Finding Amy's Killer

Attempted Abduction from 60's linked to Runkle? UPDATED

2012-01-25T11:14:00.005-05:00

You never know what tips the next day might bring. Today, I got an email from a woman who narrowly escape an abduction many years ago. Here's part of her story:

It was the late 1960's, I was about 9 or so and went with a friend on mine to the corner drugstore..we rode our bikes. When we came out of the front of the store, our bikes were gone. As we lamented our bad luck (Crime was exactly nil at that time where I lived which was Adams Township in Lucas County Ohio, suburb of Toledo) my friend walked around to the side of the building and said she found our bikes. They were now next to a car that had been parked at side of building. There were cars also parked on both sides of the car in question. When we went to grab our bikes as we thought someone had pranked us, I noticed there was a man sitting in the car, with his window open (it was warm). He was young...definitely 20's, dark hair, and it was brushed straight back off his forehead, kind of slicked back. That in combination with the mirrored shades I now know is enough to alter someones appearance! He was not a "big man", smaller in stature. He had on dark sunglasses (mirrored) and he had a map spread out across his steering wheel. My friend takes off and as I was getting on my bike the man crooks his finger and asks me if I can help him..he smiles...I get off bike and go up to car standing outside his door...he points to map and says, do you know how to get to Beaverdam from here? (Beaverdam Ohio)...I said no...and he taps map and says, "Well, look..look...it's right here, look and then you can see. As I start to bend into the car window, THATS when every alarm bell that a 9 year old girl has started ringing...and I jerked back and ran, ran, ran...I have NO DOUBT that had I leaned into that car, that man would have kidnapped me. I would swear that that man is Dean Runkle...I have never seen Mr. Runkles pic,nor knew of his association with Amy M. but when I ran across it, I KNEW.

Guess what Runkle was doing around that time?

He was playing ragtime music at Cedar Point. Not far from this area.

**UPDATED**

From her follow-up email:

Seeing the composite photo on your site, if you mirrored those glasses, and slicked back his hair..I would swear on a stack of bibles that was him.

For my own sake....can he be placed anywhere near Toledo,OH in the late 60's? My friend has narrowed it down that we were in the 4th grade because she did not have her little sister yet, and we met in the 4th grade and became best buddies. If this is correct the year would have been summer of 68...if she is wrong..summer of 69. I was born in 1960. It's odd to say, but I looked a little like Amy.

Did Amy's Killer Leave Another Victim Behind?

2012-01-19T21:52:00.002-05:00

There's a woman, I'll call her Mrs. J. She was another girl who received strange phone calls from a man shortly before Amy was abducted. She was from Sheffield Lake. And her family boarded horses at Holly Hill Farm, where Amy took riding lessons.

In 1983, Mrs. J was a young teen. One day, while walking through a park in Sheffield Lake, she was snatched by a man and taken a short distance to a location where she was raped. During the assault, the man repeatedly called her "Maggie" and when she tried to correct him, he got angrier. She thought he meant to kill her, but seemed to change his mind and eventually let her go.

Mrs. J's assault is still unsolved. But Sheffield Lake (and hopefully Bay Village PD) may be taking another look at the case, soon. You see, Mrs. J. is hoping to get a liver transplant. She suffers from Hep C. She believes her attacker gave her this disease. If one of the top suspects in Amy's murder has Hep C, he might be worth taking a closer look at.

Question

2012-01-05T13:22:00.000-05:00

Does anyone know of a "Mr. G." who taught at St. Angela's in Fairview Park back in 1989?

If so, drop me a line at becarriedaway@hotmail.com

Plain Dealer hears your anger, rises to the occasion!

2011-11-09T15:49:00.004-05:00

Nice job, everyone!

From the response I got from the Plain Dealer, I didn't think they were interested in getting the truth out about Frank Dienes' ties to Amy's case. But, not only have they fixed the record, they broke some news, too.

According to the latest article from Donna J. Miller, Frank:

will meet with Bay Village detectives investigating Amy Mihaljevic's 1989 abduction and slaying.

