National Media Picks Up Story

ABC News is running a story about the case on their website.

There's some more from Speatzel on there, including, unfortunately, an admission that the police believe the case cannot be solved unless someone with direct knowledge comes forward.

Here's what he had to say about Runkle:

"We have looked at him closely. We have done a lot of work regarding this individual. And, obviously, there's no indictment."

I still believe some good old-fashioned footwork can solve it. Test the right car. Search the places he would have gone. There's still more you guys can do.

The Car

In 1989, Runkle was driving a 79 Grand Prix (bottom) or a 79 Grand Am (top), gold in color, like these.

There is some discrepancy about which it was. And I think this might be an important point.

The vin # for the car Runkle owned is listed as 2k37y9p643363. According to the manufacturer, that car should have been a 79 Grand Prix. However, Runkle himself has said he always brought the same car--Grand Ams. And many of his students specifically remember him driving a Grand Am.

When the feds found the vin# they attempted to located Runkle's car. But he had sold it in 1995 to a man named Ronil Sartin. Sartin junked it in West Virginia and by the time they traced it to a junk yard in 2005, it had been crushed. So they were never able to get a carpet sample from that exact car.

Instead, they found another 79 Grand Prix and tested the carpeting from that vehicle against the gold fibers found on Amy's body. They were not an exact match to the Grand Prix's carpet, but they were of the same type used in Pontiacs at that time.

I strongly believe the vin # recorded for Runkle's car is wrong. I think it's off by a number or a letter, due to some error made along the way. I've spoken to many people in the automotive industry who say this does happen sometimes. I believe Runkle was actually driving a Grand Am.

Which means the FBI tested the wrong carpet against those found on Amy's body. I have relayed this theory to them, but it appears to have fallen on deaf ears.

Also, Rick Burns described the car he saw that day as a Pontiac, possibly a Grandy Am, though at one time referring to it as a sedan--but he could not recall for sure the number of doors . I know--he's a mechanic--but remember, that day his mind was a little preoccupied with his new truck, which he had just had restored and was showing off to his friends when Amy and her killer pulled up.

The Photo ID

This is the photo Rick Burns picked out of a lineup without hesitation. A credible witness. A business owner. An adult. He says he saw this man in a car with Amy the day of her abduction. I didn't think there would ever be a smoking gun in this case, but I don't know what else to call this.

Yes. This is Dean Runkle.

Lacking

Channel 5 Investigative Reporter Duane Pohlman asked me on Friday what I thought about Bay Village PD's investigation of the Amy Mihaljevic case in light of the discovery of this new witness. I have long believed they have done everything in their power to solve this tragedy, but, for the first time, I had to answer "I find the investigation lacking".

There are a few reasons for this. Mainly, though, Bay Village PD does not seem interested in investigating or ruling out the most likely suspect to have committed this crime, Dean Runkle.

Runkle owns a storage locker in Vermilion. According to the manager, there, it was FBI, not Bay Village, that searched it. But they didn't bother to bring luminol, which may have detected blood, even after so many years. No one has yet really taken a close look at Runkle's science classroom(or his secret side room), let alone tested it with luminol. Investigators have been to his house, but they conducted only a cursory search, according to the present home owner. No luminol was used. No cadaver dogs were brought in. The well was not searched.

I've spoken to 6 former students of Runkle's who are sure he talked about volunteering at the nature center. Spaetzel believes each of them have faulty memory.

Now, we have this very credible witness--a prominent and trusted Bay Village business owner--who claims to have seen Amy with her killer. He has identified her killer. Until Pohlman and I spoke to him, no one had bothered to ask him further questions and he had never been shown pictures. As soon as Spaetzel learned we had talked to him, he immediately visited the witness and, in my opinion, tried to intimidate the man into believing he too had faulty memory. Didn't work. The man is 100% sure he saw what he saw.

And it's not just this new witness. Remember those two eyewitnesses to the abduction? One won't help anymore. The other, when shown a line-up of about thirty individuals, went right to Runkle's picture. She told me he looked so much like the man she saw, she wanted the police to look into him asap.

Then there's the matter of this audio tape. In 1992, someone called the home of a girl who was in Runkle's class and left a message in which he said "your daughter will end up just like Amy Mihaljevic." Spaetzel has the tape. But he won't make copies. And he hasn't even bothered to look for it.

