As word spread around the neighborhood, friends and family started coming over to the Mihaljevic house to make flyers and search for Amy. For their part, Bay Village police detectives do not consider Runkle as the only suspect in the case and continue to work all leads. A curtain, held for decades as potential evidence, just became an even bigger piece of the puzzle in solving the decades-old mystery. By Dateline NBC. In 2006, it was revealed that before Amy was slain, many young girls around her same age had also received a similar phone call from an unidentified man, saying that hed help them buy their mother a present. She loved horseback riding, and took riding lessons with her friends at a local horse ranch. I can tell whatever I want to. One such prank supposedly involved dipping a cat in liquid nitrogen and then smashing the frozen carcass to bits on the floor. . 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Someone stitched this together inside their home and hung on their tall, narrow window. Amy Mihaljevic is a famous Child murder victim. Facebook Amy Mihaljevic and the suspect sketches. Many were just look-alikes, men who resembled the sketch circulated by police but who otherwise could not be linked to the crime. It turns out the suspect had schizophrenia and he had stopped taking his medication. A large volunteer search party with dogs and flashlights found nothing. He walks over to see what we're talking about. Police believe Amys body was wrapped in the curtain for transport from the actual crime scene to the field where her body was dumped. Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. Mr. Runkle taught classes at the nature center and frequently volunteered there. When would I have had time to kill her? DR is to this case what Leigh Allen is the the Zodiac. Spaetzel also discussed the dangers of strangers. The FBI Finally Has A Top Suspect In The Amy Mihaljevic Murder. 1. Renner never made contact until he was about to leave town. "I wouldn't be surprised if I was in a picture at the Lake Erie Nature Center," he says. Mark remarried about six years after Amys disappearance in 1995. The FBI brought in a sketch artist, and the artist was able to create a composite sketch of the man based on the two witness accounts. [2 . Sagittarius Named Amy . The offender is identified to be a white male. Three and a half months later, Amy's body was found near New London, Ohio. Privacy Policy. The calls all came at times when the children were at home, and the parents were typically at work. Copyright 2021 WOIO. "Man, me and Dean are friends. Men with mostly shady pasts and weak alibis, vague connections to the suburban area, or those who have a history of sexual offenses are the ones who are included in the suspect list. INTERVIEW FOLLOW-UP The evidence is highly circumstantial toward Dean Runkle. Several years after the murder, a man at a church service in a nearby town suddenly stood up and yelled out the words I killed Amy Mihaljevic. Some off-duty police officers happened to be in the congregation and immediately took the man into custody. But when she arrived, the school was already closed for the day and no one could help her. "There have not been many [photos] that have been this close," she says. This case to me, to solve it, not just to me, but for the police department and Amys family and really for Amy, would be everything for us, he said. Both witness accounts corroborated each other. Initial evidence found at the scene suggested that she had been dumped there shortly after her abduction, maybe on the day itself. He gave them the name of a suspect and asked if it sounded familiar. Revealed to have close relationships with some students, In 2005, investigators reveal that other girls from the area had, received similar calls to Amy trying to lure them to a public place. But the only student they know who went inside was a boy named Dan, who attended Sailorway Middle School. The details surrounding her disappearance and subsequent murder are a parent's worst nightmare. When Amys body was found, the pair of blue earrings in the shape of horse heads that she was wearing that day were missing from her body. When Rax became a different fast-food restaurant, he continued frequenting the place as if nothing had changed. If youre interested in learning more about Amys case, please check out James Renners book about this case Amy: My Search for Her Killer now available on Audible. The latest update in the case is forensic testing of the one piece of evidence found with Amys bodya blanket that had been sewn into a curtain panel, found a few feet away from the body. This desolate stretch of cracked pavement is not a place you'd likely happen on by chance, and detectives had long theorized that whoever had dumped her body there must have been familiar with the area. Finally, police discovered a link between all the girls. "The younger the age of the victim, the more likely the perpetrator would not have a gender preference," he says. But Runkle eventually asked for the money back. The store bred pet mice, but when the mice population exploded, Runkle began giving the mice away to local nature centers, says the store's former owner, Oneta McCarthy. He called some students his assistants, and they were allowed to stay with Runkle after school and on weekends to help clean the cages and feed the animals. He asked each of them if they remembered visiting the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. Amy Mihaljevic. All the interviews checked out except one. But no one knows Runkle. On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio. They thrive off the increased risk of being