Thomas Grettenberg
Encyclopedia
Thomas Earl Grettenberg (died 1989) was a serial rapist from Texas
who attacked and sexually assaulted
at least 10 and possibly as many as 24 women in 1977. He was known as the "Austin Choker".
Grettenberg's victims were predominantly Jewish co-eds at the University of Texas at Austin. His modus operandi
included: nocturnal attacks; entry of the domicile while vicim was asleep, strangulation with an electrical cord to the point of unconsciousness, followed by rape and sodomy
. Identified via police sketches, Grettenberg, an aircraft refueler, was arrested at his apartment in the fall of 1977. In December, he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two of burglary
of a habitation. He was sentenced to 123 years in the Texas Department of Corrections but served only nine.
Less than six months into his 1986 parole
in Houston, Grettenberg attacked two teenage girls in separate incidents. Convicted of burglary and theft, a Harris county court this time sentenced Grettenberg to a term of life with no eligibility for parole for 20 years.
In 1989, one of his Houston victims, a former teen beauty pageant contestant named Lisa Kilgore, filed a negligence
suit against the Texas State Pardons and Parole Board for his 1986 early release. In September of the following year, in what is believed to be an unprecedented action, the Board admitted to error (but declined explanation) and settled out of court with Kilgore in the amount of $125,000.
Grettenberg died of cancer
in prison a few weeks later.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
who attacked and sexually assaulted
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
at least 10 and possibly as many as 24 women in 1977. He was known as the "Austin Choker".
Grettenberg's victims were predominantly Jewish co-eds at the University of Texas at Austin. His modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
included: nocturnal attacks; entry of the domicile while vicim was asleep, strangulation with an electrical cord to the point of unconsciousness, followed by rape and sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
. Identified via police sketches, Grettenberg, an aircraft refueler, was arrested at his apartment in the fall of 1977. In December, he was found guilty of three counts of aggravated sexual assault and two of burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
of a habitation. He was sentenced to 123 years in the Texas Department of Corrections but served only nine.
Less than six months into his 1986 parole
Parole
Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
in Houston, Grettenberg attacked two teenage girls in separate incidents. Convicted of burglary and theft, a Harris county court this time sentenced Grettenberg to a term of life with no eligibility for parole for 20 years.
In 1989, one of his Houston victims, a former teen beauty pageant contestant named Lisa Kilgore, filed a negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
suit against the Texas State Pardons and Parole Board for his 1986 early release. In September of the following year, in what is believed to be an unprecedented action, the Board admitted to error (but declined explanation) and settled out of court with Kilgore in the amount of $125,000.
Grettenberg died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in prison a few weeks later.
Sources
- Melissa Tarkington, "State Says It Will Pay Rape Victim", Austin American Statesman, 09-17-1990, p. A1
- Unknown, "Austin Serial Rapists," Austin American Statesman, 08-04-1991, p.B8
- Ron Lubke, "Police See Pattern in Nine Rapes", Austin American Statesman 07-12-1995, p. B1