Also:

Spaetzel will also be requesting Dienes' DNA to compare it to evidence in the Mihaljevic case. Inmates in Ohio's prisons are required to submit to DNA testing. Dienes was transferred this morning from the Cuyahoga County Jail to the Lorain Correctional Institution in Grafton.
Spaetzel won't discuss the evidence that may be used for a DNA comparison.
"We have not in the past, nor will we now, discuss exactly what forensic evidence we possess," he said.

Thank you every who sent in emails this morning.

And thank you, Debra Simmons and the editors at the Plain Dealer who pushed for a better story.

Plain Dealer Refuses to Correct Erroneous Story on Dienes

2011-11-09T08:46:00.002-05:00

Ever since this story first appeared on the Cleveland.com last night, I've been trying to appeal to the Plain Dealer's better minds to get a correction.

Specifically this passage from reporter Donna J. Miller's article following Dienes' sentencing:

"Kopp also clipped and saved newspaper stories that intrigued him, including those about the 1989 disappearance of Amy Mihaljevic. He had told several people that he thought Dienes looked like the suspect in the kidnapping and murder.

Bay Village detectives interviewed Dienes but said recently they found no evidence that he was involved."

As readers of this blog (or anyone who has watched news coverage of Dienes' ordeal) will know, there are several incorrect statements here. The most damaging is the misquote of the Bay Village police. BVPD never said that. EVER. Det. Spaetzel has said he hopes to reinterview Dienes, in fact. Also, Kopp didn't just say Dienes looked like the sketch. In fact, I've never seen that reported before and suspect they have no source to back that up. Kopp told people he had evidence that Dienes killed Amy. Whether or not that was true, we may never know.

So this is the response I got from Miller:

There's nothing to correct. The article says the police have no evidence to connect him at this time.

See Jim Ewinger's story.

This explains a lot. See, what lazy reporters tend to do is to just grab the last story on a subject and extrapolate from that. Unfortunately, the last person at the Plain Dealer to write about Dienes and Amy was James Ewinger. Ewinger got it wrong, too, and as I explained here, months ago, he likely did so because of bad blood between us. Ewinger should never have been moved from obituaries. He's creepy the way he holds grudges. And I'm sure his editors have recognized this by now. Why he still has a job is beyond me.

Anyway, the Plain Dealer is digging in their heels. Keeping an incorrect story online because of misguided pride or something. Meanwhile, their report seriously damaged a murder investigation involving a dead little girl. Nice.

If you feel so moved, asked editor Debra Simmons to correct: dasimmon@plaind.com

Police get Dienes' DNA to test against evidence in Amy's case.

2011-11-08T09:38:00.002-05:00

This morning, Frank Dienes was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole in 16 years, for the murder of Joe Kopp. I guess that's justice for Kopp. Or as close as the system will allow. Granted, they probably would not have done much better had they gone to trial. The defense, in this case, was a joke.

One bit of good news to take away from this ordeal: the state now gets Dienes' DNA. When he's processed into prison, authorities will take his DNA, as they do now with all people convicted of felonies in the state of Ohio.

This means Bay Village police will have a sample to test against DNA found at a crime scene in Amy Mihaljevic's case.

Maybe we'll soon get an answer as to whether Joe Kopp was right when he accused Frank Dienes of killing Amy.

Judge Russo Should Ignore Plea Deal

2011-11-02T20:05:00.002-05:00

I'm in New Hampshire, investigating the disappearance of Maura Murray, so I was not in court for this today, but it seems Frank Dienes has pleaded guilty to murdering Joe Kopp in exchange for a plea deal that could free him from prison by age 61. Paul Kiska has the full story at Channel 5.

THIS IS SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE.

The fact that Dienes sent his wife to the movies the night he murdered Joe Kopp, shows premeditation. He arranged for no witnesses to be present and, like the coward he is, he shot Kopp in the back of the head and then buried him in his back yard.