caught, so they start leaving bodies out in the open and leaving behind trace evidence. Currently, a top suspect in the unsolved abduction and murder of Amy Mihaljevic. I pull the car over and hop out. Cookie Notice It's hard to tell what might be ailing Runkle, though, because, at 65, he could easily pass for 45. Oct 15. Who Killed Amy Renee Mihaljevic. "My sister told me about you," he says. The only thing that these girls had in common was the fact that they visited the Lake Erie Nature . According to Jason, for months and years after Amys disappearance, Margaret would do nothing but go to work, and then come home and barricade herself inside Amys room. They also start taking trophies. Just like this, because the authorities have revealed a lot of information and evidence surrounding this case to the public in the hopes of getting some tips they have received several false confessions from mentally ill individuals or convicts who get a kick out of admitting to something so heinous. I shake his hand and introduce myself. And it seems that there's finally some break in the case. "I didn't leave Ohio because of Amy," he says. Hes a suspect who looks good from a standpoint of circumstantial evidence, but when we need concrete evidence it all falls apart. Runkle was born in New London and grew up in a farmhouse just a couple miles from where Amy's body was dumped, along County Road 1181. Some of them just came to our attention recently. Today, Dan is living in a rundown apartment complex in Vermilion. He was like a son. Fox 8 reported there was a red spot on her underwear, it was blood, most likly Amy's. This can be found on James site May 9th 2007 Autopsy. Many of them are simply just look-alikes who otherwise have no connection to the crime. "That's Dean!" Investigators said she was stabbed to death. But they recently tested dog hairs found on the fabric and determined that they matched hairs taken from the dog Amy owned at the time. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. That obsession leads James to a successful career as an investigative journalist. And, only a few times has she said that the man in the photo could be the one she saw. James Renner is an investigative journalist from the Bay Village area, and he was around the same age as Amy when she was killed. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. "To me, that event is very significant," he says. Again, no one remembered the name. Other fibers and hairs were discovered on the curtain and blanket as well, meaning they may be able to link these items to the killer and his home in the future. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. I suspect they preyed on school-age girls by attempting to lure them out shopping under the guise of getting gift for their mothers. However, a few minutes after she hung up from Jason, Margaret received a call from Amy herself. How much time would that give DR to rush out after work, find a pay phone or some other way of calling, then make the call? I remember when he saw one girl with a skirt that was way too short, he said, 'That's not appropriate, but I'm glad you wore it to my class.' They lived in a nearby community. Some believed that this suspect could have been teacher Dean Runkle, according to James Renner . In 1971, he quit teaching for two years to play ragtime at Disneyland. inappropriate behavior and unwanted physicality? Your email address will not be published. On Friday 27 October 1989, ten-year-old Amy Renee Mihaljevic woke up at 6am and dressed herself for school, before meeting two friends and riding on their bikes to class at 7.50am, the same as they did every other school morning. he shouts. But it was never inappropriate.". The FBI believes the murder was actually committed in the remote rural area surrounding Bay Village to avoid being seen. At the time of the crime, he was wearing a beige windbreaker with plaid lining, front-pressed khakis, and a button-up shirt. She was born on December 11, 1978 and her birthplace is Little Rock, AR. "Le FBI a enfin un suspect de premier plan dans le meurtre d'Amy Mihaljevic. But, none of them match the facts of the case and the description of the offender as closely as Dean Runkle. On Friday October 27th, Jason arrived home at about 3:15pm, but Amy was nowhere to be found. Search for a Topic. The mother of one of Amys friends drove down to the local news station to have them display a photo of Amy with a notice that she was reported missing. Last weekend, I paid him a visit. The story of her unsolved kidnapping and murder were presented by John Walsh on the television show America's Most . I ask my questions anyway. "We were close. Renner, your stuff is interesting, but ad hominem attacks . using the same gift shopping ruse (Renner, 2008). and our It appears Dan stopped hanging out with Runkle in the fall of 1989. She was never seen again. During those delays, I learned that Runkle was that suspect. A couple hours later after no response, the Mihaljevics filed a missing persons report with the Bay Village Police Department. It was dinnertime when I got there, and I quickly surveyed the room. But what motivation could this man possibly have to lie to police during their investigation in 1989? Some recognize him as a piano player in local bars, but these tips don't get me any closer. "When I went to school, there was this wall - student on this side, teacher over here," he said in an interview that ran in the Lorain Morning Journal that year. I'm still going on the fact that Mr. Case knew everyone from that small town and he did not say that Dean Runkle was the man that was with the unknown child . On October 27, the 19th anniversary of Amy's abduction, I made the decision to go see him myself. BAY VILLAGE -- As the family of JonBenet Ramsey awaits the arrival of a primary suspect in the decade-old murder of 6-year-old JonBenet, Bay Village police are reminded there is still hope to find the killer of Amy Mihaljevic. On Oct. 27, 1989, Amy was lured to Bay Square shopping plaza by a man who had previously called Amy at her home. he says. Amys case remains open to this day, and the Bay Village police have never let her case go cold in almost 30 years. 