ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
In Anchorage, a J-BER Airman -- accused of covering-up evidence in a homicide case -- will now face formal charges that he, himself, committed the murder. That means the stakes for 24-year-old James Thomas are now exceedingly high. He could face life in prison if convicted of the most serious allegation against him -- First Degree Murder.
It is a bizarre case in which Thomas had told police that he was actually present when his friend and fellow Airman, 24-year-old Clinton Reeves was allegedly abducted back in late April.
Then he provided those detectives with a strange story of how his first instinct -- after his friend had been kidnapped by an unknown gunman -- was to go about cleaning-up blood from the violent abduction in Clinton Reeves' Anchorage Apartment. He did not report the crime to authorities.
The explanation, during a police interview, apparently strained detectives' credulity. But initially, they only had enough evidence to charge Thomas with the Class-C Felony of "Tampering With Evidence".
Thomas was arrested in early May.
Then investigators went about the painstaking task of trying to prove that Thomas was involved in the killing.
For weeks they methodically assembled evidence -- which was presented to a Grand Jury.
On Friday that Grand Jury handed down an indictment. It accused Thomas of First Degree Murder in the death of Reeves.
Grand Jury proceedings are secret. And so tonight (Saturday) it is still not clear how the murder was carried out or why.
Nor is it clear what evidence led police to upgrade the charges against Thomas.
But the victim's mother, Judy Davis -- reached by phone at her Kansas City home -- believes she knows the motive:
Robbery.
Davis tells Channel 2 that her son had just gotten $4000 in an insurance settlement for a wrecked car. Reeves -- and the man now accused of killing him -- were supposed to go shopping with that money for a replacement car.
The Grand Jury indictment doesn't specifically confirm Ms. Davis' suspicions that the $4000 was the motive for the crime.
But it does charge Thomas with robbery -- in addition to murder.
Now Thomas will be hauled before a judge again this Tuesday -- to be formally charged with homicide.
If convicted of the most serious of the charges, he could get 99 years in prison.
Tonight Reeves' mother is hoping that Thomas will spare everyone the pain of a full trial.
Thomas will have the opportunity to plead "guilty" or "Not Guilty' to killing Reeves when he's arraigned on Tuesday.
