Family outraged over convicted murderer’s possible parole

Family outraged over convicted murderer’s possible parole

Photo courtesy of Sanford family

Leisha Sanford was beaten to death by her boyfriend, Thomas Estep, in 1989. In a week-and-a-half, Estep is up for parole.

» 45 Comments | Post a Comment

In 1989, Leisha Sanford, of Fall River at the time, was beaten to death by her boyfriend, Thomas Estep.

Estep was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Leisha Sanford’s mother, sister and daughter are outraged because under Massachusetts law, Estep is eligible for parole after 15 years.

He’s been denied parole twice, but in a week-and-a-half he’s up for parole again. The family said the three parole members seem sympathetic to Estep.

“He brutally beat my sister. It wasn’t just an isolated incident where he was provoked and hit here. He beat her that whole night,“ said Laurie Sanford, Leisha’s sister.

Court records show Estep beat Leisha Sanford with an axe handle and his own hands.

Leisha’s mother, Irene, just recently saw her daughter’s autopsy report.

“It’s terrible. I haven’t slept for weeks upon weeks ever since I saw the autopsy. I didn’t sit in on the trial. When I found out just how brutal he beat her, because he always had kill on his mind,“ Irene Sanford said.

Leisha’s daughter, Stephanie, was only 16-months old at the time of her murder. She’s never had the chance to know her mother.

“I wish I could. I wish I knew more about her, what her voice sounded like. I wish I could be able to hug her and kiss her,“ Stephanie Sanford said.

The family says Estep is not fit to be back in society. They said he’s always had a violent streak and even had the word “kill” tattooed across his knuckles.

They’re hoping the Massachusetts parole board keeps him in prison.

Advertisement

 
View More: tiverton,thomas estep,rhode island,leisha sanford,laurie sanford,irene sanford,
Not what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
 

Advertisement

Reader Reactions

Flag Comment Posted by Dawn on October 23, 2009 at 11:13 pm

So many years have gone by since Leisha’s murder yet when I think about it, it seems like it happened only yesterday. It was a hard time for my Aunt and Uncle, Leisha’s children sisters and brothers, I still remember the phone call from my mom, she could hardly get the words out, it was sad I could not believe it, My first thought was the kids and how they now had no mom, and the fear and pain Leisha went through that night, and the pain prior to that day and all the other days at the hands of Tom E-, Our family will not forget what he did to Leisha, strength comes in numbers and our family is here for Leisha we are her voice now, and I will not forget what he did to my cousin, and we will move on with our lives when we decide, and we will grieve how we want to and if that means bringing out facts and truth about the case as presented in a court of law (MS Estep) than that’s what the family will do, I cant believe your ignorance your complete disregard for the families feelings to suggest its about time we move on! MAN, YOU MUST OF LOST YOUR MIND! as for a matter of fact now I can see where Tom’s total disregard for life came from and peoples feelings, go figure the fruit don’t fall to far from the tree. In my opinion Tom has not spent enough time in jail, nor should he ever be released,I dont give a (>>>>) about how long poor Tom has been in jail or about his programs let me tell you something, he should of attended the “programs” before he murdered my cousin it does not matter now, I will say it again it does not matter now! Leisha had no chance at all, so why should he get another chance, he is a sick savage murderer, and he needs to stay right where he is for the rest of his life! We need to get the message out that murder does not = freedom. This started out as a family outraged and is now a community outraged remember strenght comes in numbers keep signing petitions, it helps to know that people care. Help us be a voice for Leisha Sanford, Thanks Dawn

Flag Comment Posted by Cheryle on October 23, 2009 at 8:04 pm

To grgone you b gone.Unfortentlly the babies daddy couldn’t live without his true love Leisha so he left a letter and took his own life.Unlike that diry homeless scum spot that is so low a ant couldn’t bend that low to urine on him yes I’m talking about Tom Estep.Mr.it was a Accident.I suppose he thinks the drunk driver that killed his poor sister did it by accident.He just as Tommy knew the odds. murder is murder.I rekon if my cousin survived we could move on and get over it.Tommy should of died that night then maybe we could as you say move on.You need not to make it personal I feel the same no matter who would of beat any one the way Thomas beat my cousin so brutially without care or remorse.He has a bad habit of attacting little things and people smaller then him just like defenceless kittens and cats.NO REMORSE is it a family trait?should we all wonder when he gets out who’s next.

Flag Comment Posted by Semi Arffi on October 22, 2009 at 10:34 am

If they set this guy free I’m leaving this stupid, backwards, idiotic, corrupt country once and for all!

