Florida man with ‘sordid history’ accused of trying to set roommates on fire: ‘Pure evil in the flesh’
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - A man, who Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says has an extensive criminal history, has been charged with five counts of first-degree attempted murder and arson.
The backstory:
According to Judd, Eddie Thomas, 69, a convicted murderer and registered sex offender, was living at a group home for sex offenders in Polk County on May 15, 2025, when he went into another man’s room and asked for a ride into town around 3:15 a.m.
When the roommate said no, investigators said he asked for jumper cables to "give him a jump." The victim refused due to the time and noted that Thomas was holding a plastic milk jug containing an unknown liquid.
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Shortly after Thomas left the room, the victim said he smelled gas and then heard a "boom". He opened his bedroom door to find flames in the hallway, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff Grady Judd press conference
Sheriff Grady Judd gives an update on a convicted murderer and sex offender who is accused of setting a group home on fire with five people inside.
"We know now he was splashing accelerant in front of every bedroom down the hallway and tried to create a fire barrier so they could not run out of the house," Judd stated. "He set the house on fire. He set the house on fire with five folks in there beside himself."
The victims
One victim, according to the sheriff's office, has limited mobility and uses a walker, and as he tried to reach the front door, he fell and had to crawl to get out of the house, causing him to suffer burns to his hand and feet. He was taken to an area hospital and then transferred to a hospital in Bradenton for burn care.
Another victim told investigators that he was asleep when he heard someone yelling that the house was on fire. He tried leaving by running through the hallway but could not reach the door due to the flames and had to crawl out of his bedroom window.
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A third victim said he woke up to yelling. He ran out of his bedroom and ran toward the front door where he fell over another resident who was already on the ground, also trying to escape.
The fourth victim claimed he had gotten up to use the bathroom, and he saw Thomas walking around the house which he stated was common. He claims to have heard splashing noises, smelled kerosene, and then heard a noise similar to a fire being ignited. He then heard someone yelling "fire!" and left his bedroom but could not see the front door due to smoke. As he was running, he also fell. Outside of the house, he saw a trail of fire going from an oak tree to the front yard, leading directly into the house.
House fire declared arson
Dig deeper:
All the victims reported a strong gasoline odor and noted that the hallway floor was wet and slippery. State Fire Marshal investigators, along with their canine, detected six accelerant alert points and identified two pour patterns and declared the fire an arson.
Two of the victims said they saw Thomas backing out of the yard in his red Chevrolet truck and driving away.
The landlord said she got a call from one of the residents stating that Thomas had set the house on fire. Thomas had lived in the house since 2023 without issue until recently. Due to ongoing disputes and failure to pay rent, he was served an eviction notice, requiring him to vacate by May 20, 2025.
Shortly after the fire, Judd said Thomas went to a hospital complaining of chest pains. When he was released, Judd said Thomas checked himself into the mental health ward of the hospital claiming he wasn’t right mentally.
Eddie Thomas mugshot courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
"The dude is just mean as a snake," Judd said. "That’s what’s wrong with him."
Upon his arrest, Judd said he did not confess and asked for an attorney.
Extensive criminal history
This is not the first time Thomas has been in trouble with the law.
Timeline:
On Oct. 28, 1975, Thomas was arrested by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office for burglary and grand theft. He spent 14 days in jail and was given five years of probation.
In Nov. 1975, he was arrested by the Winter Haven Police Department for a false report of a crime and spent 25 days in jail. His probation was not violated.
On May 22, 1986, he was arrested by the Bartow Police Department for burglary and second-degree murder.
"He’s a cocaine addict," Judd explained. "You know, people want to tell you it’s a low-level, non-violent drug, okay. It’s anything but that. He was a cocaine addict, so his wife and four children, two of whom were his, moved out and moved home with their brother. On this particular day, he went to the house and found out that his estranged wife was there, went to the trunk and got a 14-gage shotgun, went inside and shot and murdered her with two shots directly in front of the children."
Judd said Thomas told the police, ‘I told her I was going to kill her.’
After he shot and killed his wife, Judd said a sergeant with PCSO located Thomas’ vehicle, so he spun the car around to stop him and that’s when he saw Thomas’ car in flames.
"Eddie is now coming out of the car fully engulfed in fire," according to Judd. "He’s burned over 60% of his body. So, I suspect at that moment in time he was going to commit suicide by setting himself on fire because he put an accelerant inside the vehicle. As it got hotter and hotter and started to burn, I guess he changed his mind."
He survived and was convicted of second-degree murder.
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Thomas was sentenced to 17 years in prison and five years of probation.
"At that time, you could murder your wife, be convicted of a second-degree murder, get only 17 years, and that’s before your good behavior and that sort of thing," Judd stated.
After he was released, he was arrested in August 1997 for violation of probation and in February 1998 he was arrested again for the same offense.
In December 1998, he was booked into the system for violation of probation and released after four years.
In August 2007, he was arrested for sexual battery with a deadly weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
In March 2008, he pleaded no contest to lewd and lascivious content with a victim between 12-16 years of age. He was registered as a sex offender.
He was released in 2020 after serving 13 of 15 years in prison.
In 2021, he violated his probation for not conforming with his sexual offender status and went back to prison.
On May 20, 2025, Thomas was charged with arson and five counts of attempted murder.
What they're saying:
"Our goal is that he never takes a breath of air outside of a prison," Judd vowed. "I want to underscore that he tried to murder five people that night."
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
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