Episode 11: The Murder of Marc Thompson

It's a warm September evening in 2014 in the wooded hills of Butte County in northern California. Flames and smoke fill the sky as a car burns. Inside the car is the body of 25 year old California State University Chico student Marc Thompson.

It’s a warm September evening in 2014 in the wooded hills of Butte County in northern California. Flames and smoke fill the sky as a car burns. Inside the car is the body of 25 year old California State University Chico student Marc Thompson. Marc is a brilliant young man, a psychology and sociology student, a human rights activist and a man friends will describe as an old soul, poetry in motion, and a person who made everyone feel welcome.

Someone murdered Marc at the beginning of his future, a future in which he wanted to be a professor, he wanted to be the change in the world. So how does does such a life end in such tragedy? It’s one of those mysteries, one of those painful realities that too many people will face int his world. Adding depth to this mystery is the question about whether or not Marc’s murder was racially motivated. Marc was an African American man living in a predominantly white area in northern California.

His murder remains unsolved.

Episode Sources:

Marc Thompson Murder Investigation: Butte Crime Solvers: Tips Website

Documentary: Obligated to the Truth by Trudy Duisenberg: Youtube

Student activist’s grisly killing still unsolved: ChicoSol

Waiting for Justice: Newsreview.com

What Happened to Marc Thompson: Ethnography

Various Stories Covering Marc’s Murder: The Orion

Foul play suspected in death of Chico State student found in torched vehicle: Enterprise-Record