Thomas Peter Rath, 33, was forcibly kidnapped on May 20, 2023, from a homeless encampment known as The Jungle behind a Lowe’s in Ithaca, New York. He was held and subjected to hours of torture before dying on May 21, 2023. Rath’s body was later found August 3, 2023, buried in a shallow grave on state land in the town of Candor.

Investigators conducted a large-scale probe with hundreds of interviews and more than 40 search warrants across Tompkins and Tioga counties and into Maine. Thirteen people were arrested on A-I level felonies in connection with the case; police say the suspects were all known to Rath and that the kidnapping was not random. Authorities say Rath was taken to a residence at 70 Benjamin Hill Road in Newfield and tortured in a garage.

Several defendants have been charged with murder and first-degree kidnapping. The motive has not been released and is expected to be addressed at court. If anyone knew Rath, his associates, or has information about The Jungle or activity at Benjamin Hill Road in May 2023, please share what is known.