BY PORTSIA SMITH

A former Caroline County school system employee who was serving a 27-year sentence for murdering his supervisor died in prison last week, days after he was notified that he would no longer be able to appeal his convictions.

Thomas Eugene Monroe, 71, formerly of Ruther Glen, died of natural causes on Wednesday, according to an operations officer at Deerfield Correctional Center in Southampton County. He was taken to a nearby medical facility, where he was pronounced dead, the officer said.

Monroe was convicted in 2007 of second-degree murder, possession of a firearm in commission of a felony, and assault and battery. He was sentenced to 251/2 years in prison, which was the jury's recommendation. He would have been 94 years old if he had lived through his sentence.

The shooting occurred Nov. 17, 2006, the same day Monroe was fired from his longtime job as a maintenance worker at Caroline County schools. The victim, David Sterling Ganoe Jr., was his supervisor.

Monroe told investigators he went to the maintenance shop to return his uniforms and fired the gun because he felt threatened by Ganoe. Monroe's attorney, Bruce Ganey, argued that he did not intend to kill Ganoe.

Ganoe's secretary, Suzanne Edwards, testified that Monroe pulled a revolver, walked toward the 51-year-old Ganoe and fired. Edwards said she grabbed Monroe's arm to stop him, but he pushed her to the concrete floor "like an elephant with a flea."

She testified that she heard Ganoe say, "Tom, don't, please don't," followed by gunfire.

The assault-and-battery conviction was a result of Monroe throwing Edwards to the concrete floor during the incident. She injured her hip and left wrist.

Monroe had filed several appeals to have his convictions overturned, stating that "[Edwards] is the one that jumped on [Monroe], which caused the firearm to go off, and it hit the floor and then it hit Mr. David Ganoe."

All of his appeals were denied, and a written motion by the Attorney General's Office was mailed to Monroe on March 9 stating that he had reached the statute of limitations and would be barred from filing any more petitions.

Monroe died five days later.

Portsia Smith: 540/374-5419
Email: psmith@fredericksburg.com