Wisconsin Woman Took Photo of Her Killer

Sandra Teichow (pictured right), 67, of Lake Geneva, Wis., took humanitarianism to another degree. She loved helping people and continued to do so right until her dying day. Why would anyone want to kill a woman who always put her community first?

Teichow's dead body was discovered by a passerby in a yard near a parked vehicle in Racine on October 15th. Ironically, the do-gooder, who was brutally murdered, was able to take a picture of her alleged assailant with her digital camera before it was smashed to pieces. Police have captured and charged Wilbert Leonard Thomas (pictured below) in the killing of Teichow.

Teichow was loved by all who knew her. She was often lovingly referred to as a "compulsive helper." Teichow's husband, Dennis, told the Chicago Tribune, "She just couldn't help helping people," he said. "She just had an interest in everybody."

When Teichow's body was discovered, police found quarters beneath her body. Sadly, on the very day the teacher (who had taught in poor third world country schools) was killed, she visited a laundromat in Racine to pass out $100 worth of quarters to people who were in need there.

At some point during her vicious attack, Teichow managed to snap a picture of a black elderly men with white hair who had a silver cane. Although the camera was smashed to pieces during her struggle, police were able to recover an image from its memory card. A police investigator who saw the image recognized Thomas.

According to the police complaint, Teichow was beaten on the head and torso with a four-pronged foot cane. The woman was strangled and her neck was broken.

Investigators observed circular wounds on Teichow's body, which were similar to the feet on Thomas' cane. Police searched Thomas' home and took the cane as evidence. Shoe prints found in the soil by Teichow's car are similar to footwear found in Thomas' residence as well, according to the complaint.

Thomas, who has a long history of sexual assault dating back to the 1960s, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, theft from a person or corpse and two counts of bail jumping. A court hearing on Monday ordered that he be held on a $250,000 bond. Thomas faces life in prison if convicted. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 27th.