Man to stand trial again in deaths of wife, alleged hit man

A former death row prisoner whose conviction was overturned in 2020 is set to go to trial again for the killings of his sixth wife and an alleged hit man, although he is no longer in danger of being sentenced to death.

Thomas Randolph, 68, first stood trial six years ago for the 2008 deaths of his wife, Sharon Causse, and the man prosecutors said he hired to kill her, Michael James Miller. He was sentenced to death, but the Nevada Supreme Court in 2020 reversed the conviction and punishment in a unanimous decision, finding that jurors should not have heard evidence about the 1986 death of Randolph’s second wife in Utah.

Prosecutors during the original trial noted similarities between the two killings, but the Supreme Court said the evidence was “problematic” because Randolph was acquitted in the death of Becky Randolph.

A new trial for Randolph is set to begin with jury selection on Tuesday. Defense attorneys said they expect the trial to stretch two to three weeks.

Prosecutors are no longer seeking the death penalty for Thomas because of his age, Chief Deputy District Attorney Pamela Weckerly said during a court hearing in June, according to online court records.

Randolph has maintained his innocence in Causse’s killing since he was arrested in January 2009.

“We look forward to the actual facts coming out at trial,” defense attorney Josh Tomsheck said Wednesday.

He was originally convicted of two counts of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon and one count of conspiracy to commit murder.

Four of Randolph’s previous wives were dead when he first went to trial in 2017. Randolph was the subject of a three-part NBC “Dateline” series, titled “The Widower,” that was released in February 2021.

Prosecutors in the initial trial said Randolph stood to gain more than $360,000 in insurance money from Causse’s death after she was found fatally shot in their northwest valley home.

Randolph told investigators he found his wife dead and then saw a man in a black ski mask in the entrance hallway of their home. He brushed up against the man and shot him five times, Randolph has claimed.

The death of Randolph’s second wife was initially considered a suicide, but Utah authorities charged Randolph with murder based on information from one of his former friends, whom he later tried to have killed. Randolph pleaded guilty to felony witness tampering, but a Utah jury acquitted him of murder in 1989.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.