Exclusive: Accidental Voicemail Captures Murder Of Queens Woman
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A brutal murder caught on voicemail will be a key piece of evidence in an upcoming trial in Queens.
The accidental pocket dial that went to a friend's voicemail documents the last moments of 27-year-old Danielle Thomas' life, which ended exactly one year ago Wednesday.
Thomas' body was found by police in a bathtub full of ice. The Weight Watchers executive was beaten and strangled in her Astoria apartment, officials determined.
Her boyfriend Jason Bohn, 34, an Ivy League-educated lawyer, turned himself in after days on the run.
The phone call had been sealed, but CBS 2's Amy Dardashtian reported exclusively Wednesday on the content of that phone message.
The voices on the message are those of the accused killer and the victim begging for her life.
According to the transcript obtained by CBS 2, Bohn is allegedly strangling Thomas as he asks her why she called an out-of-town phone number.
"Why did you call 508, why did you call that number?" he asked her nearly 20 times.
Prosecutors said Bohn repeatedly would strangle Thomas and then release her to answer his inquiries.
As she gasps for air, Thomas denies calling the number, according to the transcript.
She replied "I don't know" and said "Jason, I love you" a dozen times.
Bohn replies "You have five seconds and then...and then I'm going to kill you."
The accused killer then gives his victim instructions, telling her "I'm going to let you up and then you need to answer quickly or else you die...Danielle, why did you call that number?...Danielle you are so stupid. You think I'm going to stop, I won't stop."
Prosecutors said Bohn enjoyed torturing Thomas as he killed her, which is why he has been charged with first-degree murder.
But in a past interview, Bohn's attorney said his client was experiencing extreme emotional distress dating back to his abuse-ridden childhood, a finding that could land him 25 years in prison instead of life, Dardashtian reported.
"I do think that Mr. Bohn's mental capacity will become an issue in this case," attorney Todd Greenberg has said.
But prosecutors said records at the 114th Precinct document Bohn's history of domestic abuse and show he intended to kill Thomas.
Neighbors said they frequently heard her screams.
"She's screaming, she's calling for help. 'He's killing me, somebody help,'" a woman told Dardashtian at the time.
At the precinct, officers overheard Bohn tell Thomas he would "hunt her down like a dog in the streets."
Bohn is due back in court July 29. He faces life in prison if convicted.
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