Murder of Assistant US Attorney Thomas Wales in Seattle unsolved 23 years later

SEATTLE — It was 23 years ago today (Friday, Oct. 11, 2024) when Assistant US Attorney Thomas C. Wales was murdered in his Seattle home.

Wales hasn’t been forgotten.

The US Department of Justice is offering a reward of up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the 2001 murder.

According to a flyer from the Seattle branch of the FBI, Thomas Crane Wales was born in 1952 and grew up in Southborough, Massachusetts.

He graduated from Harvard University in 1974, then Hofstra Law School in 1979.

Wales became an Assistant US Attorney for the Western District of Washington in Seattle in 1983, and remained in that position until his death. He specialized in fraud and white-collar crime prosecutions.

He was also a member of the Seattle Planning Commission and was on the mayor’s Citizen Advisory Committee.

Authorities say that on Oct. 11, 2001, at about 10:40 p.m., Wales was killed at his Seattle home. According to the FBI, the shooter stood in the backyard of Wales’ home and fired through a basement window.

Wales was shot several times as he sat at his desk typing on his computer.

It was reported that one male suspect was seen fleeing the scene. The FBI released a sketch of a person of interest.

Wales died at a hospital the next day.

If you have information about the case, you’re asked to contact the FBI at walestips@fbi.gov. Tips can be left anonymously.

If you recognize the sketch of the person of interest, you’re asked to contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.

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