Mom Not Surprised Son Died in Dallas Crane Standoff

DALLAS (AP) _ The mother of a man who fell to his death from a crane after a 14-hour standoff with police said she was not surprised to learn of her son’s death.

Lee Dell Thomas Jr., the 44-year-old son of Ollie Mae Thomas, fell about 150 feet to his death early Tuesday after the standoff on the Southern Methodist University campus.

A woman who answered a telephone number that was listed to the mother told The Associated Press that she wasn’t available to comment.

But Ollie Mae Thomas told KTVT-TV of Fort Worth and Dallas that her son — and her family — had a history of mental illness.

She said Lee Dell Thomas’ grandfather committed suicide and his father was a paranoid schizophrenic. She also said her son began using drugs at an early age.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)

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