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Submissions. Somebody who had ridden in that car a week ago, had dropped a hair on the seat," Renner said about the transfer theory. Margaret started to panic, so she ran down the block to the middle school to inquire after Amy. C 27 Octobre 1989) tait un tudiant l'cole primaire , g de dix ans amricain qui a t enlev et assassin dans l'tat amricain de l' Ohio en 1989. . Thus, Amy found herself home alone every afternoon for about an hour before her brother Jason came home from school. Amy was the subject of my first crime article - and my first book. But when that approach doesn't work, they may resort to violence, "because they can't figure out another way to get the child to have sex with them. "Whenever I was in his car, he'd say, 'There are my breasts, these are my double-D's,'" recalls Chase. At that time, they told me that on the week of St. Patrick's Day in 2005, a retired FBI agent who worked on Amy's case contacted each of the girls from North Olmsted. [emailprotected] Anyone with any information, call the FBI at 216.522.1400 or the Bay Village Police Department at 440.871.0773. Runkle stops and answers them for a while. A stranger convinced Amy that he needed her help buying a present . He shrugs. When re-interviewed in 2009, two witnesses picked Runkle out a lineup of nearly 30 men as the most similar to the man they remember seeing (Lewis, 2009). Visitors had to enter their name, address and phone numbers in the book. Then Runkle suddenly quit again, in 2003, according to his personnel file; he gave no reason, declined to apply for a sabbatical that would have allowed him to reach retirement, and didn't even complete the paperwork necessary to collect his pension. . In 2002, during a Sunday Mass at St. Angela Merici Catholic Church on Lorain Road in Fairview Park, he announced that he was the one responsible for what happened to Amy. Dean Runkle himself denies any involvement in the murder of Amy Mihaljevic and the FBI has never officially declared him a suspect. He kept a cot in a side room and sometimes slept there overnight. In 1990 when the body was found, forensic testing for DNA as we know it now and other trace evidence was not yet available. In the years since Amy's abduction, Maddie (not her real name) has been shown hundreds of photos of suspects. Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. No sign of him, of course. These items were found a ways down the road from her body and until now they were not sure that they were linked to the crime. A group of fifth-grade boys congregates at the corner of the plaza, by Bay Lanes. By Her murder case received national attention. I'd watch him put his left hand on her back and bend down to whisper in her ear. The other students assumed the man was a friend or relative, and that Amy knew him, so they thought nothing of it. Law Enforcement arranged a press conference and revealed new details on the Amy Mihaljevic case. Sunday, October 11, 2015. Apparently, in 1987, Dean even set up a few thousand dollars in a trust fund for his favorite student, but then, in the fall of 1989, they just stopped communicating. And though I've never seen him in person before, I recognize him immediately - not from the grainy 13-year-old newspaper photos but from the composite sketch of Amy's abductor. I ask him about Dan and he quickly became emotional. Serial killers who get away with murders early on their sprees are known for getting more and more negligent with covering up their crimes as they progress. They walk together until they reach the shopping plaza a quarter mile down the road. "But I'm telling the truth when I say I don't remember being there.". The lengths that Joseph went to hide his real name and the longevity of his identity theft led them to speculate that he was a dangerous fugitive. I begin focusing on the people I can tell are locals - the tanned man weaving palm-frond baskets, the musician strumming a guitar on a corner. Dean Runkle. Police responded to the Mihaljevic house almost immediately, and began interviewing Amys family and friends over the next few days. They know this.". He often filmed his students in class, cutting together the film later at home. She said she was going with a friend to the Bay Square Shopping Center. After having a snack at the shopping center, Amys friends went home, but Amy stayed behind to wait for someone. Ohio Gov. The curtain is homemade, and was originally Avocado green. It was only then, in 2005, that investigators first learned that each of them had gone to the nature center in the weeks leading up to the abduction. A search warrant for the suspects house was executed, but no evidence linking the man to Amy was found. Some credit him for inspiring them to become veterinarians or biologists. Another angle is that this killer is toying with police. If you meet me at the plaza after school, I'll take you shopping to pick out a present for her. Amy Mihaljevic. Jason became concerned quickly and called his mother Margaret at work to ask where Amy was. The three-hour special, premiering 9 p.m. Sunday on ID, takes a deep dive into the still-unsolved 1989 murder of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic, who lived in a town on the shores of Lake Erie. Two of Amys friends immediately told police they had met Amy at the Bay Village Shopping Center shortly after school ended. