Former co-workers are found dead within days of each other.
Tom Kueter
Was Tom’s death suicide or murder?
CASE DETAILS
Tina Marcotte
Tom Kueter was a forklift driver at a wood processing plant on the outskirts of Rapid City, South Dakota. On a June morning in 1994, Tom’s co-workers noticed something was wrong. When they reached Tom, they found his head had been crushed beneath the wheels of his forklift. Tom was 29 when he died and was survived by his wife, Nancy, and two children. Those are the facts everyone can agree on. But the cause of his death is still a mystery.
Tom’s family believed he was murdered. However, the police have a very different theory. Their investigation concluded that Tom loaded a ton of lumber onto the forklift, set it in motion, jumped from the cab, and positioned himself perfectly in the machine’s path. But why would Tom Kueter kill himself? Police believe his death may be connected to the mysterious disappearance, four days earlier, of a woman named Tina Marcotte. Tom Kueter and
Police say Tina’s tired was slashed
Tina Marcotte were casual acquaintances who once worked for the same employer. During a bizarre four day period, one turned up missing and the other turned up dead.
It all began early Friday morning on June 24, 1994. Tina Marcotte worked the late shift at Black Hills Molding. While driving home after work, her tire blew out. With no one else to call, Tina phoned her best friend, Vicky Riddle, to pick her up:
“I was already asleep and the phone rang, and she was very upset.”
Tina then told Vicky that her old friend from work, Tom, had just offered her a ride. She thanked Vicky and hung up the phone. It was the last time anyone spoke to Tina Marcotte. Initially, no one even reported her missing. Patrick Gleason, Tina’s live-in boyfriend of eleven years and the father of her three children, thought she would soon return. Then on Saturday morning, Patrick, accompanied by Tom Kueter, showed up at Vicky’s house. According to Vicky, Tom became defensive when she mentioned Tina’s last phone call:
“Tom tried to say that I was drunk and wouldn’t know Tom from Ron. And then I said, well, she said Tom, the one that used to work here, and then we started talking about that, and Tom finally admitted that he was the only Tom that he ever knew that worked there. He was just glaring at me and not acting himself.”
Patrick listened patiently. He then asked Tom if he and Tina were having an affair. According to Patrick, Tom was unconvincing in his denial:
“That right there didn’t seem right to me, because the way Tom was, if you tried to blame him for something that he didn’t have anything to do with, he would have started fighting with me. That’s the type of person he was.”
Tina’s body was found under a wood pile
Patrick and Tom went together to report Tina as a missing person. But when police went to check on Tina’s car, they discovered that the tire had been slashed with a knife. According to Investigator Dean Cuthmiller of the Pennington County Sherriff’s Department, it suggested foul play and perhaps, even murder:
“Tom Kueter was asked to come in, and he voluntarily came in to give his story. He denied giving Tina a ride anywhere, or even being out there. He stated that he had been at a softball game. He had given a friend a ride home, and his car had broken down. And he had spent approximately three or four hours fixing his car under a streetlight.”
But Tom never called his wife to say he had been delayed. According to Investigator Cuthmiller, Tom finally arrived home at around 3:30 in the morning:
“Tom’s wife, Nancy, told us that when Tom got home that night, that he immediately washed his clothes, which would have included his softball uniform as well as his shoelaces, and that led us to believe that was suspicious behavior.”
Three days after Tina disappeared, the police interviewed Tom at the lumberyard. They told him that they had found blood in his car and were testing it to see if it matched Tina’s. The next morning, Tom Kueter was dead. Investigator Cuthmiller believed Tom took his own life:
“I believe that Tom was very overwhelmed as to what was taking place and he needed a way out.”
However, Tom’s wife, Nancy Kueter, disagreed.
“Tom wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t leave me and the kids. He would not do that. I won’t ever believe that.”
Nancy believed that someone—identity and motive unknown—attacked Tom in the lumberyard, then crushed him beneath the wheels of his own forklift:
“I believe he was murdered. I just wish the police would investigate this more… there are leads in this case. I don’t believe they followed up on them.”
But the police do believe that Tom Kueter murdered Tina Marcotte. Investigator Cuthmiller speculated that on the night Tina disappeared, Tom showed up unexpectedly outside of her office:
“I believe that Tina’s tire was intentionally slashed, in order to keep her from leaving the place. I don’t believe that Tom’s appearance out there at 12:30 was coincidence, I think that was planned. I think Tom was out there waiting for her when she got off of work. The only thing that really failed in the whole plan was that she was on the phone when he drove up.”
According to the police’s theory, Tom made sexual advances towards Tina. When he was rejected, the result was murder.
Update:
Four and a half years after Tom Kueter’s death, his wife Nancy finally received insurance death benefits. A judge ruled there was not enough evidence to prove that Tom committed suicide. Sixteen months after Tina Marcotte disappeared, her body was found under a woodpile at Tom’s workplace. She had been hit on the head with a blunt object. Detectives continued to investigate this case for the next 18 years. They now consider the case closed.