The only apparent motive for the crime is that Kopp had been telling friends that Dienes killed Amy Mihaljevic. We'll soon have some kind of answer to that. When you're convicted of a felony in the state of Ohio, the state takes your DNA and feeds it into the system.

But regardless as to Dienes' guilt in the Mihaljevic case, he deserves more time in prison.

Judge Russo should toss out this plea deal. Kopp's family should be asking the judge to do this right now, before the sentencing on Tuesday. Plea deals are for drug dealers and first time thieves. Not murderers. And certainly not murderers who have made a joke out of the justice system like this manipulative monster has.

The 22nd Anniversary Approaches

2011-10-20T09:41:00.003-05:00

Paul Kiska over at Channel 5 has become very interested in Amy's case in recent months. I've seen him a couple times at hearings for Frank Dienes and have spoken to him, at length, about the story. He's not another reporter looking for a quick sweeps week piece. I get the feeling, like Spaetzel, like myself, like a number of FBI agents, he's caught the bug that leads people to devote a lot of time trying to find out just what the hell happened to Amy Mihaljevic.

When you get a chance, check out his long news piece that aired on Channel 5 last night. Lt. Det. Mark Spaetzel finally opened up a little and admitted to frustration in the investigation, saying:

Thousands and thousands of interviews with numerous people of interest, and we don't feel like we're any closer than we were before.

He also officially shot down Dienes' attorney's bullshit line about Frank Dienes being cleared as a suspect in the case.

Bay Village police said Dienes is still one of several suspects and police want to talk with him again about Amy.

I watched the video with a sense of sadness. To tell the truth, I'm just burned out emotionally with this case. Equally unnerving is being faced with the realization of how much time everyone has given to finding justice for Amy. Spaetzel is noticeably older than when I first met him in early 2005. Likewise, my temples have grayed and I've gained 40 pounds. Not the kid I was when I started looking for her killer.

I don't want this mystery to outlive us.

Crime Presentation in Green

2011-10-06T09:42:00.001-05:00

Green Branch Library Presents:

The Final Word on the Murder of Krista Harrison

Did serial killer Bob Buell train an apprentice before going to prison?

In July, 1982, 11-year-old Krista Harrison was abducted from a park in Marshallville, Ohio. Her body was found a few days later on the side of a road in a neighboring county. Eventually, investigators charged an unassuming Akron public employee named Bob Buell, with the crime. They believed Buell was also responsible for the murders of two other girls: Tina Harmon and Debbie Smith. Buell was tried, convicted, and then put to death in 2002.

Years later, a box of Buell’s notes found their way to me. Buell claimed he was innocent of Krista’s murder even though there was overwhelming evidence against him. The information in the killer’s box, and long-forgotten Grand Jury testimony from a confidential informant, pointed to another suspect.

Based on this new information, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department re-opened the Tina Harmon case, in 2009. Pushed by Harmon’s family, they finally tested Tina’s clothing. DNA was found. That DNA matched Bob Buell, proving he was the murderer that prosecutors always suspect him to be.

But, what of the other suspect?

A new look at police records and 20-year-old interviews proves this other man, who remains free, surely knew about Krista’s murder and likely participated in covering up the crime for Buell.

Join me as I present the true story of Krista’s murder and share the evidence with the public for the first time.

The presentation will take place at the public library in Green (4046 Massillon Rd. Uniontown, OH) on October 24 at 7 p.m. Seating is limited so come early!

Who reported Dienes first?

2011-10-01T09:39:00.003-05:00

Here's something that hasn't been researched enough:

Who gave Bay Village police Frank Dienes' name as a possible suspect before Kopp was killed?

Detective Mark Spaetzel has said they questioned Dienes years ago about Amy's murder. But what turned them on to Dienes? There's two possibilities here, as far as I can tell:

1. Someone who suspected Dienes may have killed Amy called a tip into police. Was it Joe Kopp? If not, I'd very much like to speak to the individual who called. What led them to suspect Dienes?

