After a man raped and slit the throat of Robert Bratsch’s 71-year-old mother, Bratsch was barred from the courtroom during the killer’s trial.
Bratsch’s own family members were worried that his rage against Allen Thomas Jr., 40, who had committed vile acts against Leah Mae Bratsch, might prompt Bratsch to try to kill Thomas, and they warned officials, he said.
When Bratsch turned on his television Wednesday night, those intense emotions resurfaced when he learned Thomas had slit the throat of a woman at the Limon Correctional Facility, where the convicted killer is serving a life prison sentence.
“At the trial, I was full of the most hurt and I just wanted at him,” Bratsch said Thursday. “It does bring things back.”
Bratsch’s family said they would like to speak with the prison employee who was attacked by Thomas at a sewing workshop where prisoners make flags and prisoners’ clothing.
“We obviously know what she is going through,” said Jacqueline Bratsch, Robert’s wife. “My daughter and I would like to talk to her and her family.”
Gov. Bill Ritter and Department of Corrections director Ari Zavaras have already visited the veteran work program supervisor, who was flown by helicopter Wednesday to a Denver hospital.
Spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said the woman was in good condition Thursday.
“The officer is doing very well,” Zavaras said. “We feel very fortunate that it wasn’t more serious.”
Thomas struck the officer in the face with his fist about 3:10 p.m., Sanguinetti said.
He started dragging her by her foot when she called for backup on her radio. Thomas had the officer pinned against a wall with a box cutter to her throat when four to six officers rushed into the room, Sanguinetti said.
When he cut her throat, the officers tackled Thomas, she said.
The prison is in lockdown, with prisoners of the high-security facility being kept in their cells indefinitely while the investigation is continuing, Sanguinetti said.
“Our primary concern is keeping everybody safe,” she said.
Thomas was taken to the Colorado State Penitentiary in Cañon City. It is the highest security state prison in Colorado.
It is unclear why he attacked the prison supervisor, Sanguinetti said.
But Robert Bratsch said he wasn’t surprised about the attack.
“I figured sooner or later he would do something again,” he said.
Bratsch’s mother was killed in 1991.
During the trial, Thomas struck an officer in the head with a mop, Jacqueline Bratsch said. Although family members weren’t allowed to cry in front of jurors, Thomas sobbed in front of them, she said.
Robert Bratsch said it was good he wasn’t allowed into the courtroom until sentencing.
“If I would have had the opportunity. I would have killed him,” he said. “I realized later that I could never do something like that because it would only further compound the hurt to my family.”
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-954-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
