Kim Thomas murder suspect appears in Charlotte court, 35 years after her death
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police cold case detectives identified Marion Gales’ DNA on Kim Thomas’ body this week, nearly 35 years after she was killed, according to an affidavit filed in court. He made his first appearance in court Friday morning.
That finding by CMPD’s crime lab led to police charging Gales on Thursday; he was a longtime suspect who worked on Thomas’ Cotswold home.
“On February 17, 2026, cold case detectives received DNA lab report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Crime lab,” the affidavit filed in court said. “The DNA lab report indicated Marion Gales’ DNA was present on rug beside the victim and on the body of the victim.”
Thomas’ husband, Edward Friedland, called Charlotte police the night of July 27, 1990, and said someone killed his wife, the affidavit said. Police found her slashed to death and handcuffed in the dining room.
But earlier in the day, the affidavit said, a neighbor near the couple’s home had already called 911. “Charlotte police responded and spoke to the homeowner who stated a black male had knocked on his door, told him to open the door, and claimed he was the police,” the affidavit said.
That neighbor later testified in court that Gales was the man outside the home. The day after the killing, a different witness told police that he saw Gales with blood on his shirt, the affidavit said.
Thomas, 32, was a women’s rights activist with a 10-month-old son.
“Marion Gales has been interviewed by detectives multiple times over 35 years,” the affidavit said. “He repeatedly stated he did not know this murder victim, Kim Thomas Friedland.
“He repeatedly stated he has never been to the home of the victim. He repeatedly denied any involvement in this murder. The investigation has been ongoing, and cold case detectives have submitted numerous items of collected evidence for DNA testing.”
Gales appears in court
Gales made his first appearance in Mecklenburg County Superior Court Friday morning.
Quietly standing next to a defense attorney, Gales mostly stared off across the courtroom as his past charges were discussed.
Assistant District Attorney Kimberly Seymour said Gales’ criminal history stretched back to the 1970s and included assault, breaking and entering, and drug charges.
In 2009, Gales was convicted of manslaughter in the killing of a pregnant homeless woman. He was released in 2025.
During an interview with police on Thursday, Gales told investigators he was with Thomas the day she died, Seymour said. Gales told police he and Thomas had sex, including in the dining room where she was found dead.
Brian Payne, an assistant public defender in Mecklenburg, requested a bond be allowed for Gales due to a disability and poor health, but Judge Keith Smith would not allow bond.
About the Kim Thomas case
The case, unsolved for decades, had long remained in the public eye around Charlotte.
Police once charged Thomas’ husband, Friedland, but those charges were dropped and never refiled.
In 1997, Friedland filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Gales. A civil jury found Gales liable for Thomas’ murder and awarded Friedland $8.6 million in damages.
Attorney David Rudolf, who represented Friedland, said in a phone interview with The Charlotte Observer on Friday that a wealth of circumstantial evidence pointed to Gales long before the new DNA evidence.
“If I was going to ask for something, I’d like the Charlotte police to do an inquest and really understand why it is that they put Ed Friedland through this for 35 years,” Rudolf said.
Police initially treated Gales as a serious suspect, Rudolf said in a previous interview, until detectives got a tip that Friedland was having an affair with a nurse.
Ryan Oehrli covers criminal justice in the Charlotte region for The Charlotte Observer. His work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The Observer maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published February 20, 2026 at 11:24 AM.
