Almost 40 years after a commercial jingle writer was found dead in a Baton Rouge hotel room, police have arrested a man based on DNA taken from a rope used to find the victimโs hands.
Sean David Atkinson, 62, was arrested and charged with the second-degree murder of Thomas L. Klotz. He is currently in Mobile, Alabama and is awaiting extradition to the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.
Police responded to the Red Carpet Inn at 2445 S Acadian Thruway on April 18, 1987, around 9:30 a.m., when the cleaning staff found Klotz, who was 44 at the time, on the floor with his hands tied behind his back and multiple stab wounds on his neck and back.
During the autopsy, authorities said that Klotz suffered blunt force trauma to his left eye. Klotz was stabbed six times in the throat and at least seven times in the chest, one of which was fatal. Police estimated that he died between midnight and 6 a.m.
Klotz was from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and had checked into the motel on April 10 to work under contract writing commercial jingles for local radio stations WJBO and WFMF. According to Klotzโs brother-in-law, he was not expected to stay in town for much longer before he was killed.
During the investigation, police discovered the 1987 Mercury Cougar Klotz rented was missing from the motel. Police said at the time that it was being investigated as a possible robbery that led to murder.
Klotzโs car was eventually found at the University Club Apartments at 3012 Alaska Street.
Detectives working the case in 1987 said they discovered multiple items that belonged to Klotz were missing from the hotel, the arrest warrant for Atkinson said. Staff confirmed that the nylon rope used to tie Klotzโs hands did not come from the hotel.
All of the evidence that police collected from the scene 39 years ago was submitted to the Baton Rouge Police Department evidence room until it was sent for DNA analysis in 2011, the arrest warrant said.
In 2011, the nylon rope that was used to bind Klotz was tested at the ถถา๕h State Police Crime Lab, but came back negative for a suspect profile.
It was resubmitted in 2019 to be tested again and police were able to identify a DNA suspect profile for Atkinson, the arrest warrant said. Detectives obtained a DNA warrant and located Atkinson in Mobile.
However, the detective in the Cold Case Division was transferred, and the case went dormant, the warrant said.
Last year, police reopened the case, obtained another warrant, and matched Atkinson with the national DNA database.