Infamous Serial Killer Tied To 1974 Cold Case Killing In SoCal Desert

INLAND EMPIRE, CA — Around 6 a.m. Oct. 1, 1974, Daniel Ashton Walker parked his van alongside Interstate 40, about 62 miles west of Needles, in San Bernardino County.

He and his passenger wanted to rest.

It went tragically wrong.

Walker was awakened by an unknown suspect and shot multiple times. The passenger escaped and made it to safety before flagging down a motorist for help. First responders got to Walker and transported him to a local hospital, but he died from his injuries, according to authorities.

Walker was just days shy of his 22nd birthday.

For decades, his killer eluded San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives. But this week — nearly 50 years after the slaying — a suspect was identified: Serial murderer Thomas Eugene Creech, who is Idaho's longest-serving death-row inmate.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is not releasing many details into how the now-73-year-old Creech became a suspect. Nor was information released about a possible motive for the slaying.

On November 15, 2023, "the Cold Case Team resumed the investigation into the murder of Daniel Walker," the sheriff's department said Wednesday. "Cold Case Detectives obtained additional information related to the murder and identified the suspect ... as Thomas Eugene Creech."

At least part of the additional information came from Creech, authorities allege.

"While working with the Ada County District Attorney’s Office in Idaho, Cold Case Detectives were able to corroborate intimate details from statements Creech made regarding Daniel’s murder," the sheriff's department reported. "The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case and is in consultation with the Ada County District Attorney’s Office."

Creech has a history of talking, according to old newspaper reports.

In 1975, while on trial for a double murder in Idaho, Creech "confessed" to 42 killings around the country, though authorities doubted all of his claims, the Associated Press reported at the time. Creech was on trial for the November 1974 shooting deaths of two housepainters: John Wayne Bradford, 40, and Edward Thomas Arnold, 34. He admitted knowing the victims but denied he was the killer despite "confessing" to dozens of other slayings, the AP reported.

In total, Creech has been convicted of five murders. In addition to the Bradford and Arnold slayings, Creech was found guilty in the killings of William Joseph Dean in Portland, Oregon; Vivian Grant Robinson in Sacramento, California; and fellow inmate David Dale Jensen.

Creech is currently incarcerated at Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, Idaho.

The latest allegations against Creech come just days after the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole held a clemency hearing for him. Following the Jan. 19 hearing, the commission was to decide whether to recommend to Idaho Gov. Brad Little that Creech’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison without parole.

Creech had faced a November execution, but the commission stayed the order to decide the clemency request. Idaho is one of just a few states that authorize the use of a firing squad as an execution method.

The San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office said it is in consultation with the Ada County District Attorney’s Office on next steps in the latest case facing Creech.

Meanwhile, Creech's public defender told KTLA the timing of the latest allegations is suspect, citing the "intimate details" Creech allegedly provided to law enforcement about the Walker killing.

“These details somehow now make Mr. Creech a new suspect in a crime that has never been tied to him, despite several efforts to link it to him as far back as 1975, when teams of federal and local law enforcement officials were determined to prove the fantasy that he committed 50 murders,” attorney Deborah A. Czuba said.

Ada County prosecutors characterize Creech as a cold-blooded killer now trying to manipulate his way out of execution by apologizing for his brutality.

Ada County Deputy Prosecutor Jill Longhurst told the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole, "Thomas Creech hasn’t changed from the charming, likable, sociopath he’s always been."

Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Detective Justin Carty, Specialized Investigations Division – Homicide Detail, Cold Case Team, at 909-890-4904. Callers can remain anonymous and contact We-Tip at 800-78CRIME or www.wetip.com.