On March 8, 2007 Ronald ‘Ronnie’ L. Collins and his wife, Connie Sue Fowler Collins were found dead in the bedroom of their home in Roseville, Perry County, Ohio. First, the authorities thought they had died in an accidental fire. However, the autopsy showed both victims were killed. The Times Recorder from June 6, 2007 […]
Ohio
Barbara Blatnik: suspect dead
The suspect in the 1987 rape-murder of Barbara Blatnik has passed away of natural causes on Aug 24, 2021. James Zastawnik (69) was going to trial on October 22, 2021. He was free on $35,000 bond and per court conditions, lived with family. Cause of death: cancer. Due to Covid19, many trials have been rescheduled. […]
Myrtle M. Sayers Smith (1895-1930)
A case like this from Myrtle M. Sayers Smith, this old, is hard to solve. All people involved in the case have passed away. We would need preserved evidence hoping that nothing has deteriorated beyond what can be tested for DNA. Or, we need documented confessions, witnessed on deathbeds, or written in journals, wills, etc. […]
John William Pennington, an update
Thanks to a reader, we have a little more information in the 1985 unsolved case of John William Pennington. It comes from the insurance claims and appeals that John’s wife Peggy filed to seek recovery of reasonable costs as a results of John William Pennington‘s accidental and tragic death. The case is here. From the […]
Barbara Ann Blatnik update
In the Barbara Ann Blatnik case, I just read that James Zastawnik posted bond. The amount was previously set at $100’000 but Summit County Common Pleas Judge Kelly McLaughlin granted the request from defense council to lower it to $35’000. There are conditions though: Zastawnik must wear an electronic monitoring device and must live with […]
Barbara Blatnik: finally an arrest!
Cuyahoga Falls Police announced the arrest of James Zastawnik (67) for the December 1987 murder of Barbara Ann Blatnik. Zastawnik has been charged with first degree murder. Falls Lt. Chris Norfolk will not say if Zastawnik was a suspect in the early stages of the investigation. He did say that Zastawnik was “arrested in Akron in […]
Justice for John Anthony Muncy
Today, we learned the name of the person suspected of murdering John Anthony Muncy (Dec. 7, 1967 – Oct. 15, 1983). “Detectives named Daniel Alan Anderson as the suspect in the murder. He was 30 years old at the time of the crime. Anderson died in 2013.” I found another detail: “Anderson had ties to the […]
John William Pennington (Oct 6, 1959 – Dec 8, 1985)
From the Office of the Ohio Attorney General: John William Pennington (Oct 6, 1959 – Dec 8, 1985) was in a car in the drive thru of Taco Bell at 3591 West Broad St.in Columbus, Franklin County, Ohio. An altercation happened between the (unknown in identity and number) people in his car and another person […]
Unsolved: Thomas Wayne Grant
Having a loved one taken from you in a violent way and never knowing why is shattering. That is what Thomas Wayne Grant’ sisters Janet and Pam are going through. There is nothing online and nobody was held accountable. Janet and Pam remember that their brother worked part-time in the Legal Aid Society’s juvenile division […]
John Anthony Muncy (Dec. 7, 1967 – Oct. 15, 1983)
John Anthony “Tony” Muncy (15) was last seen on October 15, 1983 in the evening hours at the York Plaza Movie Theatre in Columbus. On October 16, 1983, his dismembered body was found on South Galena Road, Galena, Delaware County, Ohio. Cause of death: multiple stab wounds in the back. All extremities were either partly […]
Cynthia “Cindy” Marie Johnson (Jan 31, 1961 – Oct 30/31, 1977)
Cynthia “Cindy” Marie Johnson (16) from Garfield Heights, Independence, Ohio, left home around 7pm on Sunday Oct 30, 1977. She told a friend that she was going to meet a man. She was found murdered the next morning of Oct 31 around 830am. Judging from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office’s information the exact time of death […]
Barbara Ann Blatnik (1971-1987)
Barbara Ann Blatnik (1971-1987) was just seventeen years old. On December 20, 1987, her nude body was found about 30 miles from her home in Garfield Heights (Ohio). She had been raped and strangled to death. I have not been able to find out whether she was manually strangled or with an object. Police originally […]
Beverly Ann Jarosz (1948-1964)
On December 28, 1964, Beverly Ann Jarosz (Oct 1, 1948 – Dec 28, 1964) was killed in her parental home in Garfield Heights, Ohio. Beverly had shopping plans that afternoon with two girlfriends, Barbara and Margie. Barbara, showed up at the Jarosz house and not getting anyone to answer the door, she left. When her […]
Case of the Month: a look at Northeast Ohio
Case of the Month: a look at Northeast Ohio shows us how many cases we still need to solve. From Marilyn Sheppard to Anita Pratt, the list is endless. In May 2015, James Renner published 50 of Northeast Ohio’s most frustrating cases. The newspaper article is filled with cases that defy logic. Each has a […]
William “Bill” Comeans (Jan 11, 1965 – Jan 7, 1980)
William “Bill” Comeans (Jan 11, 1965 – Jan 7, 1980) is the case of the month for February 2014. Comeans’ body was found by his dad just a block away from his home in West Columbus, Ohio. He had been strangled with his own scarf. His killer was never found. Comeans had been attacked twice […]
Trial starts in the Hina Family Murders
Trial starts in the Hina Family Murders today. The Hina Family was killed during a 1989 fatal fire at a Keene apartment complex, New Hampshire. From the SFGate: “David McLeod has pleaded not guilty to four counts of second-degree murder. He is accused of igniting a blaze in a drug-fueled rage on Jan. 14, 1989, […]
#crimechat: Richard Lee Waggoner
The first #crimechat of 2013 is dedicated to a cold case with zero media attention: the shooting death of Richard Lee Waggoner. Imagine losing a family member to a murder that never got solved. Nobody to stand trial, nobody convicted for this crime. Nobody who can bring you any news. And then the silence … […]
The 1975 Scioto River mystery
The 1975 mystery of the unidentified man found in the Scioto River in Chillicothe, Ohio has finally been solved. In 1975, a man’s body was pulled from the Scioto River. He was naked and his ankles were tied with rope. The autopsy showed that the man died by drowning but the tied ankles leave authorities with many questions. […]
The 1980 Tim Hack and Kelly Drew murders
Edward Edwards, of Louisville, Ky., was arrested after DNA connected him to the unsolved murders of Tim Hack and Kelly Drew, who disappeared from a Wisconsin wedding reception in August 1980. Their bodies were found weeks later in the woods. Investigators believe Hack was stabbed and Drew strangled. Authorities said the state crime lab matched Edwards’ DNA to […]
Disappointed in Richey’s behaviour
Disappointed in Richey’s behaviour: I read in the news that Kenneth Richey, a former death row inmate from Ohio, who was released on January 7, 2008, has been in trouble with the law. A bit of history here, is in order. In 1987, Kenny was sentenced to death for the murder of two years old Cynthia […]