Flag Comment Posted by truthbtold on October 22, 2009 at 10:27 am

MRS ESTEP EVERYTHING YOU STATE IN DEFENSE OF TOM IS FALSE AND STANDS CORRECTED. I THINK YOU NEED TO SEE THE TRUTH AS IT IS. I FEEL THIS PAIN TODAY AS I DID IN 1989. I KNOW THE FACTS AND YOU ARE IGNORANT. LEISHA WAS A BEST FRIEND TO ME AND BECAUSE OF TOM SHE NO LONGER HAS A VOICE TO DEFEND HERSELF. THE SANFORD FAMILY HAS SUFFERED ENDLESS PAIN. A PAIN I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU ARE CAPABLE OF FEELING. I SHARED A CHILDHOOD WITH LEISHA, IT IS A FACT SHE WAS A BEST FRIEND, I SHARED A HUG WITH HER EVERYTIME I SAW HER. SHE ALWAYS LENDED ME SUPPORT AND I AM HEARTBROKEN I NEVER KNEW SHE WAS INVOLVED WITH SUCH A CONTROLLING BEAST. I HAVE WATCHED HER BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN GROW UP WITHOUT A MOTHER WHO PUT HER CHILDREN ABOVE HERSELF AND DID HER BEST TO MAKE THE BEST CHOICES FOR THEM. JUST HEARING ABOUT THIS BREAKS MY HEART. THE FACT THAT HER CHILDREN AND HER FAMILY HAVE TO DEFEND THE LOSS OF LEISHA IS UNBEARABLE. I HAVE BEEN REMINDED OF THE SADNESS AND THE LOSS OF LEISHA EVERY TIME I AM IN THE COMPANY OF HER CHILDREN AND FAMILY. I HAVE A HARD TIME DEALING WITH THIS. YOU NEED TO EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE FACTS AND SHOW SOME RESPECT TO THE SANFORD FAMILY. YOU NEED TO SAVE YOURSELF, AT LEAST YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE. HONESTLY THIS LOSS IS SO UPSETTING BECAUSE OF THE BRUTAL WAY LEISHA’S LIFE ENDED . HOW DARE ANYONE FIND A SPEC OF COMPASSION FOR A INHUMAN ANIMAL SUCH AS TOM. I AM SO DISGUSTED THAT TOM HAS NEVER SHOWN ANY SORROW OR APOLOGY FOR HIS ACTIONS AND THAT HE EXISTS IN OUR LIVING WORLD.

Flag Comment Posted by elselmo on October 21, 2009 at 7:38 pm

I really don’t know where to begin. Maybe it should be how my 5 cousins had to grow up with out a mother due to the hands of a cold hearted killer.Or maybe it should be how cruel and insensitive this monster’s family is being towards the victims children and family.Never the less this inhuman,coward who has never even appoligized or shown any remorse for his actions should stay behind the prison walls like the murderer he is,never to see the light of day just like my cousin Leisha was made to do.I can’t imagine what kind of person would want to marry him and defend him. All I can say is I would never want him sleeping next to me. GOOD LUCK MS ESTEP. Hope you know what your in for if he gets out.

Flag Comment Posted by bobt33 on October 21, 2009 at 11:18 am

I will never forget that day several years ago, when I heard the terrible news. The only thing we could have all wished for, would have been a state that institutes the DEALTH PENALTY.  Keep this ruthless piece of @#!@ behind bars for life!!!

Flag Comment Posted by Laurie Sanford on October 18, 2009 at 7:11 pm

Petitions and Letters to Deny Parole can be mailed to:
The Commonwealth of MA
Executive Office of Public Safety
Parole Board
12 Mercer Rd.
Natick, MA 01760
In you letter, include: Thomas Estep W-49076

Flag Comment Posted by MRob on October 18, 2009 at 10:57 am

Mrs. Estep,
Please be aware that your husband is making a mockery of you! His blatant lies, that you so simply believe, reconfirm to intelligent beings; that his release would be a terrible mistake. Please feel free do any “investigational” work you choose; Leisha’s boys were not in foster care and never were; in addition, DSS was never involved! (Any logical person would have questioned his accusation; if DSS was involved wouldn’t one wonder why ALL the children weren’t removed from her care!) (I would hope the “system” would be smarter than that….but then again….the “system” did botch your husbands’ conviction now didn’t they?)  I am saddened by the fact that you feel the need to justify your husband’s conduct; anything to help you sleep I presume, can’t it simply be sad that the children grew up without their mother? Why do you feel the need to persecute her children with lies? Please don’t try to minimize their sadness. Haven’t they suffered enough? Shame on you! I can not image how you feel better by doing this! I guess this is a true testament of your character! Perhaps you might consider silence as a virtue. As far as the conviction that this was a mere “accident”; comparable to a motor vehicle accident, is ABSURD! However, I guess one could correlate the two if a drunk driver hit a person; backed up, hit them again and again and again and again and again and again! Oh and if that didn’t “do the trick”….try again another day! Hmm, can you see the absurdity of the claim? As for the “statistical” data presented in regard to Alcohol blackouts; please provide the reputable journal this data is from so we can analysis the results.  The information provided didn’t state a correlation between alcohol blackout and murder so I am not sure of the relevance? Just a bit of information; if you simply read things on-line it does not make them true and NO research study proves causation! (please feel free to do your research on this claim!) 
I hope you don’t have to figure things out the hard way like Leisha did. Ignorance is bliss! Good luck, Mrs. Estep ….it appears if he goes home with you; you are going to need it!

