Ohio Mysteries

UNRESOLVED Ep. 1: Janice Christensen

An Ohio Mysteries/Akron Beacon Journal crossover In 1987, Janice Christensen of Cuyahoga Falls went for a run on the Summit County Bike and Hike Trail, where she was raped and killed by a man who has never been caught. Now, Hudson police hope a partnership with Ohio's new Cold Case Unit will identify her killer through DNA found at the crime scene. Ohio Mysteries: http://www.ohiomysteries.com Akron Beacon Journal: http://www.beaconjournal.com Ohio Attorney General: https://www.ohioattorneyge...

Ep. 130 - The Hopper Road murders

In 2006, Curtis Francis and Jenny Burgette were found dead, shot in the head while sleeping in their bed on Hopper Road in Pike County's Newton Township. No arrests have ever been made in this case, but an investigation by Fox19 in Cincinnati a few years ago found eyewitness statements in an unexpected source. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Family Time, by G-swerve. Find more at...

10-Minute Mystery: The murder of William Legg

In 1907, William Legg, owner of a meat market in the Shelby County seat of Sidney, was shot to death by two robbers who took his money and fled. Two railroad tramps arrested the next day pointed the finger at each other for the crime. One man was executed, the other not, in an outcome that had people debating fairness. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Gr...

Ep. 129 - The embezzler's plane crash

In 1982 - in the largest single-day loss-of-life for the FBI in its history - a Cessna carrying four agents and their handcuffed Chicago bank embezzler fell out of the sky over Montgomery, Ohio. The crash ended the life of the only man who knew where he'd buried $50,000 in cash in a remote area of Cincinnati. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Wash Me Away, by New Moons. Find more ...

10-Minute Mystery: The Counterfeit House

In the 1840s, Oliver Tompkins built a large farmhouse in Adams County, but neighbors soon began to wonder what was up with the occasional lantern flickering in the attic window. Years later, after Tompkins fled pursuing agents, they would learn the house's secrets - the hidden rooms, the trick locks, the strange passages, and the blood stain inside the front door. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.faceboo...

Ep. 128 - The incomparable Shep Tinker, horse thief extraordinaire

Throughout the mid-1800s, Southeast Ohio newspapers followed the criminal exploits of their incorrigible and infamous horse thief and counterfeiter, Shep Tinker. The site of his grave is a mystery, but his colorful career, Robinhood reputation and undeniable charm is still the stuff of legend, and a reason to visit Tinker's Cave. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Henry, by The Midw...

10-Minute Mystery: Cletus Reese and Murder RIdge

When Cletus Reese's sister became worried when the Coshocton County farmer took a test drive in a new car and returned without the salesman, she called authorities. What searchers found on Reese's farm over the next week revealed the horror of "Murder Ridge."www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Learn more about your...

Ep. 127 - Mob Story: The Youngstown Naples brothers

Sandy, Billy, Jimmy and Joey Naples were some of Youngstown's most infamous racketeers. But like a plot line from a Godfather movie, three met untimely - and officially unsolved - ends. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Shake it Off, by Drew Joseph. Find more at https://www.facebook.com/drewjosephmusic Additional music: Audionautix by The Great Unknown. The Great Phospher by Daniel...

10-Minute Mystery: Brady's Leap

Capt. Samuel Brady was often called the Daniel Boone of the Ohio Valley, and a hero who worked to protect settlers from Indian marauders in the  late 1700s. But his legend, they say, was cemented by one desperate act he took while - naked, weaponless and scorched by a fire meant to kill him - he evaded hundreds of pursuing warriors in a flight through present-day Kent, Ohio. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio ...

Ep. 126 - The conviction of Charles Hart

In 1894, searchers in Paulding, Ohio found the gruesome charred and mutilated remains of two children that had gone missing the day before. Within two hours, the sheriff arrested a slow-witted boy who lived near the crime scene. More than a century after his conviction and hanging, some wonder, was he guilty? [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Pining, by Gretchen Pleuss with Adam Re...

10-Minute Mystery: Barrel Doe

In 1969, a Cleveland teen who wanted to burn some trash rolled an abandoned barrel from a vacant lot to his yard to help do the deed. But when he opened the metal drum, he found a dismembered body inside. The man was never identified. Now, the nonprofit PorchLight Project is leading an effort to research the man's DNA to give him a name, and possibly lead to a killer or a motive for his death. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter....

Ep. 125 - A different justice: Lori Nesson

In September of 1974, Lori Nesson attended a football game at her Columbus, Ohio high school, then went to a few parties with celebrating students. She was found dead the next day. For decades, authorities weren't certain if her death was accidental or murder - until a Columbus TV viewer watched a cold case program and solved the mystery. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Wild Ride...

