The Dienes Farm in Ashland

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Dienes was a potential suspect 21 years ago.

Word from Channel 3 this evening is Frank Dienes was named as a possible suspect in 1989, during the time Amy was missing.

One problem with this case has always been the sheer number of leads and potential suspects. I know the FBI and Bay Village PD poured their hearts and souls into finding Amy's killer back then. But there were thousands of leads to track down and not enough man power in the country could get it done. Simply put, they just never got a lucky break.

If Joe Kopp submitted a tip to the police in 1989, I'd say we have a possible motive for his murder.

I expect this will be a busy week.

Have info on Frank Dienes?

Lots of people checking into the blog following reports from Channel 19 and Channel 8. What can you do to help?

If Joe Kopp spoke to you about Amy's case, call the detectives.

If you lived near Amy Mihaljevic--or your kids knew the Mihaljevics--and Frank Dienes did work on your house around the time of Amy's abduction, call the detectives.

They can be reached in Bay Village at 440-871-1234.

Frank Dienes in Court

Frank Dienes had a pretrial hearing in Judge John J. Russo's courtroom this morning. I had a chance to meet both the defense attorney Ian Friedman (president of the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, well known, respected, and not cheap) and young high-crimes prosecutor Scott Zarzycki. Both were aware of this blog and the potential links to the Amy Mihaljevic case. These links are being taken quite seriously and I can say that Bay Village police are taking a close look at Frank Dienes right now.

Frank Dienes himself appeared briefly. He was disheveled and dressed in orange jail dungarees. Didn't look at me, once. Might not have known I was there.

Bail has been set at $500,000 and there was some discussion about how the court might check up on him if he is released. Dienes' mother has a lot of money--she's footing the bill for Friedman at a reported retainer of $100,000--and it is quite possible he will get out before the trial. Unless police find reason to keep him locked up.

Frank Plays Coy

I was sitting in the room with a person speaking to Frank Dienes on the phone from jail when he was asked, point blank, about Amy Mihaljevic and whether he knew her. He said no and acted like he didn't even know who she was.

We know he's lying for a couple reasons. 1. He did work on Mark Mihaljevic's home. 2. Joe Kopp was VERY vocal about the fact he thought Frank was involved in her murder. He would have heard her name, even if, somehow, he avoided the volume of media coverage on her murder since 1989.

For his part, Dienes says he can't remember much of anything, anymore. He claims his mother--and I am not making this up--gave him bad oranges about five years ago, which were covered in pesticides. After biting into one, he spiked a temperature of 106 degrees and, he claims, suffered some brain damage.

Bloody Scene Near Dienes' Hunting Cabin

Remember these pictures from that creepy house on TR 500? Yeah, that house was right around the corner from the Dienes' farm on TR 608.

The FBI were so interested in this house after Amy's murder, they fingerprinted the scene and took samples of the blood on the walls for testing (you can see the squares they cut out in the pics).

Joe Kopp told many people about Amy

Lots of people coming forward claiming Joe Kopp said that Frank Dienes killed Amy Mihaljevic. Here's a clip from an email I got today which I forwarded to Bay Village detectives:

In late February early March Joe approached me and asked that I hold onto his birth certificate, state ID and a few medical docs because he said he could prove that Frank killed Amy Maholivic and if anything happened to him "that asshole" (referring to Dienes) did it! Since Joes demise I have tried to let the police know and they blow it off, I called the county prosecutor and they gave my number to the Seven Hills police which again fell on deaf ears.

Frank Dienes did flooring work for Mark Mihaljevic

Well, my interest in Frank Dienes is growing by the day.

Mark Mihaljevic says he called Frank Dienes to do work on the floors of his house several years after Amy was abducted, in a separate house in Bay Village. He's trying to remember where he got the number for Frank's business or whether any of his neighbors on Lindford in 1989 might have contracted with Dienes back then and passed on the number. It's a circumstantial link, but an important one, maybe.

In the meantime, I drove out to Ashland today and found the Dienes' old farm on Township Road 608. In the 70's, it was an old girl scout camp. But in 1989, the farm house and the property was abandoned and the Dienes' boys (Frank and his brother, Jim) used it as a hunting cabin.

I spoke to three neighbors who each said that strange occult-like activity occurred on the Dienes' property. Hunters found the heads of animals hung on trees. And one boy who lived nearby (and who was later interviewed by Ashland Co. Sheriff's Deputies) received a letter at his home asking him to bring a sacrificial animal to the woods behind Dienes' farmhouse.

The whole thing gave me the creeps.

A little more on Frank Dienes

Frank Dienes (pronounced Dee-Eness) is an odd cookie.

He will be arraigned tomorrow morning for the death of Joe Kopp, who he allegedly shot in the head and buried in his back yard in Seven Hills.

Joe Kopp, according to those who live nearby, was known in the neighborhood as "Crazy Joe." He was often seen walking around the neighborhood, talking to anyone who cared to listen. According to at least one source he said that Dienes was involved in Amy's abduction.

I was ready to write this off completely. I get a lot of false leads and, after all, this is a guy named "Crazy Joe." But, it turns out Dienes' parents lived on a giant farm on TR 608 in Ashland County, just 8 miles from the site where they found Amy's body. Dienes, in 1989, worked for his father's flooring company and laid floors all over Cuyahoga County, including Bay Village.

And what did Dienes' mother (a spunky Hungarian immigrant) say when she learned of his arrest? "No one should have talked. They never would have found that body."

Strange effing thing to say, right?

Are FBI agents looking at Frank Dienes?

Last week we heard the story of Joe Kopp, the eccentric homeless man from Seven Hills whose body turned up in the backyard of Frank Dienes. Dienes was indicted for Kopp's murder, after police determined Kopp had been shot in the head, his corpse buried Dienes' Oakwood Drive home. Dienes owned a local flooring business.

Today, I was contacted by an anonymous source close to the investigation who claimed that, before his death, Kopp had been telling people that Dienes was involved in Amy's abduction and murder. This same source said FBI agents are now trying to determine if there is any truth to the claims.

Anyone have info on Frank Dienes?

UPDATE

Dienes relatives own property in Clear Creek Township, not far from where Amy was found.