Lois J. Tomich (née Fraissinet) was a woman who disappeared from Council Bluffs, Iowa in November 1983. Her remains were found in a 55-gallon barrel near Council Bluffs, Iowa on May 6, 2006 and she was identified on November 15, 2006. The prime and lone suspect, her husband, Thomas, died by suicide the next day.
Background[]
Lois J. Fraissinet was born on November 20, 1955 in Council Bluffs to George and Guelda Bowen Fraissinet. She attended Longfellow Grade School and graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1973. Afterwards, Lois served in the United States Army Reserve and worked as a waitress at Epley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska.
In 1980, Lois married Thomas Tomich and had one daughter, Alicia. The next year however, they divorced, and Lois got custody of their daughter. It is believed they divorced because Thomas had a bad temper and was physically abusive to Lois, something Alicia corroborated. By 1983, she was seeing Thomas' brother, Mark Dawson.
Disappearance[]
Tomich was infuriated that Lois was seeing Mark, that he got into a fight with Mark about it. Shortly afterwards in November 1983, Lois disappeared and was not seen or heard from again. George filed a missing person's report with the local police, who interviewed everyone, including Tomich. Tomich stated she moved to Texas, but police were not convinced.
Between Lois' disappearance and discovery, Tomich married two more times and had three children. Both wives reported being abused by him too with the last one filing an order of protection against him after she claimed he struck her in the leg and mouth, requiring stitches and a visit to the hospital. One stated that he threatened her by saying, "she would end up in a barrel like Lois did."
Discovery[]
The skeletal remains of an unknown woman were discovered in a partially buried barrel by mushroom hunters in rural Iowa near Big Lake Park and Council Bluffs. She was strangled with the coat hanger found in the barrel with her and the barrel was filled with 800 pounds of concrete. After she was discovered, officials asked a forensic anthropologist at Kansas State University for assistance and the Lee company was also asked to track the history of the jeans found in the barrel with her. The clothes found were manufactured in 1983.
Initially, it was theorized she was a victim of John Edward Robinson. Robinson had a business partner in the area and long stretches of his time remain unaccounted for. Between 1984-1999, Robinson killed eight women in Missouri and Kansas and dumped their bodies in chemical barrels.
Identification[]
Authorities believed that Lois could be a potential candidate of who the unknown woman was. At the time of her disappearance, Tomich worked at a construction company that used construction-grade concrete similar to that used in the barrel. Additionally, a forensic artist sketched the victim's face and there were similarities. Their theory was proven correct when DNA collect from Alicia made a maternal match to the unknown woman on November 15, 2006. By the time of her identification, her daughter, father, two sisters, and two brothers were still alive. Her remains were buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Council Bluffs.
The next day, investigators located Tomich in Omaha. According to them, he was very nervous and reluctant to answer their questions. After they left, he drove to the Rorick Apartments in Omaha where he worked as a janitor. He climbed to one of the top floors and then jumped to his death.
Although Lois' case is considered closed, Thomas Tomich remains a person of interest for the 2006 murders of two Omaha prostitutes, Brianne Smith and Debra Barajas.
Characteristics[]
- Her race is White, but she could have had Black ancestry.
- Straight brown hair.
Clothing[]
- Lee brand jeans (Size 11).