Seth Johnson
Alachua County Sheriff Emery Gainey and State Attorney Brian Kramer announced on Monday the indictment of Timothy Eugene Thomas III, 33, for the murder of Gainesville resident Sebastian Ochsenius on June 29, 2010.
The indictment happened in December, and Monday marked the arraignment for Thomas.
The indictment comes after new evidence surfaced in 2021, leading investigators to charge Thomas with the murder and armed burglary. Gainey declined to elaborate on the new evidence at a Monday press conference.
Gainey said Ochsenius, 16 years old and a student at Buchholz High School, was playing video games with a neighbor when Thomas broke into his home off NW 32nd Avenue. Ochsenius went downstairs and encountered Thomas, and Gainey said Thomas shot Ochsenius multiple times, killing him.
“Those shots woke up the family who rushed to the kitchen only to find their beloved son on the floor, dying from those gunshot wounds,” Gainey said. “Sadly, EMS pronounced Sebastian deceased on the scene.”
Thomas is already serving two life sentences for shooting a Monroe County deputy in 2015. A Monroe County judge issued the sentence in 2018. Gainey noted that Thomas had arrests and incidents with law enforcement across the state, including 23 felony charges and eight misdemeanors.
Boris Ochsenius, the brother of Sebastion, spoke at Monday’s press conference. On behalf of the Ochsenius family, he thanked investigators for their commitment and passion in pursuing the case.
He also asked for the public’s help.
“We hope as a family that you can help us get to the final chapter of this, which is bringing my brother justice,” Boris Ochsenius said. “It’s been 13 and a half years where we’ve been suffering through this—my family, my parents.”
Gainey said a female was in the car with Thomas on the night he broke into the Ochsenius home. He described her as Hispanic and in her late teens or early 20s at the time. The car in question is a white or cream Kia Sportage or similar model.
Gainey said investigators don’t believe she knew that Thomas had planned.
Now, the state attorney’s office will handle the prosecution. Chief of Investigations Darry Lloyd said the trial could last two to four years. In the 13 and a half years of investigation, he said law enforcement had accumulated a lot of data for both the prosecution and defense to sift through.
Great news. Thank you to law enforcement for sticking with this. This was a senseless, horrible case.
Thank you, Mr. Johnson and Mainstreet Daily for reporting. Please keep up the good work.
Good news. He’s a repeat offender, so how many times was the suspect convicted prior to this crime? If it was 3 or more, he would have still been in prison if Florida had a “3 Strikes” law covering those prior convictions. The victim would still be alive today.
Florida needs a state amendment referendum for a rigid 3 Strikes law, now. Stop making our cops work so hard while public lawyers are pretending to look busy.
The killing of this young man in his parent’s house was just a senseless act, and I’m happy to see this case finally moving towards some resolution. Congratulations ASO on your diligence. May their actions bring Sebastian’s family some relief from their grief.
I hope they seek the death penalty.