Allen man sentenced for killing ex-lover's husband

08:42 PM CST on Wednesday, January 9, 2008

By JENNIFER EMILY / The Dallas Morning News
jemily@dallasnews.com

An Allen man who became so obsessed with an ex-lover that he killed her husband pleaded guilty to the March 2000 slaying Wednesday and was sentenced to 18 ½ years in prison. Prosecutors say Frederick Pheiffer, now 52, had a three-month affair with Michael Thomas' wife and continued to pursue her after she ended their liaison. When Elizabeth Thomas refused to restart their relationship, Mr. Pheiffer brutally beat Mr. Thomas with a gun and shot him twice at the couple's home in Bluffview Estates. He was 52 when he died. After the hearing, Mrs. Thomas said she will "always have guilt" because of the affair. "I could never change that wrong decision I made," she said after the hearing. "But what I could do is make sure he didn't get away with murder." During Mrs. Thomas' victim impact statement to Mr. Pheiffer during the court hearing, she held her husband's ashes in a clear plastic bag. "This is what is left of my husband, Mike," she told him as she stood near the witness stand. "But you can never take the love and memories." Mr. Pheiffer did not appear to speak during the hearing and has lost weight since his arrest in February. He hobbled to the bench and then again when he left the courtroom. His family left the courtroom without commenting. Mr. Pheiffer did not respond to an interview request sent to him at the Dallas County Jail. His attorney, Bob Smith, said after the hearing that Mr. Pheiffer is taking responsibility for what happened. "He fully recognizes what a tragic situation it is for several families and accepts his responsibility for causing the tragedy," Mr. Smith said. 

Part of the plea bargain required that Mr. Pheiffer detail what happened the day of the murder. But neither Mr. Smith nor Dallas County prosecutor Josh Healy would comment about what Mr. Pheiffer said.

Mr. Pheiffer and Mrs. Thomas had an affair while they worked together on a project in Switzerland. She ended the affair but did not tell her husband about it, prosecutors said. The couple then sought counseling because of marital problems.

But Mr. Pheiffer continued trying to woo Mrs. Thomas, said Mr. Healy and Joe Decorte, a former Dallas homicide sergeant who is now retired.

Mr. Pheiffer scheduled his business trips to coincide with hers, offered to help her with car problems and called her repeatedly. In the month Mr. Thomas was killed, Mr. Pheiffer made 105 calls to Mrs. Thomas. He would call her work phone when he knew she was out of town and would not be able to answer.

Mr. Pheiffer even scripted messages for his then-wife to leave on the Thomases' answering machine to make Mrs. Thomas think her husband was having an affair. He told his wife that he was playing a joke on someone.

Mr. Pheiffer continued his obsession with Mrs. Thomas after the death of her husband. He sent her a dozen roses with a note saying he wanted her to be happy, she said after Wednesday's hearing.

Hours before his death, Mr. Thomas called police to report that while he was in the living room, someone used a key to open the front door. Mrs. Thomas was away on a business trip.

Mr. Thomas chased away the intruder, who wore a gray wig, sunglasses and an Army-style hat, which was left behind.

DNA found inside the hat matched Mr. Pheiffer. DNA found on a belt used to bind Mr. Thomas also could have belonged to Mr. Pheiffer, but Mr. Healy said the sample was of lesser quality than what was in the hat.

Although the hat placed Mr. Pheiffer in the home about six hours before the murder, Mr. Healy and Mr. Decorte said that until recently, they could not directly link Mr. Pheiffer to the crime .

Recently, authorities discovered that an unfired reloaded bullet found under Mr. Thomas' body matched equipment Mr. Pheiffer used to make bullets.

Walter Black, who met Mr. Thomas in 1966 at Texas A&M University and remained close to him, told Mr. Pheiffer in a victim impact statement that he wanted to do to him what Mr. Pheiffer did to Mr. Thomas. But then he said he realized that would not bring his friend back.

"You're an absolute animal," said Mr. Black, who was one of several people who discovered the body when Mr. Thomas did not show up for dinner.

Before Mr. Black left the witness stand Wednesday, he told Mr. Pheiffer that he wanted to give him the Bible he brought to court. "I hope you use it."