Body kept in freezer, police say
THE VILLAGE — The frozen body of an Oklahoma City Schools physical education teacher was stuffed in a freezer inside his garage for up to 10 days, police said Tuesday.
The body of Emmanuel Thompson, 48, was discovered Monday by officers investigating a tip, The Village Deputy Chief Steve Jagosh said. An autopsy to determine a cause of death will not be performed for several days, Jagosh said.
He said the body was moved from the box freezer in the garage sometime Monday and was wrapped in a tarpaulin, then stuffed into the trunk of a car parked in the garage. That's where law officers found the body after storming the house about 7:30 p.m. Monday.
About three hours later, the victim's son, Andrew J. Thompson, 20, was found hiding in the attic, Jagosh said. Andrew Thompson, whom authorities said has no criminal history, was being held Tuesday at the Oklahoma County jail on a first-degree murder complaint.
Emmanuel Thompson coached boys' soccer and taught physical education at Classen School of Advanced Studies, school Principal Ron Maxfield said. Thompson previously taught physical education at Putnam Heights Elementary School.
"I'm pretty shocked," said. Kyle McNayr, 20, the Classen boys' soccer captain for the 2004-05 season. "One of the guys from the team told me, and I didn't believe it."
McNayr, who is playing soccer on a scholarship at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, said Emmanuel Thompson went out of his way to help players.
"He did a lot for me as a soccer player," McNayr said. "He loved soccer, and he loved coaching."
At Classen, school officials asked counselors to talk to distraught students Tuesday, Maxfield said.
"This is traumatic for our school," he said.
The apparent homicide is the first in The Village in more than four years, Police Chief Paul Kinman said.
Jagosh said a man flagged down a police officer in The Village about 11 a.m. Monday and said he had seen a body inside the Thompson house at 2628 Keats Place.
Officers obtained a search warrant, and an Oklahoma County Sheriff's tactical team and The Village police surrounded the house about 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Cindy Hyatt, who lives next door to Emmanuel Thompson's house, was one of several neighbors forced to leave her home during what she was told was a standoff. Residents were allowed to return shortly after 10 p.m.
A little later, an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent assisting at the crime scene heard something in the attic, and officers discovered and arrested Andrew Thompson, Kinman said.
Hyatt remembered Emmanuel Thompson as a friendly neighbor.
Hyatt said she noticed Andrew Thompson had several friends visit since Thursday's snowstorm.
Emmanuel Thompson had requested time off for a surgery and had not been in school since the Monday before Thanksgiving,
Originally Posted by tbl
