Prosecutors: Man killed live-in girlfriend, then wrote about it on Facebook

CHICAGO, IL -- Prosecutors in Cook County, Illinois said Thursday that a man strangled his live-in girlfriend and then told of the killing on Facebook.

According to Assistant State's Attorney Akash Vyas, James E. Thomas went into the victim's Facebook account and wrote, "My girlfriend was part of the mob. She came to kill me, so I killed her."

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that police found Vanessa Taylor lying on a bedroom floor with an electrical cord wrapped around her neck on Tuesday.

Just minutes before the discovery, the 28-year-old son of Taylor asked officers to do a wellness check. According to Vyas, his older brother had been getting unusual notifications from their mother's Facebook account.

Vyas also said that relatives tried to call Taylor but were not getting an answer.

Police met the son outside of Taylor's apartment and Vyas said they noticed Thomas hanging out of a window.

They proceeded to ask Thomas of Taylor's whereabouts. He responded that she was not at home, according to Vyas.

Thomas then allegedly said that he was already dead and that the police should kill him. He also allegedly said that he had taken poison and that the officers would have to break in the apartment and kill him, Vyas said.

Per Vyas, officers entered the building from a back door and approached Thomas, who was wielding a knife.

Thomas allegedly refused to drop the knife and said to the officers that they would have to kill him. He was then Tased when he allegedly turned toward an officer.

Vyas said that Thomas then fell to the ground, dropping the knife.

Officers then discovered Taylor's body.

After being taken to the hospital, Thomas confessed to a doctor that he killed his girlfriend, according to Vyas.

Thomas was ordered to be held without bail for murder and aggravated assault to a police officer by Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. on Thursday.

Two days before Taylor was killed, she and her 28-year-old son called police because Thomas had allegedly been burning grease with a reason in the kitchen, Vyas said.

Officers arrived on the scene and Thomas allegedly barricaded himself, telling police that he would have to be burned out. The officers observed Thomas making Molotov cocktails from a window.

He allegedly poured grease into empty bottles and then shoved cloth into the bottles, according to Vyas. He also allegedly paced back and forth with a knife and Samurai sword.

Taylor gave keys to police to get inside the building. Once they entered, Vyas said Thomas tried to come after them with knives, but he was able to be subdued.

Then, the building was evacuated because Vyas said that Thomas cut a gas line. He was admitted to the hospital for a mental health check on Sunday and then was released on Monday, according to Vyas.