Watch this case now on Amazon Prime in season eight with Robert Stack and in season two with Dennis Farina. Also available on YouTube with Dennis Farina. Various seasons available now on Hulu.
Abby
This is the most bizarre case I’ve ever heard. Maybe Tom killed Tina but who the hell commits suicide by forklift?? Also, why would he put Tina’s body in the lumbar yard which would be such an obvious place. I do believe he killed her but none of this makes sense.
William
Her body wasn’t found for another 16 months. Tom could have known that it was a good hiding spot and that he would have plenty of time to move the body once he had a chance to think. When the cops visited him at work the day before his death, he could have easily gotten spooked. Not only are they on to him, but they are at his work where the body is. How long till they start snooping around the place? If they are tracking him, he definitely can’t move her body now. Honestly, we know he picked her up and lied about it. So what is another plausible scenario? Some mysterious 3rd-person pulls them over, kidnaps Tina, and kills her? And Tom doesn’t tell anyone? There is no other scenario that fits.
JMcclo
I can only assume he knew that life insurance could be a problem collecting with a suicide, so he attempted to make it look like an accident so he could take care of his family. Which would also point to guilt, it was his way out to take care of family and avoid shame and prison as well.
Charles
He killed Tina and then killed himself? All of this sounds very farfetched. One of the most confusing cases I have seen on the show.
Jayne
Obviously having an affair.
CARLOS V CASTRILLO
How can Tom and Tina be acquaintances only, but he’s good buddies with her 11 year partner patrick and her good friend Vicky??? Of all the ways to kill yourself (an yes the prosecutor said he wanted it to look like an accident for the insurance) why a very unweildy forklift in the manner described? Is it not just as likely someone killed her, knew Tom was or would soon be under a cloud and then killed him to complete the frame up?
Why no info on the supposed blood in his car? It means it was nothing since they investigated well into the dna era. And how do we know Vicki wasn’t mistaken, in on it, or merely wanted to big herself up in the investigation? Why would she, Patrick, and Tom powwow about this before police did?
Surely a guy being accused by friends of both murder and then an affair might act a tad uncomfortable?? Seems like maybe the link with patrick and Vicky needs to be looked at more closely.
It’s all very strange. Like a too perfect Matlock frame up. Her body was found 16 months later at HIS workplace?? So he takes her from her workplace, kills her and instead of the woods or a lake, her body is in a pile at his workplace year and a half later?? Wouldn’t it stink? Attract wild animals?? Or might it have been placed there later? Im sure the police can answer that last question but it is clearly pertinent. This all smells bad, like local cops took the easy way out….
Twisted Truth
This is very helpful for a podcast we’re writing. Thanks.
Nola
I would also like to know the results of the testing of the blood found in Tom’s car. Also I believe it’s very strange that Tom, or anyone for that matter would be able to place their self directly in a position so as to have the forklift line up precisely with his head. Tina died from blunt force trauma, isn’t it possible the same thing happened to Tom and the forklift was just staged to throw people off what really happened? Tina was my best friend at that time. There’s a lot of things that make NO sense whatsoever. If Pat Gleason was with Tom earlier that day, how and when did he get home? They had 3 kids together, too young to be left home alone for any long period of time. Pat was the very jealous type and at that time, he was suspicious that Tina was cheating on him with another guy, not Tom. THAT guy Always had knives on him and liked using them. Tinas tire was slashed, Pat did not report her missing that night although if she was just a little late getting home from ANYWHERE, he would be out hunting her down and blowing up her phone. I had gone to Pat and Tina’s house 3 days after she went “missing” to see how the kids were doing. They all 3 met me at the door and one of them said, our mommy is dead, will you be our mommy now? Tina hadn’t been found yet at that time. Plus, not too much longer after all this happened, Pat packed up the kids and moved back to Massachusetts, where he is originally from. There are just way too many questions left unanswered in this case and I don’t understand how the police can close the case when even a judge said there wasn’t enough evidence to rule it a suicide in Tom’s case. I would VERY MUCH like to see the person who did this terrible thing to such a young, beautiful, loving mother and the sweetest person I’ve ever known. I want the person or persons who did this held responsible for her murder and quite possibly, Tom’s also. I mean seriously, how many times have ya heard about someone committing suicide by forklift??? I love and miss Tina still to this day R.I.P. SWEET LADY
Marco
What about the testing of blood supposdly found in Toms car.
cory
So they solved nothing
Jen
They consider it closed because there’s no further action to take. They can’t prosecute a dead man.
Han
So is Tom Keuter the murderer of Tina Marcotte or not?
Detectives continued to investigate for 18 years and considered the case closed now? Why?