Dennis RomeroPolice in Florida this week said 56-year-old Stephen Perry, who wrote for the 1980s cartoon series Thundercats, was murdered. The man had gone missing for nearly two weeks, and police reportedly found his arm inside of his abandoned van on the grounds of a Tampa Bay hotel May 16.
His Zephyrhills, Florida apartment had been ransacked and his two roommates were also discovered to be missing, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Those two were found last week, however, and arrested. James Davis, 45, was being held on suspicion of drug charges and failing to appear in court. Wife, Roxanne Davis, 49, was charged on suspicion of violating probation, burglary and grand theft.
Although not officially suspects, the two were described by police as persons of interest.
Despite his successes in cartoons, including writing for SilverHawks and authoring the Marvel Comics series Timespirits, Perry had financial difficulties after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Last year he reached out to fans and asked for financial help.
At one point he posted on a website that he was “eating at churches once a day.” The Los Angeles-based Hero Initiative, a nonprofit supportedby Spider-Man creator Stan Lee and others, started helping Perry out least year, prompting the writer to state that “I'm back on my feet, at least for now.”
There have been rumors, by the way, that Thundercats would be turned into a Hollywood feature.
Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.