LAKE WALES, Fla. — A 61-year-old man was arrested for a Lake Wales 1985 double murder after the Lake Wales Police Department (LWPD) reviewed the evidence decades later.
LWPD arrested Troy Adam Thorne, 61 on Oct. 17 for the murders of Harvey and Margaret Bolster.
On Feb. 28, 1985, LWPD said officers found the Bolsters murdered at the Swan Apartments located at 241 E. Seminole Avenue in Lake Wales. The Bolsers were found inside the apartment of Thorne and Samuel Edward Jones and it had been set on fire.
After a manhunt, Thorne and Jones were both arrested in 1985, LWPD said.
Jones was sentenced to life in prison and is in the Zephyrhills Correctional Institution.
Thorne however was declared incompetent to stand trial.
In 2022, LWPD said detectives launched a new investigation in which they reviewed documents and evidence. New DNA evidence was recovered from the original evidence and submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
LWPD said it worked with FDLE agents and found Thorne was living a normal life in Tampa. He was married, had a driver's license, home mortgage. He was also arrested in 1995 for retail theft and LWPD said he pled guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 6 months probation.
On Oct. 16 a Polk County Grand Jury indicted Thorne on two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of arson. LWPD said he was arrested the next day and is being held on the Polk County Jail on no bond.
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