Man guilty of woman’s murder ‘laid in wait’ for her, prosecutors say

FRANKLIN, Ohio – After a two-day trial, a judge found that 28-year-old Elijah Thomas is guilty of killing 23-year-old Caitlin Puckett in her home in Franklin, Ohio.

Thomas was found guilty of one count of aggravated murder with a firearm, two counts of murder and one count of felony unlawful discharge of a handgun into or upon an occupied premises.

Warren County prosecutors said GPS data showed Thomas waited for her at Puckett’s home for more than 30 minutes on June 17, 2023, before she and others returned around midnight.

Then, as several witnesses looked on, Thomas approached Puckett and fired nine shots, six of which struck her, killing her, prosecutors said. Family members told police that Thomas repeatedly threatened Puckett with violence in the days and weeks before she was killed.

Police were called to the 100 block of Boulder Drive around 12:39 a.m. that day, where they discovered Puckett had been shot multiple times. Despite efforts by first responders to save her life, Puckett died at the scene.

Thomas was taken into custody during a police traffic stop several hours later, around 9:42 a.m.

Thomas will be formally sentenced at a later date, but the charges for which he was found guilty carry a minimum mandatory life sentence.