Thomas Earl Grettenberg (1951–52 — 1989) was an American serial rapist from Texas who attacked and sexually assaulted at least 10 and possibly as many as 24 women in 1977.
His modus operandi included: nocturnal attacks; entry of the domicile while victim was asleep, strangulation with an electrical cord to the point of unconsciousness, followed by rape and sodomy.
Convicted of burglary and theft, a Harris county court this time sentenced Grettenberg to a term of life with no eligibility for parole for 20 years.
In 1989, one of his Houston victims, a former teen beauty pageant contestant named Lisa Kilgore, filed a negligence suit against the Texas State Pardons and Parole Board for his 1986 early release.
In September of the following year, in what is believed to be an unprecedented action, the Board admitted to error (but declined explanation) and settled out of court with Kilgore in the amount of $125,000.