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (/ m h l v k /, MUH-hah-LEVIK; December 11, 1978 - c. October 27, 1989) was a ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. Friends of hers claim she slid into alcoholism. Facts About Amy Mihaljevic. At the nature center in 1989 was a log book that all visitors were required to sign when they entered. It's the big unsolved mystery of the area. In the fall of 1989, Runkle applied for a teaching position at Nord Junior High in Amherst and was hired on the glowing recommendations of former administrators from Vermilion. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. someone shouts. Amy was just 10 years old when she was kidnapped and stabbed to death. There is new evidence in the Amy Mihaljevic murder investigation - a homemade curtain and a blanket found on the road where Amy's body was discovered in 1989. IDs The Lake Erie Murders: Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic? explores the chilling case of the abduction and murder of a 10-year-old girl in broad daylight. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. Her killer has never been apprehended. There may be circumstances or reasons that may lead him to have sex with others outside his preferred age/sex demographic." "Wish it was me," said Runkle, according to Adkins. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (December 11, 1978 - October 27, 1989) was an elementary schoolgirl who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. Margaret ran home, called her husband Mark, and began calling all of Amys friends and neighbors asking if theyd seen her. "I've been able to tear down this wall. She was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and she later moved to a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio. Investigators believe the suspect has ties to Bay Village and Ashland County. Turning the corner, he says, "I have nothing to confess to.". Unfortunately, Ryan didnt remember this incident until years after Amys body was found. She was popular, funny, kind and energetic. Bay Village, . Runkle was a twin, but his sister died in 1950, when they were 6. This "list os suspects" is so completely bogus. There have been hundreds of suspects in this case - men, mostly, with shady pasts and weak alibis, vague connections to Bay Village or New London, histories of sexual misadventures. Sgt. Amy and her friends were in . No other connection could be made between him and Amys disappearance. There are no samples, according to Elish, currently being tested in a lab. He was an eccentric teacher from the beginning. Unfortunately thats the reality of the justice system today. I was always at school. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. Her body was found in Ashland County - about 50 miles away - a few months later. I ask. He arranged to meet Amy after school that day to help her buy a gift for her mom for a work promotion. Amy Mihaljevic Margaret and Mark filed for divorce, and Mark moved out of the house. "I would definitely tell them to investigate this guy.". Multiple witnesses say that he matches the man they saw . And, because he was in the suburban Ohio area in 1989, authorities think that he can be behind Amys death. James Renner Multiple witnesses say that he matches the man they saw with Amy the day she vanished. Amy Mihaljevic's cause of death was determined to be homicide by stabbing. I will be there and will update this thread asap. Dean Runkle is still the prime suspect in the case, according to one FBI agent, but the case against him is still circumstantial. By the time police made this connection, the log book had vanished from the nature center. What history do I have of inappropriate behavior with kids? Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. Immediately, police focused in on the caretaker of the ranch, who was a dead ringer for the composite sketch. One is that the killer felt remorse for what theyd done, and returning Amys body would give some peace and closure to Amys family, and allow them to bury her properly. One of them spots the girl spinning around the pole, seemingly without a care in the world. "It was more than creepy; it felt like an animal noticing you walk into a room. Most of these killers are not stupid. Oftentimes, the motive of these killers is actually sexual assault, but the charges for assault of a minor are so steep that offenders feel they have to kill the victim after the assault to prevent identification. The first place I stopped was a chain restaurant that Runkle reportedly frequented in Ohio. As seen on the Oxygen mini-series The Disappearance of Maura MurrayWhen an eleven year old James Renner fell in love with Amy Mihaljevic, the missing girl seen on posters all over his neighborhood, it was the beginning of a lifelong obsession with true crime. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. This further confirms the theory that this curtain was used to conceal Amys body as she was driven from the crime scene to corn field, because the dog hairs wouldve been transferred onto Amys clothing. She said she was going with a friend to the Bay Square Shopping Center. Meet Dean Runkle, former teacher of the year from Amherst, Ohio. Dean Runkle was born in the mid 1940's in New London, Ohio, on a farmhouse only a few miles away from where Amy Mihaljevic's body would be found on County Road 1181, 45 years later.