2. Was Dienes' flooring company's name in Margaret Mihaljevic's book of contacts, which was taken from her apartment after she died and ended up with Bay Village police in 2001? That would be very interesting.

I'll try to get some answers on this soon.

Frank Dienes turns down plea deal, will face life in prison.

2011-09-30T12:06:00.005-05:00

Big doings at the courthouse today.

Frank Dienes appeared with a shaved head in front of Judge John J. Russo this morning. Media reporters there expected Dienes to plead guilty to the murder of Joe Kopp in a sentencing deal ironed out between defense attorneys and the prosecutor's office. But when lawyers noticed that new sentencing guidelines going into effect this very day might reduce the time Dienes would spend in prison, things changed.

With the possibility of a longer stay in the hooskow ahead of him, Dienes declined the deal and asked for a jury trial (scheduled November 14). As such, Dienes faces three charges, including Aggravated Murder, which could put him in prison for the rest of his life. The death penalty is not an option in this case.

Outside the courtroom, I caught Dienes' attorney, Eric Nemecek, by the elevators. I explained to him that saying Dienes was "ruled out" as a suspect in Amy's case was untrue and asked him if he would like to correct that statement (which he has made repeatedly to the media) in the presence of cameras. He declined and ran around the corner to avoid more reporters asking questions.

For the record, AGAIN, Frank Dienes has never been ruled out as a suspect in the murder of Amy Mihaljevic. Please stop reporting otherwise.

Do I believe Frank killed Amy? I don't know. I do believe he merits close scrutiny by police, in light of the location of his family's farm in Ashland County, the fact that Joe Kopp told people he knew Frank killed her, and the fact that he did work at the Mihaljevic's home. Not to mention his ties to North Olmsted.

UPDATE: Fox 8 has a pretty good summation of today's hearing.

So does Paul Kiska at Channel 5.

UPDATED What Nicole Knew

2011-09-24T12:42:00.005-05:00

Though "Nicole" was only seen from behind in her Action News exclusive interview the other night, she has revealed her identity on Facebook.

Many people responded angrily to Nicole's comments about Joe Kopp during the interview. In response to these haters, Nicole took to the comments to give her side of the story, in the processes revealing her image and full name, Nicole Alexander. I spoke to Nicole, myself, several months ago with the agreement that I would keep her name confidential unless she decided to reveal her involvement.

Here's what Nicole had to say on Facebook:

I'm the one who turned Frank in. I witnessed much of the chaos that happened in that house. I'm not on anyone's side ~ all I have is the TRUTH and it needs to come out. Frank needs to take responsibility for what he did, and the Seven Hills Police need to stand up and be accountable for what they failed to do.

Later:

The main reason why I spoke up is because the police are basically getting away with the fact that they failed to serve or protect ANYONE in this situation. They were called numerous times. I, myself, pleaded with them to just remove Joe from the Dienes' home because I knew that someone, in the end, would end up losing their life. They laughed and stated that Joe had more rights to the Dienes' home then Frank and Char themselves had as the homeowner's. Just a word of caution to everyone: don't let anyone stay in your home for more than one night, for if they have a bag of clothing and a toothbrush -- they are considered a resident, and you yourself will lose all your rights. (According to the three Seven Hills police officers.) Everything is documented and on record -- so I'm sure that all will be revealed in the trial. There are four people that need to be punished for what happened to Joe, and the police are three of them.

Still more:

Frank's mom didn't pay me to say anything. First off, I don't even like the woman.....and she hates me for turning her son in. Secondly, there is nothing in this for me. My life is not going to change regardless of what I have to say on either end. There isn't any amount of money that I'd make up a story for. I want justice to be served just as much as everyone else does ~ the only difference is that I'd like it to be served along with a sidedish of the truth.

And...

I have no idea about the Amy M. case.....no idea at all. I personally cannot imagine him hurting a child.....but then again, people are capable of anything. I can't speak about something that I have no information about. Char was not at home the night Frank did this. She was with me. We went to dinner and a movie. And no, I'm not saying that to cover her ass ~ it's the truth. Frank told her that he kicked Joe out that night. We believed that until odd things started happening weeks later.

