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Thread: Amy Mihaljevic (10 yrs old) kidnapped and murdered in 1989

  1. #1
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Amy Mihaljevic (10 yrs old) kidnapped and murdered in 1989

    I wasn't sure where to put this.

    At 11 am today- the police will make a major announcement in this case.

    BAY VILLAGE, OHIO - At 11 a.m. Thursday, law enforcement officials will discuss important new evidence in the 1989 kidnapping and murder of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic.

    Representatives of the Bay Village Police Department, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor?s Office, the Ashland County Sheriff?s Office and the FBI say there are new developments in the Amy Mihaljevic case.

    Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from the Bay Square Shopping Plaza after school on Oct. 27, 1989.

    Her body was found in Ruggles Township in rural Ashland County field in February 1990.

    The case has never been solved, but police and the FBI have never stopped investigating. A $25,000 reward is available for information on this cold case crime.

    Officials will hold a press conference at the Bay Village Police Department.
    http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/law-e...rder/252549879




    Mihaljevic, a Bay Village resident, disappeared in October 1989 from a shopping center there. Her body was found in February 1990 by a jogger beside a wheat field just off Ashland County Road 1181 in Ruggles Township. The case remains unsolved.

    Phil Torsney, a retired FBI agent, was hired by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office to continue the investigation in November 2013. In May 2014 he told WKYC Cleveland that investigators were closer than ever to solving the crime.

    Investigators remained in contact with Amy's father. Her mother died in 2001, and family members at the time said she never recovered from the death of her daughter.

    Police believe the girl had returned home from school and received a phone call from a man whom she knew. The man persuaded Amy to Bay Square Shopping Center, where he told her to call her mother and tell her not to worry about her.

    She ended up telling two friends about the encounter, but never her mother. The girl's body was found in a cornfield four months later.
    http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/...case/86272212/
    Last edited by bermstalker; 06-23-2016 at 03:44 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Here's a list of suspects on another blog about Amy's murder
    http://amymihaljevic.blogspot.com/p/...-interest.html

    Dean Runkle



    Connection to Amy: Several former students claim Runkle volunteered at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, where Amy often visited.

    Connection to the crime scene: He lived in New London, about two miles from where Amy's body was found and jogged around the neighborhood daily. His aunt lived less than a mile from where they found Amy's body.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Many of the other girls from N.O. visited the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center, like Amy. Some remember signing a logbook, there, that asked for the names, address, and phone number.

    Similar crimes: Wrote "love letters" to Dan Nash, at one point giving the boy thousands of dollars. Was investigated by an Amherst superintendent for touching girls.

    Other points of interest: A girl in Runkle's class, whom Runkle disliked, received a phone call that warned she would "end up just like Amy Mihaljevic." A key witness to the abduction identified Runkle in a lineup of 30 photos. Runkle drove a gold-colored Grand Prix or Grand Am, in 1989, which fits the description of the vehicle Amy may have been kept in. Runkle disappeared from 1987-1989, telling people he was dying of a rare disease, before coming home and getting a job in Amherst in 1989. A man attempting to abduct a woman in Vermilion in 1984, told her that he was "a friend of Dean Runkle's." Other girls who knew Runkle got phone calls. Kept a skeleton in the closet in his classroom and told students it was a woman who he stabbed to death. Refused to get his teaching license updated when they started requiring fingerprints.

    Where is he now? Managing a Wendy's in Key West, Florida.

    Kenneth Robert Stanton




    Connection to Amy: unknown

    Connection to the crime scene: Was a traveling salesman in Ohio.

    Connection to the other girls from North Olmsted: unknown

    Similar crimes: Was a serial molester of young girls in the southern U.S. before fleeing to Ohio, in the summer of 1989, a few months before Amy disappeared. Very similar M.O. to Amy's killer; would find out when girls were home alone and gain their trust before entering their home.

    Other points of interest: Looks like composite sketch.

    Where is he now? After an episode of Unsolved Mysteries featured his crimes in 1990, he fled Moraine, Ohio, and was nabbed by police a few days later. Is currently in a Georgia prison facility.

    Dr. Gregory Kapela



    Connection to Amy: Kapela's daughter rook riding lessons at Holly Hill Farms, where Amy also took lessons.

    Connection to the crime scene: Unknown.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Coached girls soccer at North Olmsted, some of them were on his team or rival teams. Was also a dentist in North Olmsted.

    Similar crimes: Wrote letters to an eleven-year-old girl on his soccer team who resembled Amy. He called her at home and asked if he could be her boyfriend.

    Other points of interest: Would take girls' team to Canada and sleep in the same hotel room as some of his young players. Said he was coaching soccer the night Amy was abducted but other coaches say he often was not there on Fridays.

    Where is he now?: Retired, living in Las Vegas.


    Math Teacher
    Connection to Amy: Connected to Amy through his sister.

    Connection to the crime scene: Unknown.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Had some of them in his class.

    Similar crimes: Unknown.

