MCS Report #103
Classification: Homicide
Requesting Agency: Pine Lawn Police Department
Date of Activation: 04/30/1983
Commander and Department: Sgt. Wilfred Jennings, St. Louis Metropolitan PD
Deputy Report Officer and Department: Richard Allen, Fairview Heights PD
Victims: Brenda Lucille Thompson and Cynthia William Kinard
Suspect: James Levern Thompson
The Pine Lawn Police Department requested the assistance of the Major Case Squad in investigating the deaths of Brenda Thompson (age 28) and Cynthia Kinard (age 33). At approximately 4:11pm, police officers responded to a residence in the 3900 block of Beachwood Avenue for a report of an odor of natural gas coming from the residence. Inside the residence, officers found the stove knobs to be in the “On” position and the hissing sound of gas coming from the burners. Also inside the residence, officers located the bodies of Brenda Thompson and Cynthia Kinard. They had both been stabbed and were pronounced dead on scene. A 6 month-old child was found uninjured inside the residence.
As a result of this investigation, Brenda Thompson’s husband, James Thompson (age 39), was charged with Capital Murder.