UPDATE:

Nicole keeps revealing more info on Facebook. Here are some more recent quotes:

I have not claimed Frank's innocence. He ISN'T innocent, he killed Joe......and the whole situation sickens me. I can only tell what I know. I can only share what I personally lived through and observed. I obviously didn't know Joe on the same level as you all ~ and that is NOT my fault. All I know of his prior living arrangements is that which came from direct conversations with him. Was Char involved in any way? Who the hell knows....besides her.

Also:

Regarding Joe's belongings.....I DID think that was odd. But from what I was told he was slowly moving things out, but he couldn't take it all at once. Questions began arising when weeks went by and I realized that so much of his stuff was still there. Like three semi's full of stuff! The basement was packed to the ceiling and their six car garage was full of his stuff as well. Frank began going through it and I asked what he was doing. I knew that something wasn't right when he began throwing everything away....and when he found Joe's money stash. I believe that was the moment that I knew in my heart that something was wrong. I knew Joe would not have left without taking his money.

Action News Spins Kopp Murder

2011-09-23T10:24:00.004-05:00

This is unbelievably frustrating.

19 Action News is reporting an interview with another person who lived in Frank Dienes' home shortly before Joe Kopp's murder earlier this year. Their source, "Nicole," was the same woman who actually went to the police and told them Kopp was buried in the back yard. But now it appears Nicole may be defending Dienes' actions, saying Kopp was acting crazy and possibly threatening before Dienes shot him.

"I knew that something was going to happen to one of us."

And that's fine. Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.

What is unfair is how Action News goes on to talk about supposed "facts" of the murder. Here's the quote:

After a blow up where Joe refused to leave, Frank went into the basement, there was a fight and he shot Joe in the head. He buried the body and told his wife Char a month later.

This statement isn't bracketed in quotes and that's a big deal, because, as such, it's present as fact. But the only people who were there when the killing went down was Frank Dienes and Joe Kopp. It occurred when Dienes' wife was at the movies, which certainly seems to be more like premeditation and less like self-defense.

No. This is spin. The same Frank's high-priced lawyers have been putting out there.

Don't believe it.

The trial remains set for November 14, though I expect it will be pushed forward as lawyers for the defense delay, delay, delay.

Research

2011-09-01T22:57:00.002-05:00

My collection of notes, interviews, videos, and photographs are now available to anyone who would like to research this cold case. Everything can be reviewed at the Special Collections office on the top floor of the Kent State library. Nothing can be checked out or copied, but you can view everything there.

Click here for a detailed list of what is available.

Who is Walter Jackson?

2011-08-24T09:25:00.003-05:00

Cops nabbed a serious creep from North Olmsted last week who appears to be a serial abductor. I'm trying to find out if Walter Jackson was in prison in 1989, but he was definitely free when Amanda Berry, Ashley Summers, and Gina Dejesus were abducted.

I think we'll be hearing more about this guy.

Amy Now Available as an eBook.

2011-08-14T10:05:00.002-05:00

Amy: My Search for Her Killer, is finally available as an ebook for $9.99.

You can download it on Amazon, Barnes & Noble online, or iBooks.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

2011-08-11T09:23:00.002-05:00

Sun News reports that lawyers for Frank Dienes may be seeking a second opinion on their client's mental health--the court-ordered psychological assessment discovered that Dienes is a master manipulator and was only pretending to be crazy. Judge John J. Russo scolded Dienes for acting like a weirdo to avoid trial back in July. They have until September 9 to present their "evidence" to Judge Russo. Sounds like a waste of money to me.

In other news, Dienes' attorney, Eric Nemecek, apparently having just read the book Media Spin for Dummies, again just lied when discussing Dienes' link to the Mihaljevic case. From the article:

Nemecek also said defense attorneys received no indication from police in Bay Village that their conclusion that Dienes was not a suspect in the 1989 death of Amy Mihaljevic has changed.

