Thomas McMonigle, likely serial killer, and Thora Chamberlain (NamUs MP 36923)

Thora Chamberlain's NamUs profile was added in 2017 despite the fact that she went missing in November of 1945 when she was 14 years old (she's referred to as 15 years old in some articles I read, perhaps because she was close to her birthday).  According to NamUs's last accounting of her she "was seen getting into a stranger's vehicle outside her high school in Campbell and has not been seen since." That account doesn't really jive with the media coverage of the day. If we accept the conviction and confession of a murderer and another witness who claimed to see Chamberlain then she was certainly spotted after she got into the car.

Oakland Tribune - December 16 1945

In this case, the websleuths and mystery enthusiasts won't find anything too interesting to work on with Chamberlain's case. Her killer confessed and he spent time in prison. His name was Thomas Henry McMonigle (right) although Wikipedia's page for Thora Chamberlain appears to have his name wrong (they mention one "McGonigle"). McMonigle claimed that he abducted Chamberlain, shot her, and threw her over a cliff called Devil's Slide (see photo below) into waters that were described as tumultuous. According to one writer of the day "the undertow and swell is such that it is possible the body might have been torn to pieces within several days" (Oakland Tribune - Dec 16 1945). NamUs says that the girl's DNA is available, but the chances of finding something to compare too has to be considered at the utmost edge of the possible.

Devil's Slide as photographed in modern times
(Creative Commons/Lawrence Lansing).

How they got her DNA is a bit of a mystery since they weren't aware of the scientific advancement in 1945 and wouldn't be for a few more decades. But they did find her socks, which were of her school colors as she was abducted heading to a football game, near the spot that McMonigle said he killed her and they linked those socks to her. It could be that they were able to find some DNA from that clothing as evidence in crimes isn't simply discarded due to the passage of time. McMonigle was considered a suspect because of prior suspicion in a crime involving a similarly-aged female youth.

Besides McMonigle seeing Chamberlain, there's also the sighting of Mrs. Ella Beaudoux. She says she witnessed a girl in the back seat of a car near the scene and the time of the abduction "clawing at the window" at the back of the car as it sped away. Mrs. Ella Beaudoux was a Physician & Surgeon at the time of a 1921 passport application. In my opinion, such professionals are good witnesses when it comes to events that they have no personal connection to because they are not frivolous in what they say as they are well-schooled in the importance of facts in matters such as these.

At this point, we should look back at what NamUs said because I don't agree with the last-seen statement with that source which says that Chamberlain was last seen entering a stranger's car. Chamberlain was seen in the car after she got into it, the stranger they mention isn't an unnamed person by any stretch because McMonigle was proven to have killed her in court. The way NamUs makes it sound is like there's a mystery here.

But Chamberlain's fate isn't too mysterious and it is very possible that there's no further justice on the matter of her disappearance and death to be had. I would say that websleuths out there should not be working on Thora Chamberlain's case. Her body might be lost to the ocean and the creatures within it for seven decades now, making the situation of recovery entirely futile -- and pointless given that justice was actually served on her killer.

However, where websleuths should focus is on her abductor: Thomas Henry McMonigle is a probable serial killer in my view. Other girls identified him as trying to lure them into their vehicles. Working on his life history may yield a Ted Bundy-like history in my opinion. I noted some similarities for sure between the two:

1. Luring victims into vehicles.
2. Preying on women.
3. Theft as a pettier crime.
4. McMonigle defended himself at a trial as Bundy did.
5. McMonigle had scores of women attesting to his character despite the evidence against him. Bundy also received a lot of support from adoring women while in prison.
6. McMonigle had a problematic upbringing.
7. Those that knew both were shocked to find out that each was capable of murder.
8. Both were considered good looking and intelligent.
9. Both were chronic liars.

McMonigle is someone whose life should be placed under a microscope. To start that, here are some details I uncovered:

• Born: May 28th, 1914 in Covell, McLean County, Illinois, USA
• Dead: Feb. 20, 1948 in Marin County, California, USA
• He was in prison when he was 17 (sometime around May of 1931) according to one news source.
• Occupations included bus driver, truck driver, and a guard at something called "Mills field" (The Times, San Mateo, California, December 17 1945)
• Owned a 1933 Plymouth Sedan
• Attempted to gain employment as the captain of ambulance drivers, was refused
• Once remarked to have killed 11 people (source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aug 18 1957/writer: Don Becker)
• Received death penalty for murdering Chamberlain despite the fact that her body was never found (considered strange in the press of the time)
• In his teens (ie. March 28th, 1927 to March 28th, 1934) he was arrested for vagrancy, assault, and attempt to rape (source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, Aug 18 1957). He served an eight-year and three-month prison sentence at one point
• His 4th arrest was for fighting a bus driver
• His 5th arrest was for attacking a young girl, but the family didn't press charges. It's this arrest that made him a suspect in the Chamberlain disappearance.
• He fled to Illinois sometime after the abduction of Chamberlain (ie. November 2, 1945)
• He was also the suspect in the murder of what was called a "San Francisco negress" (a black woman)
• I found no evidence of him serving in WWII.
• He can be placed near East Alton/Edwardsville, Illinois on June 5th, 1934 when he would have been about 21 (The Edwardsville Intelligencer/page 2).

• McMonigle appears to have participated in and lost a boxing match on Monday, March 23rd, 1931 (at the age of 16). The Alton Evening Telegraph in Illinois notes what seems to be his participation in bouts involving "Club and Unemployed Men." Alton is the area that McMonigle is associated with at that time in his life. The date of the fight would mean that McMonigle was not in custody at the time. Furthermore, the news article notes a body weight of 150 pounds at the age of 16.

• He can be placed in Alton still, or again, around Monday, November 19th, 1931 (Alton Evening Telegraph, Page Two). 

• His father Stephen's address is mentioned as 316 Goulding Avenue in East Alton in a February 17th, 1941 in the Alton Evening Telegraph announcing the wedding of his daughter Alma
• Brother Roy McMonigle was a criminal too (Alton Evening Telegraph/August 12th 1933)