Was The Death Of Terry Lucas A Coverup?

The Background

The story of Terry Yvonne Lucas took place at Frontera Prison in California. The penitentiary is one of the largest women’s prisons in the United States. Some of California’s most violently dangerous women can be found in its maximum-security wing. However, the criminal activity in Frontera extends far beyond the inmates. Allegedly, the prison guards (and other employees) have established their own drug trafficking ring right in the heart of the facility. Where does Terry Lucas come into this story?

She may have been ready to blow the whistle.

Terry Lucas worked as a housekeeper before being sent to prison due to a parole violation. In the Fall of 1987, she needed to be transferred to Frontera Prison to be treated for a breast tumor. Terry was found dead in the infirmary just a few months later. The prison officials treated her death very callously. According to other inmates, her body was left untouched for days before anything was done. Prison guard Betty Thompson came forward with her recollection of an encounter he had with Terry shortly before her death. Terry had developed a reputation among the guard as being very tough and intimidating. However, there was a prison guard that terrified her and made her change her demeanor entirely. There was one day when that prison guard was determined to get into Terry’s cell for unknown reasons. Betty Thompson saw how much this upset Terry and confronted the guard until he walked away. Thompson then entered Terry’s cell to comfort her, only to be told a devastating secret.

Terry claimed to have knowledge of a murder.

Jesslyn Rich

In 1984, 35-year-old Jesslyn Rich had been working as a Frontera prison guard for two years. By all accounts, she was a model employee. She was extremely well-liked by the other guards and prison officials, maintained straight As in her criminology classes at night school, and was eyeing a promotion to sergeant. Unfortunately, it would appear that Terry may have been too adept at the investigative part of her job. While working at Frontera, she had reportedly become aware of drug trafficking taking place inside the prison walls. She then disappeared shortly after making her concerns known. She was last seen on November 11, 1984, while out at a bar with some friends. Gary Munz, Jesslyn’s brother, grew frustrated with the police’s lack of urgency with regard to investigating his sister’s disappearance. He took matters into his own hands and searched her house by himself. While going through her trash, he found several torn-up pieces of paper. When pieced together, it read like a letter from Jesslyn to another prison guard. The letter plainly states that she had received threats from other guards about being “taken care of” for interfering with their drug activities.

Three years later, Terry Lucas was confessing that she knew what happened to Jesslyn Rich.

The Aftermath

Betty Thompson claims that an official from the coroner’s office gave a damning summary of their findings. Blades of grass were in Terry’s hair, there were multiple bruises on her arms, neck, and face, and her right arm seemed to have been broken. The official believed that Terry Lucas was murdered and the cause of death was suffocation with the pillow found underneath her broken arm. Then, the official met with members of the prison administration. The official would change several details about their belief after coming out of that meeting. Suddenly, there would be no classification of murder. There would also be no mention of Terry’s body remaining in her cell for 3 days. Her cause of death was listed as “complications due to diabetes”.

Thompson alleges that she was subjected to threats and intimidation by her superiors for not wanting to go along with this narrative. She had to endure their tactics for 6 hours. She was even told that she would suffer the same fate as Jesslyn if she didn’t play along. Thompson realized at that point that she never told anyone what Terry confessed to her. For an administrator to bring up Jesslyn’s fate unprompted, it would seem that Terry’s confession had merit. Thompson broke down and cried. She caved and wrote what they told her to. However, at the bottom of the page, she noted that it was written and signed “under duress”. That statement was then ripped up and Thompson’s signature was forged.

As it turns out, Jesslyn was murdered by a man named David Ribis. Ribis had no connection to the illegal activities going on in Frontera Prison.

While some of the guards were brought up on charges related to their intimidation of the other guards, there have been no charges in Terry Lucas’ death. In 1991, her family accepted $290,000 from the state to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.