10-Minute Mystery: Sonya Green, and Annette and Howard Lawrence

In 1982, the city of East Cleveland lost a school girl and a school teacher in two separate murders, one week apart. The bodies of Sonya Green, 14, and Annette Lawrence, 32, were both left behind Severance Center in Cleveland Heights - one the victim of rape, the other of robbery. Then 14 months later, Annette's husband, Howard, met his end at the hands of yet another killer.  www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio ...

Ep. 124 - The mysterious death of Josph Kupchik

In 2006, Joseph Kupchik, a college kid from Strongsville, was found dying in a downtown Cleveland alley, having plummeted from the ninth floor of a parking garage. Authorities think it was suicide. His family thinks it was murder. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Troll, by Mr. Carnivore. Find more at: https://www.mrcarnivoreeats.com Additional music: Audionautix ...

Ep. 124 - The mysterious death of Joseph Kupchik

In 2006, Joseph Kupchik, a college kid from Strongsville, was found dying in a downtown Cleveland alley, having plummeted from the ninth floor of a parking garage. Authorities think it was suicide. His family thinks it was murder. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Troll, by Mr. Carnivore. Find more at: https://www.mrcarnivoreeats.com Additional music: Audionautix by The Great Unkno...

10-Minute Mystery: Marvin "Beau" King

In 1973, the Clark County sheriff got an anonymous call that the body of a man could be found off the road just outside Springfield, Ohio. It took four hours to find the body, but it wasn't a man. It was 12-year old Marvin "Beau" King, who had been taken from his home where he had been making cookies and waiting for his single mom to get off work.  www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteri...

Ep. 123 - The Consolidated Road murders

 In 1987, three bodies were found in an isolated cabin off Consolidated Road in Preble County, outside Eaton. Authorities figure two of the victims (Melinda Newcomb and Donnie Marker) were killed for stumbling across a murder in progress, but the motivation behind the death of the original target (David Smelser) is a mystery. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Rattlesnake Whiskey, b...

10-Minute Mystery: Nancy Eagleson

In 1960, 14-year-old Nancy Eagleson was kidnapped while walking just five houses from her home in Paulding, Ohio - the only witness her 4-yer-old sister, Sherrill. She was found six hours later having been raped and shot in the face. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch               Learn more about your...

Ep. 122 - Mormon founder Joseph Smith

Among the historical debates of Joseph Smith's 7-year residence in Ohio: What motivated a mob of men to pull Smith from his Portage County home and tar and feather him? And did Smith - who went on to have 40 wives - begin his polygamy with a serving girl in Kirtland? [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Start Some Mystery, by Lisa Biales. Find more at: https://www.lisabiales.com Addit...

10-Minute Mystery: Tricia Reitler

In 1993, Tricia Reitler, a freshman at Indiana Wesleyan University from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, disappeared while walking back to her dorm from a supermarket. Her bloody clothes turned up two days later, but she has never been seen again. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch               Learn more about your...

Rewind: The search for Amy Mihaljevic's killer (Ep 28)

In 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was in her home in the comfortable Cleveland suburb of Bay Village when the phone rang. A man introduced himself as her mother's co-worker, and asked for her help in picking out a gift to celebrate her mother's promotion. Amy agreed. Friends who walked her to the shopping center on the appointed day were the last to see her alive as she calmly walked away with the stranger. Her body would be found three months later. Special guest: Investigative journalist ...

Mystery Rewind The search for Amy Mihaljevic's killer - James Renner

In 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was in her home in the comfortable Cleveland suburb of Bay Village when the phone rang. A man introduced himself as her mother's co-worker, and asked for her help in picking out a gift to celebrate her mother's promotion. Amy agreed. Friends who walked her to the shopping center on the appointed day were the last to see her alive as she calmly walked away with the stranger. Her body would be found three months later. Special guest: Investigative journalist ...

Bloody Bridge

10-Minute Mystery: Bloody Bridge

In Auglaize County, a marker next to a span that crossed the old Miami and Erie Canal gives a brief account of a love triangle that resulted in three deaths. Tonight, we share the rest of the story that lent its name to the Bloody Bridge.  www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch               Learn more about y...

Ep. 120 - The inspiration of Thomas Edison

Thomas Edison's long list of inventions touched every layer of our lives - from the lightbulb and electric industry, to movies, TV and music. In many cases, he was motivated by his own profound deafness - a condition that medical experts still debate. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Anything, by Tyrone Hornbuckle. Find more at https://www.facebook.com/tyrone.hornbuckle Additional...

