Jason Bohn, the man accused of killing his girlfriend in her Astoria apartment, has been indicted by a grand jury. He is facing first- and second-degree murder charges and could spend life in prison without parole if convicted.
On Friday, July 13, a grand jury charged that 33-year-old Bohn beat and strangled 27-year-old, Danielle Thomas last month.
“In addition to the second-degree murder charge for which the defendant was originally arrested, the grand jury has charged the defendant with first-degree murder under subparagraph ten of Penal Law 125.27, which states that ‘the defendant acted in an especially cruel and wanton manner pursuant to a course of conduct intended to inflict and inflicting torture upon the victim prior to the victim’s death,’” District Attorney Richard Brown said in a written statement.
Bohn, who lives on 33rd Street in Astoria, was originally arrested by the NYPD on July 29 in a restaurant in White Plains.
He was eating there with his mother and attorney when the NYPD’s Violent Felony Apprehension Unit took him into custody.
A judge in Queens Criminal Court charged him the next day with murder and a litany of other crimes including aggravated criminal contempt, tampering with physical evidence, first-degree criminal contempt, third-degree assault and three counts of second-degree aggravated harassment.
He has been held without bail since then. The grand jury’s charge deepens the crimes he has allegedly committed.
If convicted, he is expected to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Bohn’s crimes were especially brutal, according to the charges filed against him.
According to the criminal complaint against Bohn, police were called to his apartment on June 26 and found Thomas’s body face up in bathtub full of bags of ice.
Investigators say there was bruising on her forehead, face, shoulders, chest, along with lacerations on her face, mouth and chest.
According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the neck and torso.
Police also allegedly discovered two handwritten notes in the apartment.
The first read, “It was an accident . . . I had been drinking and I was drunk when I got home . . . She was already asleep . . . I woke up and there was fighting between us . . . When I woke up again she was unconscious . . . I am sorry.”
The second one read, “Dani, I will love you forever.” Police say it was signed, “J.”
There is also evidence to suggest Bohn previously had a tumultuous relationship with Thomas.
Bohn’s criminal complaint also alleges that Thomas went to the 114th Precinct in June to report Bohn had assaulted her.
She told police that he hurt her face and leg and was harassing her with threatening emails and texts.
While there, she handed her cell phone to police while Bohn was on the phone. A police sergeant allegedly heard Bohn say, “This was war, that he would hunt her down like a dog in the streets, and that he would bash in her skull.”
Weeks after this incident, Thomas was found dead.
“The victim was a young woman with a bright and promising future whose life was brutally and senselessly cut short allegedly at the hands of the defendant,” Brown said. “This case will be vigorously prosecuted to ensure justice is served for both the victim and her family.”
Bohn’s next court date is July 23.
