Woman Who Let Joseph Thomas Stay in Her Home Says He Told Her About Annie McSween's Murder

One of the women who gave Joseph Thomas a place to stay during financial trouble said he informed her about the murder of Annie McSween on Black Friday 2010 in Mentor-on-the-Lake.

"This is crazy that something like this would happen in Mentor-on-the-Lake," Jacilyn Miller remembered Thomas telling her over a cup of coffee that morning.

Miller was the second witness who took the stand Friday in Thomas' murder trial in Lake County Common Pleas Judge Richard Collins Jr.'s courtroom. Her testimony followed that of her mother, Susan Gorsha.

The women live at 5589 Marine Parkway — the same address where police found 49-year-old McSween's charred clothes, makeup and a purse in a backyard burn barrel. Miller and Gorsha agreed to let Thomas stay with the family on three separate occasions since 2005. He moved out in late 2010.

Thomas has been indicted on charges of rape, tampering with evidence, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and aggravated murder related to McSween's death. Her body was found Nov. 27, 2010 in the wooded area behind a house next to Mario's Lakeway Lounge, where McSween had been a bartender.

Miller knew Thomas through her husband, Tim, who also lives at the Marine Parkway home. She also worked with the suspect for years at Burger King on Andrews Road.

Miller said her mother allowed Thomas to stay at the house on the condition that he helped with handy work around the house and helped care for Miller's two children. He typically slept on the couch or in Miller's son's room if the child preferred to sleep with his parents on a particular night.

About 9 a.m. on Black Friday 2010, Thomas told Miller that he had "closed down" Mario's hours ago, and that it was strange to hear about a murder there, she recalled. Miller said she did not see Thomas at all on Thanksgiving Day. She had traveled to Zanesville with her husband and children, and returned late because of car problems.

Within weeks, an ex-girlfriend of Tim's told Jacilyn's sister, Justina Gorsha, that the suspect looked like Thomas. Jacilyn quickly confronted Thomas and said he needed to turn himself into the police. He said he would "take care of it," but never did, Miller testified.

A day or two later, Justina contacted the police and officers quickly took Thomas to the police station. However, he came back within an hour or two. Thomas was not identified as a suspect until April 2011 when police found McSween's clothes in the burn barrel.

"Thanks a lot for turning me in before I even had a chance," Miller said Thomas told her when he returned.

Though Miller said Thomas was only mad at her a day or so, Lake County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Cichocki pressed her about the suspect's angry response to being turned in.

"I took it as him being upset," she said. "I'm not sure what he meant by that."

Thomas could be seen looking at Miller several times Friday shaking his head in response to various questions Cichocki asked the witness. He appeared to smile at her at one point.

Cichocki also asked Miller about the burn barrel. She said the family had it for years, using it for campfires or roasing marshmallows. None of the family members ever burned clothes in it, she said. During cross-examination, Miller told defense attorney David Doughten that it was not unusual for Thomas to be awake at odd hours of the night.

"My house is really strange with the hours that everybody is up," she said. "It really did vary."

Neighbor Robert Jenkins testified Thursday that he saw a man standing over the backyard barrel around 5:30 a.m. He could not say for sure that it was Thomas, but his description fit Thomas.

The prosecution continued the trial Friday morning and afternoon with witnesses from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The trial continues at 8:30 a.m. Monday.

More trial coverage:

Jury Begins Hearing Evidence in Joseph Thomas Murder Trial

Prosecutor: Clothes of Murder Victim Annie McSween Found in Suspect's Backyard

Patrons of Mario's Lakeway Lounge Testify About the Night Annie McSween was Murdered