Flag Comment Posted by stepht88 on October 18, 2009 at 10:23 am

its pretty sick that people think what he did is ok ,and that it was an accident ,that was no accident as a matter fact he told someone in my family if my mom tryed to leave him he’d kill her and he also said if my dad came around he’d kill him to , this monster only has kill on his mind , and anyone who thinks he did his time or it was an accident or whatever you have to say ,it just makes you seem as sick and messed up in the head like he is ,come on know he cant even keep the same story , he says I did it ,oh wait no I didn’t , or wait I found her in the hall way , ok I guess I might have ,Please make up your mind if he really wanted to get out instead of being in other guys cells and throwing hot water on the guards in jail for the first 15 years he could of been doing more productive things, he has not even said sorry oh wait yes he did after his lawyer told him to ,and as far as the drunk babies daddy if your talking about my dad I wish he beat the snot out of that insignifagent accuse of life , but unfortunally ,he could not stand living without mother so hes not hear anymore , and if anyone wants to say anything about that I have the note he wrote before he did it ,its funny cause only the good die young and the pieces of snot live forever ,you guys are lucky you get to see him hear his voice ... and lots more , and as far as the drinking thing he wasn’t always drunk when he would put his dirty slim ball hands on my mother, and for you kristen e don’t say anything you don’t know get the facts right before you try making someone look bad , your all just as sick and messed up as he and by defending him your making your self look bad , hey who knows if you knew him for 30 years ,  and your still sticking for him who knows maybe you had something to do with it to ,and if you met my mother you could not have warned her to getaway he’s a crazy killer , and if you guys where so close why did he call his x to get the dog and not you ,The only thing this guy did for my mother was he made sure she could not get out of bed to take care of me and my brothers ,and you no what for you little black out comments , according to him he remembers slapping and beating my mom so that’s no black out balck is when you don’t remember not when you lie about it I have the news paper clippings that say he admitted to cops while he was being recorded he beat my mother with his hands and the ax handle ,if he would of just hit her with his hands and she fell i say ok it was an accident but NO he had to use an ax handle shows how much of a man he is ,my mother was 5 feet tall 100lbs come on now what chance did she have against this animal ,we have people who new him telling us how he killed cats when he was little ,why cats oh I know cause it was the smallest thing at the time he could get his hands on ,it funny how he never messed with anyone bigger then him, krsiten e you better start lifting weights so when he does it again you might have a chance to defend your self .and this didn’t just affect me and my brothers it affected people in my family who wasn’t born until years after like my brothers children and my little cousins , do you think it fear to us we have to explain to them what happened no its not ,my mothers first nephew who never got the chance like me to meet her is all upset his mother cant talk about it cause she remembers things that night .you have no idea what me and my family went threw ,thank god this guy isn’t my farther thank god he didn’t have any children you guys got lucky you don’t have to explain to a child what happened ,and your right my mothers soul will never get a chance to rest, as long as this monster cant take reasonability for his actions . but just keep in mind if it wasn’t for Mr. Tom my mother wouldn’t have to rest cause shed be alive .what’s done is done ,we cant change it but me and my family can let the public know what kind of monster might be getting out of jail ,he probley only married you cause it helps him get out ,what happened to the first wife he married in jail he says it wasn’t workin out y cause sheprobley relised she could never live with a killer like him , that she have to watch her back and sleep with one eye opened ,its sad while me and my family hurt you guys try to protect him,is it fear to me that the last image if my mother I seen was a picture of her being carried out of her house in a body bag know its not , hes where he belonges if he couldn’t make it in 1989 what makes anyone think he can now the worls isnt different ,if real men have trouble making ends meet what makes you guys nad this illertie idiot think he could do better , and once again before you put your two cents up get the facts right ,

Flag Comment Posted by stepht88 on October 18, 2009 at 10:05 am

and as far as letting go we had no choice but to let go ,we had to lay my mother in the ground, why dont you guys let go and accept the fact that he is a killer and he needs to be in jail behind bars shackled cuffed with cement around his feet so he cant move he should of got his hands cut off cause those are the dangerous weapons he choose to use to kill my mother

Post a Comment(Requires free registration)

The commenting period has ended or commenting has been deactivated for this article.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Hey Do This!

Advertisement

Advertisement