Additionally, after I discovered many clues linking Runkle to this crime in November, the FBI, I have learned, sent an agent out to re-interview Runkle. Did they send the lead agent? No. Did they send someone who worked on the case for 20 years, someone familiar with the details of the case? Nope. They sent some newby out of Quantico.

So, what do I think of the investigation? I find it lacking.

Check back. Later this week, I will offer evidence showing Runkle had a personal interest in Amy's case in 1999, several years prior to becoming the top suspect.

***UPDATE***

Here's the link to Channel 5's Sunday night special report.

New Witness Discovered!

Duane Pohlman, investigative reporter for Channel 5, has been working on an Amy story for some time. I've sat down for interviews. So has Spaetzel. And Amy's father. And Amy's best friend, Kristy Sabo.

And....so has a man who saw Amy in the car with her killer. This witness has identified the man he saw with Amy.

Coverage starts tonight (Friday) at 5PM on 5. But the big story will be shown at 11PM on Channel 5 this Sunday. Another report will be shown on Monday. And another on Tuesday. Scene will have some coverage next Wednesday.

For now, here's a link to Channel 5's post about the upcoming stories.

More Composite Sketches

Here are two rarely-seen composite sketches of the man who may have abducted Amy Mihaljevic.

The first one is a blending of the two most familiar composite sketches that were drawn based on information provided by two eyewitnesses to Amy's abduction.

The second, which shows a man with dark complexion, was based on info from a woman who claimed to have seen this man standing near the site where Amy's body was found.

No one knows how accurate these sketches may prove to be.

Do they look like anyone you know?

*Photos provided by Liz Russ

Phone Calls and Possible Links to Kapela

Bay Village PD has said before that they believe some of the phone calls to girls in North Olmsted were made by the man who abducted Amy. I have always felt this was the case, too.

There are three girls, in particular, who received calls that were almost identical to the one Amy received. I'll use initials for them, here, since I've promised not to name them. So let's call them C, M, and J.

After C got a call, her friend and neighbor, M, also did. It appears the caller only called M after being introduced to her through his contact with C.

Turns out C was friends with Kapela's daughter.

I'm waiting to hear back from J.

Another girl who lived in Bay Village also got a call. When did she receive the call at home? Just before her team's soccer practice. She said a guy in a white van was parked out front. It looked like there was an antenna attached to the van which could have been one of those first-generation cell phones. The man behind the wheel had a mustache.

I expect more updates soon.

Kapela

Meet Dr. Greg Kapela.

During our initial phone conversation, Dr. Kapela forgot to mention that his daughters took riding lessons at Holly Hill, where Amy also took lessons.

He forgot to mention that he was caught making inappropriate calls to at least two girls from North Olmsted.

He forgot to mention a lot of things. For instance, when he was interviewed by police, he told them he had soccer practice the night Amy was killed. But he forgot to mention to them that he usually skipped practice on Fridays and was not there the day Amy was abducted, according to the assistant coach. "He gave an alibi that was bogus," he says.

Dr. Kapela loved taking overnight trips with his traveling girls soccer team. According to one parent, he also liked to watch porn in his hotel room while the girls played around outside.

Does anyone else happen to remember anything Dr. Kapela forgot to tell me?

***A Note Concerning Runkle***

Question: What the eff? Where'd this guy come from? Do you still think it's Runkle?? If it turns out not to be Runkle, don't you think you owe him an apology? Etc. Etc.

Answer: I believe Runkle remains a prime suspect. He is still at the top of my list. But I'm not going to sit on information like this if it might help find Amy's killer or if it helps rule other suspects out. If by some improbable quirk, everything linking Runkle to Amy is coincidence, and someone else murdered her, no, I would not have any regret about the way this played out. After all, that publicity brought forward the people who knew Kapela and other suspects. And at the end of the day, there is no doubt that Runkle overstepped his bounds with a few of his students--sending sexual letters to one, rubbing against a couple more, leaving many with nightmares. I have taken great pains to protect the identity of suspects if I cannot prove they crossed the line with other kids. Frankly, I just don't have sympathy for a predator if his reputation is ruined by me.