Snapped follows the Halloween night killing of Los Angeles resident Erik Poltorak and the case that centered on Michael Thomas. The episode tracks how a masked shooter waited by a front door and why prosecutors said the motive was to silence a witness in a pending robbery case.
The episode first aired on October 1, 2023. A re-air is listed for Monday, September 1, on Oxygen at 10:30 am, with another slot on Saturday, September 6 at 12:00 am. The episode is directed by Robert Ivkovic, written by David Gross, and features Amy Guinn.
Also read: Judy Naylor’s brutal crime – A complete timeline of events
Halloween ambush and first facts in Snapped
On the morning of November 1, 2012, a co-worker found Poltorak dead by his front door. He had been shot hours earlier while wearing a 1920s costume after returning from a Halloween event. Nothing inside the home pointed to a robbery. The scene showed a shooter who waited near the entry and fired as Poltorak walked back to the door. According to Oxygen, home cameras and witness statements framed a timeline that began around 2 am.
Investigators learned the victim shared custody of a young daughter and held a steady job. Early checks of prior incidents soon mattered more than the holiday setting. Per Oxygen, Poltorak had been the victim of a home invasion the year before and had security equipment installed afterward.
2011 home invasion link, as told in Snapped
In August 2011, two men entered Poltorak’s home with a fake legal document, tied him up, and stole electronics and cash. Prints on the document matched Michael Thomas, and Poltorak later identified him in a lineup.
A court date in late 2012 was set, and Poltorak was expected to testify. Daily News reported that jurors later found true special circumstance allegations of killing a witness and lying in wait during the murder trial.
Early case filings named the group later tied to the shooting: Allen Williams, Yvonne Keith, Jessicha Thomas, and Michael Thomas. Beverly Press wrote that prosecutors linked the killing to witness status and set initial arraignments soon after the homicide.
Jail calls and arrests, per Snapped evidence
Jail phone recordings became central to the case. According to Oxygen, Thomas told a caller, “If the person doesn’t come, you know, if the person’s not there, then it goes away.” Visitor logs tied the calls to Allen Williams and to Thomas’s niece, Jessicha Thomas.
In a later recorded visit, Thomas told Williams, “We’ll always remember … the first hit ever,” and he asked Jessicha if she had confirmed the result; she nodded.
Police arrests followed. Williams admitted details to an informant. Jessicha told detectives she acted as a lookout and said Williams fired the shot. She also described tossing the gun and said the Halloween date helped a masked shooter blend in. According to Oxygen, those statements matched the video timeline and the scene at the door.
Trial outcomes and current status
Williams and Keith were tried first and received life sentences without parole. Patch reported those outcomes along with Jessicha’s plea to second-degree murder in exchange for testimony and a parole date set by the court.
Michael Thomas faced a jury in 2016. Daily News reported a guilty verdict and a jury recommendation of death, citing the witness-murder and lying-in-wait findings. MyNewsLA later reported that Judge Robert J. Perry imposed the death sentence and noted Thomas’s role as the organizer, even though he was not the gunman. Court stories from that week also described Thomas asking his lawyers not to mount a defense of penalty.
Watch Snapped, season 32, episode 23, titled Michael Thomas on September 1 at 10:30 am ET or on September 6 at 12:00 am ET on Oxygen.
Streaming is available on Peacock Premium, Peacock Premium Plus, fuboTV, NBC, Oxygen, YouTube TV, and Hulu. The episode can also be digitally purchased on Amazon Video, Apple TV, and Fandango.
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Edited by Divya Singh
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