10-Minute Mystery: Sharonline

The unsolved murder of Nathan Axel and the growing reputation of the Youngstown neighborhood of "Sharonline" as a dumping ground for killers.  www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch               Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ep. 120 - What happened to Mark DiStefano?

In 1980, 15-year-old Mark DiStefano was found shot to death a half mile from his Lucas County home. Since his murder took place just four days before Toledo brothers Anthony and Nathaniel Cook began their serial-killing rampage, some wonder if Mark could have been another victim. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries xxxxx For more, see Brian Dugger reporting on WTOL 11, Toledo: https://www....

10-Minute Mystery: Leatherlips

It has rained on the PGA's Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin, Ohio in 23 of the last 30 years. Could Wyandot Chief Leatherlips be cursing the event? After all, the event takes place next to his final resting place, and the same weekend as his gruesome death in 1810. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Lea...

Ep. 119 - The curious death of David Bocks

In 1984, David Bocks disappeared during a routine shift at the Fernald, Ohio plant where uranium was processed for U.S. nuclear weapons. With some of his belongings later found in a vat of liquified sludge, his gruesome fate was all but certain. But did he commit suicide, or was he silenced for vocalizing safety concerns? [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Down by the Bonfire, by Je...

10-Minute Mystery: Sharon Ward

In 1982, someone beat 17-year-old Sharon Ward on the head, then slashed her wrists and left her in a Toledo-area cornfield, challenging her to save herself. Nearly 40 years later, Oregon Police have released a name and photos of a "person of interest" as they try to close in on her killer. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher...

Ep. 118 - Did David Ferrie help plan JFK's assassination?

The Warren Commission concluded Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he killed President John F. Kennedy in 1963. But New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison was convinced Cleveland native David Ferrie played a role, and Ferrie died two days after Garrison announced his investigation. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Scrapbook, by Guy Randall. https://guyrandallartist.com Additi...

10-Minute Mystery: Who is the real Eliza?

Harriet Beecher Stowe spurred support for abolishing slavery when she published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1851. When she revealed her fictional characters were based on real ones, the hunt was on for Eliza, the heroine who escaped with her baby by running over chunks of ice floating on the Ohio River. Did that really happen? www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The ...

Ep. 117 - Who killed Anita Taylor?

In 1966, 20-year-old Anita Taylor was found raped and stomped to death in the bedroom of her Springfield home, with her 18-month baby beaten and left in his crib. Now Ohio's new BCI Cold Case Unit is taking another look. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Aaron Taylor's website on his mom: taylorcase.com Music: Stronger Than Yesterday, by Molly Morgan. Find more at https://www.facebook.co...

10-Minute Mystery: Dayton and The Stranger

In 1851, a 24-year-old woman passing through Dayton died and was buried beneath a tombstone identified only as "The Stranger." Stories were handed out down through the years about the circumstances of her death. but no one can be sure. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Learn more about your ad choices. ...

Ep. 115 - Geraldine Mock: Around the world in 29 days

Jerrie Mock was a Columbus housewife and mother who also happened to have a pilot's license, and when she expressed boredom and her husband joked she should fly around the world, she took him up on it. She didn't know she would be the first to achieve what Amelia Earhart could not. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Super Funk Deluxe, by Summer School. Find more at https:...

Ep. 116 - Geraldine Mock: Around the world in 29 days

Jerrie Mock was a Columbus housewife and mother who also happened to have a pilot's license, and when she expressed boredom and her husband joked she should fly around the world, she took him up on it. She didn't know she would be the first to achieve what Amelia Earhart could not. [email protected]/ohiomysterieswww.twitter.com/mysteriesohiowww.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Super Funk Deluxe, by Summer School. Find more at https://summerschoolb...

10-Minute Mystery: Bobby Dolfen and the case of Chas. Lindbergh Jr.

In 1936, authorities descended on the Akron, Ohiohome where an aunt and uncle were raising 4-year-old Bobby Dolfen, the spitting image of the kidnapped baby of aviator Charles Lindbergh. While they would rule out Bobby was Charlie Jr., coincidences kept Dolfen wondering for the next 60 years. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- ...

Ep. 115 - What happened to Joanne Coughlin?

On Dec. 27, 1974, Youngstown aspiring actress Joanne Coughlin left work and headed for a health spa with plans to then meet her boyfriend for a movie. But her boyfriend fell asleep waiting for her because she never made it. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Set Me Free, by Meghan Rachelle. Find more at https://www.meghanrachelle.com. Additional music: Audionautix- The Great Unknow...

10-Minute Mystery: The Girl In Blue (repeat episode!)