For the 100th time, the police NEVER ruled Dienes out as a suspect. They have not ruled anybody out, actually. Dienes, like others, remains a suspect in Amy's murder. Saying otherwise is really starting to seem like a deliberate attempt to muddy the waters in preparation for a possible defense.

Another Case

2011-07-09T19:14:00.003-05:00

I have started investigating the strange disappearance of Maura Murray, a case outside the boundaries of NE Ohio.

If you're interested in another bizarre unsolved crime, pop on over to Not Without Peril.

Judge Scolds Frank Dienes for Playing Crazy

2011-07-06T10:12:00.005-05:00

As I said in May, Frank Dienes is a master manipulator and was only pretending to be crazy in Judge Russo's courtroom, now that he's charged with the murder of Joe Kopp and being investigated by detectives working on Amy's case.

Channel 5's Paul Kiska was in the courtroom and Scene's Kyle Swenson reports on the coverage. Check this link for video.

Apparently, Dienes carried on intelligent conversations with his wife and played a decent game of chess when he thought he wasn't being monitored by counselors, but then played "crazy man" when being evaluated. Another word for this behavior is "compartmentalizing". That's a trait sociopaths can perfect over time. It's how you live with killing someone. (BTW, nice "crazy man" hair, there, Frank. It's the details that sell the story!)

Judge Russo saw through the ruse and bumped Dienes' bail to $1 million. For now, he's back in jail.

I wonder what's next for Dienes' lawyers. They've tried the crazy card. They've made me a witness to keep me out of the courtroom. At some point, they have to realize they've backed the wrong horse.

Fred Sullivan: Similar M.O.

2011-06-22T10:08:00.003-05:00

Unlike some others, there is no doubt that Fred Sullivan is a predator.

Sullivan liked to take out ads in area newspapers (including the Tradin' Times, where Amy's mother worked). These ads promised jobs for young women. But first, they had to come to his apartment for an interview. At these interviews, Sullivan would say he would hire the women if they would sleep with him first.

I found Sullivan's name in Amy's autopsy report. Seems the coroner's office had analyzed a knife belonging to Sullivan to see if it contained any usable DNA (he wasn't the only person whose belongings have been analyzed by coroners--there was a bat owned by someone else, too). When I met with him in 2008, Sullivan told me he thought he had found a loophole in solicitation laws, and thought that the sex would be considered a legal transaction. Cuyahoga County prosecutors figured otherwise and have charged him several times with crimes including: compelling a 14 year old girl to take money for sex and the attempted abduction of a 23 year old woman from a Parma-area restroom.

This whole game of luring the women to him under false pretense is similar to the method used by Amy's killer, who called her on the phone and pretended he worked with her mother at the Tradin' Times.

I interviewed Sullivan for a half hour or so. He even brought me a knife similar to the one the cops took from him (his apartment door remained open during this odd encounter, thankfully). He's straight forward about his urges, too, stating "I like young girls. They make me feel young."

I have lost track of the man in the years since. But if you happen to hear from him regarding possible employment, best to stay away. Anyone with info can send it to me at becarriedaway@hotmail.com

Fear

2011-06-12T10:19:00.002-05:00

I haven't forgotten about the updates I promised. They're coming soon. At the moment, I'm finishing up a novel and doing a bit of traveling (meetings in New York and research in New Hampshire on the Maura Murray case). Expect something next week.

In the meantime, I've been meaning to say a little something on the subject of fear.

I get a lot of emails from people who read this blog or my true crime books and they begin something like this: "What a scary world we live in" or "I'm never letting my daughter out of the house, again" or "You can't trust anybody these days". For some reason, many people believe this is the message I'm trying to get across in my writing. It couldn't be further from the truth.

I actually believe people are generally good. The fact that abductions and murders are so unbelievably rare says something great about the society in which we live. We think these things happen more often because when they do occur, the news writes a lot about them. But your daughter has a better chance of dying in a plane crash than she does at the hands of a serial killer. At yet we still fly.