    Other points of interest: Lied when asked if he had been questioned by police or FBI. Transferred student contact information to index cards he could take home.



    Shawn Tabellion a.k.a Shawn Dusky



    Connection to Amy: Was Board of Elections worker, possibly servicing machines in Bay Village at time of abduction. Was involved in local horse stables.

    Connection to the crime scene: Unknown.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Some knew him from Senoj Stables, where he was kicked out after "tickling" young girls, there.

    Similar crimes: Raped a 12-year-old girl in Washington State, in 1983.

    Where is he now?: Frequently homeless, going through sex-change, possibly living in Parma.


    Dr. Frank Vokoun
    Connection to Amy: Was dentist in Bay Village.

    Connection to the crime scene: Unknown.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Unknown.

    Similar crimes: Would "hit" on young female patients.

    Other points of interest: Fled country shortly after Amy's abduction, asked relatives to update him on the case. Beat his wife.

    Where is he now? Costa Rica.


    Robert Jones

    Connection to Amy: Showed up at Amy's memorial service and handed Amy's mom $1,000.

    Connection to the crime scene: Unknown.

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Unknown

    Similar crimes: In 1989, he tried to procure an underage girl from a prostitute. The house he owned in 1989 was destroyed in a fire that was ruled as arson. Neighbor girl claimed he would stand in window, naked. Cleveland police tracked him for weeks, as he parked by schools and watched girls go to class. They got a search warrant for his home, but, after it was handed over to the FBI, it was never served. He cut his hair after the composite sketch was shown on TV.

    Where is he now? Working for the Catholic church.


    Vern Hartenburg



    Connection to Amy: Had access to the Nature Center as Director of the Metroparks. Had himself committed to a mental health facility 10 days after Amy's abduction, in 1989.

    Connection to the crime scene: ?

    Connection to other girls from North Olmsted: Nature Center

    Similar crimes: exposed himself to another man in the Metroparks, in 2011; attempted to assault this author in the same Metroparks, in 1991.

    Where is he now? living in a gated Christian community on the west side.

  3. #3
    Administrator Olivia's Avatar
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    James renner killed her.

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    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olivia View Post
    James renner killed her.
    Is he that true crime author?

    I just noticed he was the writer of that blog I posted above.

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    What do you care? Boston Babe 73's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Olivia View Post
    James renner killed her.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nic B View Post
    That is too pretty to be shoved up an ass.
    Quote Originally Posted by Nic B View Post
    You can take those Fleets and shove them up your ass



  6. #6
    Senior Member strozzapreti's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    Is he that true crime author?

    I just noticed he was the writer of that blog I posted above.
    Yep, this was the case he wrote about/was obsessed about prior to Maura Murray's disappearance.

  7. #7
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    They released some new evidence. I'm not sure why they didn't in 89 when this happened.


    A shower curtain and a blanket. The girl also had dog hair on her.
    They want to know if anybody remembers the shower curtain and blanket.

  8. #8
    Senior Member strozzapreti's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bermstalker View Post
    They released some new evidence. I'm not sure why they didn't in 89 when this happened.


    A shower curtain and a blanket. The girl also had dog hair on her.
    They want to know if anybody remembers the shower curtain and blanket.
    That seriously annoys me. Expecting someone over 25 years later to recognize something like that is pretty ridiculous, and it's a giant long shot. Now, had they actually asked back then, they might have had a decent chance of someone giving them a lead they could follow up.

  9. #9
    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Yeah, that is ludicrous to wait all this time and finally release information about the blanket and shower curtain...and dog hair.

  10. #10
    Senior Member bermstalker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by statro View Post
    Yep, this was the case he wrote about/was obsessed about prior to Maura Murray's disappearance.
    I haven't followed that case. That's why I was confused.

    The homemade shower curtain


    But police and the FBI have continued to work the case, bringing Torsney out of retirement in 2013 to review every piece of evidence collected.

    Investigators had previously been unable to tie the blanket to Amy's disappearance and murder. The two were found up the road from Amy's body, in Ruggles Township.

    The blanket is a generic beige fabric, the curtain is made out of an avocado green cotton quilt. It is hand sewn with bindings at the top and bottom.

    "We are hoping somebody recognizes it," Torsney said. "If somebody can call us saying my mom made this curtain, my grandma made this curtain, it was hanging in my brother's room, whatever it is, we can solve this case."

    In his last assignment as federal agent, Torsney was instrumental in finding longtime fugitive Whitey Bulger, now a convicted killer who ran the Boston Irish Mob group known as the Winter Hill Gang.

    After a longstanding arrangement with the FBI was exposed in the Boston media, Bulger went into hiding and was one of the FBI's top 10 most wanted fugitives for much of 17 years. He was captured in 2011.
    http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index...t_hold_ke.html

  11. #11
    Moderator Bewitchingstorm's Avatar
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    Okay, it is making sense now. The curtain and blanket were found down the road from where she was found and previously not matched to her. The retired FBI guy now says hair on both items match the dog hair from her dog. Whew.

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