, and we'll make sure every single day that we can look at those cases we've worked on … to make sure that we're bringing as much closure as we can to the families that are victimized by these crimes,” Revell said at a press conference in front of TPD headquarters.

The announcement was part of the Big Bend Cold Case Task Force’s attempt to inform the public about its efforts to solve the area’s cold cases. The task force, made up of TPD, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the state attorney’s office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, is going through over 100 cases, including the infamous Sims family murders and the disappearance of Ali Gilmore.

The task force is reviewing these cold cases with new technology, like touch DNA and forensic genealogy, which has been used with success in central Florida, FDLE Special Agent Mark Perez said.

The last cold case solved by local law enforcement was in 2022, more than 20 years after a man was found dead in a room at the Prince Murat Hotel.

Unlike the Thomas case, which relied on an extensive review of the case file, TPD detectives in the 2022 case used new forensic technology to analyze DNA found at the original crime scene. They arrested Alan Lefferts, 71, on a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of James Branner.

A case is considered "cold" when all leads have been exhausted, Revell said. Most of the cases range from the 1960s to the early 2010s, with several per year.

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“We triage them, we look at what information is available, what has been done in the past,” Perez said. “They select those cases that they believe have the best opportunity for a review and a re-analysis of what needs to be done.”

'Closure is good': How Tallahassee police closed the city's oldest murder case

In 1957, Dorothy Thomas was 27 when she was brutally stabbed 20 times in her head and neck while working at the Nu Way Cleaners, formerly located at 633 W. Tennessee St, in what is now a strip mall near Florida State University.

The main suspect at the time, Harry Barth, was never arrested because of a lack of evidence, according to Tallahassee police.

After determining Thomas' husband wasn't a suspect, police focused in on Barth as the primary suspect because his clothes were left on the front counter but his name was crossed off the master cleaner's list. That indicated he had already picked up his clothing, according to a memo last year from the task force to the state attorney's office announcing the closure of the case.

"When TPD officers first attempted to interview Barth (in 1957), he advised he couldn’t get out of bed because he had an excruciating headache," the memo states. "Officers observed a white pair of shoes under the bed with mud on them. When officers went to interview him several days later, the shoes were missing, and Barth denied ever owning the shoes officers saw."

Detectives noted drag marks to the bathroom from the front counter and footprints in the mud behind the business. The knife was also discovered in the trash behind the building, according to a Tallahassee Democrat story on the murder from 1957.

When police initially met with Barth, he said his fingerprints might be found in the bathroom because he used it the day before the murder.

During an extensive interview with police, he allegedly uttered a number of disturbing statements. He told police “he could have killed Thomas."

"He also advised he has terrible headaches and could have blacked out or lost his temper," according to the memo. "Regarding murdering Mrs. Thomas, Barth said 'I’m not going to deny it if I did it. I may have blacked out and not remember it.' He also said not to get his wife involved '…I’ll go ahead and confess to it.' "

Witnesses could not confirm Barth's alibi, and a psychological examination determined Barth had "underlying violent characteristics and if disturbed could perform violent acts," the memo states. But there was no conclusive evidence connecting him to the murder.

After Barth died in 2019, the task force was able to gather "enough new information in going over the old information to develop probable cause" that he was the man who murdered Thomas, Revell said.

"No other relevant witnesses or evidence were located connecting Barth to this crime; though he was and is the only relevant suspect developed," the memo states.

Barth was also investigated by the Lincoln, Nebraska, Police Department in July 1974 "after a witness identified him as being with Blanche Clouse just prior to her drowning death."

"Barth denied any involvement in the murder; though there was substantial circumstantial evidence supporting Barth’s involvement in the murder," according to the memo.

In 1997, the FBI joined TPD and the Lincoln PD and interviewed Barth again. "Barth maintained his innocence and provided no new information," the memo states. Prosecutors determined in 1999 that the case should "remain open until the primary suspect dies," according to the memo.

Barth, a longtime chemist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture who was in charge of food safety and quality control, died Oct. 23, 2019.

When TPD finally closed the case, Detective Mark Ray then made "two opposite phone calls." He got to call Thomas' great nephew, who lives out of state, and tell him his aunt’s case was closed.

He said the phone call was relieving. “Any time you can provide some closure is good,” Ray said.

He also called Barth's daughter who responded "more in disbelief." He offered her the opportunity to call back with questions, but he has not heard back.

"I'm hoping that family heals as best they can with the news that we provided," Ray said.

The next case: The disappearance of Leslie McCoy

The task force is now asking the public for information about the disappearance of Leslie McCoy. McCoy, who would be 58 years old, was last seen by family and friends in 2014.

More: Tallahassee police, firefighters search for evidence in case of missing 12-year-old girl

The Sims family murders, which occurred in 1966, and the disappearance of Gilmore in 2006 are both on the task force’s radar, Ray said.

The Sims case will be harder to review, Ray said, because the lead detectives have since died. But Gilmore’s case might be easier.

“We’ll go talk to those detectives and pick their brains and see what they have to say, what leads they felt needed to still be followed up on,” he said.

What's next?

• The task force will be debuting a website, but until then, those with information can speak with a detective at 850-410-7611 or remain anonymous and call Crime Solvers at 850-574-TIPS.

Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Big Bend Cold Case Task Force closes oldest Tallahassee unsolved murder