The Trial of Thomas E. Toolan III

On June 21, 2007, Thomas E. Toolan III was convicted of first-degree murder and of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon for the October 25, 2004 killing of Elizabeth "Beth" Lochtefeld in her rented cottage on the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts. It was the first homicide in Nantucket in twenty-one years. Media covering the trial included ABC's internet services division, CBS' 48 Hours, NBC's Dateline, NPR, People Magazine, the New York Post, The Nantucket Inqurer And Mirror, The Nantucket Independent, and The Cape Cod Times. The author attended the nearly three-week trial from the beginning of opening statements, and this is his account of the day-to-day proceedings.