On Christmas Eve in 1933, a stranger walked through the streets of Willoughby, Ohio - a young woman dressed head to toe in blue, with 90 cents in her purse and hopes of getting home to Pennsylvania by Christmas. No one understood her intent as she sprinted for an approaching train, running into its side and glancing off with a fatally cracked skull. The town would bury the unidentified girl in a grave marked "The Girl in Blue," and although research would give her a name 60 years later, it wi...

Exhumed - Part 3: Hope Lost

A three-part series by Ohio Mysteries and the Akron Beacon Journal that explores exhumations and the four times it was used in Summit County criminal cases over the past 12 years. In this episode, the two cases where exhumations failed to advance a case: Marion Brubaker and Linda Komar. www.ohiomysteries.com www.beaconjournal.comRoss Burgdenhttps://instagram.com/rossbugden/ (rossbugden)  https://twitter.com/RossBugden (@rossbugden)-Last Dawn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EOkLuDAP6E&list=P...

Exhumed - Part 2: Success

A three-part series by Ohio Mysteries and the Akron Beacon Journal that explores exhumations and the four times it was used in Summit County criminal cases over the past 12 years. In this episode, the two cases where exhumations solved a mystery: Margaret Purk and Linda Pagano. www.ohiomysteries.com www.beaconjournal.comRoss Burgdenhttps://instagram.com/rossbugden/ (rossbugden) https://twitter.com/RossBugden (@rossbugden)-Last Dawnhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EOkLuDAP6E&list=PL44UysF4ZQ2...

Exhumed - Part 1: The process

A three-part series by Ohio Mysteries and the Akron Beacon Journal that explores exhumations and the four times it was used in Summit County criminal cases over the past 12 years. In this episode, Exhumations 101 - a look at the process, the science, the surprises, the possibilities. www.ohiomysteries.com www.beaconjournal.comRoss Burgdenhttps://instagram.com/rossbugden/ (rossbugden https://twitter.com/RossBugden (@rossbugden)-Last Dawnhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EOkLuDAP6E&list=PL44Uys...

Ep. 114 - The suspicious death of Bennie Mostiller

On Oct. 9, 1973, authorities in Wadsworth, Ohio were called to the Wadsworth Foundry for a gruesome discovery. One of the employees had been burned alive in a blast furnace. The story of Bennie Mostiller, and a conversation with former Rittman Police Chief-turned-author Mike Burg. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Have You Ever Seen The Rain, by Niimbus Cloud. Find more at: https:/...

10-Minute Mystery: Grandma Gatewood and the Appalachian Trail

10-Minute MyIn 1955, Gallia County grandma Emma Gatewood told her children she was going for a walk. The walk lasted 5 months, and made her the first woman to hike the 2,000-mile Appalachian Trail. The mystery of why may be buried in a violent past. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Learn more about you...

Ep. 113 - Hollywood stories: Peg Entwistle and Daeida Wilcox Beveridge

Does a woman buried in a Hamilton County, Ohio grave haunt the iconic Hollywood sign? And are the original streets in Hollywood named for people and places in Ohio? [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Speak Softly, Love, by Victor Samalot. Find more at: https://www.victorsamalot.com Additional music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown, and The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch    Learn more a...

Cindy

10-Minute Mystery: Cindy Anderson

In 1981, 20-year-old Cindy Anderson went to work at the Toledo, Ohio law office where she was a legal secretary. When co-workers arrived at the office, there were signs she had been there, but she was gone, with her locked car sitting in the parking lot. She was never seen again. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel B...

Ep. 112 - BCI Cold Cases: Zastudil, Thompson, Hebert

In the summer of 2020, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation announced a new cold case squad, with an initial 11 cased on its primary target list. We revisit three of them: The all-but-forgotten murders of Carol Zastudil, Cheryl Thompson and Joanne Hebert.  [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Bucknut, by SOHi. Find more at https://www.facebook.com/SOHiband Music: Audionautix by Th...

10-Minute Mystery: Arthur Noske

In 1977, 8-year-old Arthur Noske was beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend, Dr. Stuart Kutler, who had failed at trying to burn his corpse. Kutler eventually agreed to a plea of manslaughter, but refused to tell authorities where the boy's remains were. www.ohiomysteries.com [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Audionautix- The Great Unknown The Great Phospher- Daniel Birch Learn more...

Ep. 111 - The Highland Square Rapist

In 1975 and 1976, a rapist stalked the women of Akron's Highland Square neighborhood. This episode features an interview with one of the victims of that dark era. [email protected] www.patreon.com/ohiomysteries www.twitter.com/mysteriesohio www.facebook.com/ohiomysteries Music: Glow, by Embers of Arson. Find more at https://www.facebook.com/embersofarsonoh Music: Audionautix by The Great Unknown, and The Great Phospher by Daniel Birch Learn more about your ad ch...