Brett Thomas  Brett Matthew Paul Thomas (born January 5, 1959) is an American spree killer. Together with accomplice Mark Titch, he committed 4 brutal murders in Orange County, California in January 1977 for various reasons. According to local authorities, Thomas was recognized as one of the most brutal killers in the county's history. The fact that at the time of the killings, he was only 18 and Titch - 17, respectively, makes them exceptional cases. Brett Thomas was born on January 5, 1959 in Orange County, California, into a poor family. In the 1970s, he lived at a public housing complex in Stanton, called the Stanton Apartment Complex, which was mainly populated by socially disadvantaged people and criminals. The housing complex was nicknamed "The Zoo" because of the criminogenic situation there. Since an early age, Brett showed signs of anti-social behavior, due to poor school performance and frequent absenteeism in the mid-1970s. He eventually dropped out of school and began to support himself through crimes. On January 21, 1977, Brett Thomas decided to burglarize the apartment of 20-year-old Laura Stoughton. His accomplice was his close friend and neighbor Mark Wayne Titch, with whom Thomas had repeatedly committed thefts and robberies. During the burglary, Stoughton returned home and found them. Thomas and Titch grabbed the girl, put her in the trunk of their car and drove to the desert area of Orange County, where she was raped at night and thereafter shot with a .22 caliber rifle by Titch, in order to prevent having any witnesses. On January 24, Thomas and Titch burst into a dairy store in Garden Grove, intent on robbing it. During the robbery, Thomas shot and killed the 35-year-old owner, Ephraim Christian. After murdering him, the criminals stole his belongings and valuables, but were unable to open the cash register. In the early morning of January 29, Brett Thomas planned the robberies of a billiard club and a laundromat, with both criminals tracing the owner - Aubrey Duncan. That same night, they followed Duncan to his house, where he was attacked on her doorstep. During the attack, Thomas shot him with the .22 caliber rifle, and Titch, having searched the body, stole the keys. The shots from the weapon attracted unwanted attention, resulting in the appearance of Duncan's wife and one of his daughters - 18-year-old Denise, whom Brett also shot three times, killing her.