The solution is not to be more fearful but to be LESS fearful. Instead of building walls around ourselves in order to keep us "safe" we should be doing the opposite. If every one of us took the time to really get to know the people living to the right of us and the people living to the left of us, these abduction/murders might never happen. If we all did this, we'd know right away if our friend next door was beginning to get dangerously depressed or if he started to build a tent compound in his back yard where he could keep his kidnapped victims. If we took the time to befriend them, we could get them help before they went crazy.

Take the time to know your neighbors. Befriend them. Care for them. We're talking a couple hours a month in exchange for a better place to live. That's the answer.

Dienes cleans house.

2011-05-25T10:01:00.002-05:00

Channel 5 interviewed neighbors of Frank Dienes after he was released from jail yesterday. Check out the update here.

The reporter also noticed Dienes and his family have removed boxes and boxes of items from the house and garage. I hope the police properly searched the house for evidence in the Kopp and Mihaljevic cases. If no one secured a search warrant related to the Mihaljevic case before they had a chance to clean house, the entire investigation should be turned over to a more committed law enforcement entity.

Frank Dienes is out of jail!

2011-05-24T17:47:00.003-05:00

According to Fox 8 News, Frank Dienes posted a $500,000 bond and was released from the Cuyahoga County Jail.

Unbelievable.

I usually fall well on the side of the defense, but I think there's little doubt about what happened to Joe Kopp, an eccentric man who seems to not have a violent bone in his body, a man who often told people Dienes was involved in Amy's murder. And now Dienes is out of jail.

I'm interested to see what they try for a defense. Painting Dienes as mentally incompetent ain't gonna sit well with a jury. He owned a business. And somebody buried Kopp in that back yard. That shows planning and forethought. Especially if the allegations are true that he killed Joe while Char, his wife, was at the movies.

Good story on Frank Dienes, Amy links

2011-05-24T17:45:00.004-05:00

I posted this a couple weeks ago but just noticed it was lost in that Blogger crash so I'm reposting.

Follow this link to view a comprehensive video from Channel 5 reporter Paul Kiska on Frank Dienes' connections to the Amy Mihaljevic case.

Cleveland Scene Jumps Into the Fray

2011-05-18T06:32:00.003-05:00

Great article by up-and-commer Kyle Swenson in today's Cleveland Scene. It gives a comprehensive outline of the Frank Dienes/Kopp story and includes some new information from neighbors, including this nugget:

One former neighbor, Tom Carolin, remembers Kopp telling the kids around Rustic Oval to stay away from Dienes because he'd "killed Amy."

Again, Dienes lawyer Eric Nemecek lies about Dienes being ruled out as a suspect, but since BV detectives didn't return Swensen's calls, the lie couldn't be refuted.

FBI interested in blue vans in 1995.

2011-05-17T07:35:00.003-05:00

Seems the FBI and Bay Village police were actively searching some leads in the Amy Mihaljevic case, in 1995. That was the year Frank Dienes was first questioned about the abduction.

This morning, I was contacted by a woman who, like Amy, received strange phone calls, in 1989. She says the FBI came by her home in 1995 and collected paint scrapings from her father's...blue van. At the time, they said they were taking it to possibly match against material in Amy's case.

If the FBI were interested in blue vans, did they take paint scrapings from Dienes' blue van, too?

Plain Dealer comes to party late, throws insults and untruths.

2011-05-15T10:01:00.008-05:00

I wondered if I would have to address why the Plain Dealer has been so far behind the curve covering this new info about Dienes/Kopp/and Amy's case. I didn't want to because it's a lot of "inside baseball" as they say. But after reading today's article, it looks like I need to.

First, let's clear up the untruth that reporter James Ewing could not be bothered to fact check. Here's a quote from attorney Ian Friedman from the article:

"our sole focus is on the indicted case against Mr. Dienes. But there is no information that anything has changed since Bay Village police closed their investigation almost two decades ago. It was my understanding that [Dienes] was eliminated as a suspect" in the Mihaljevic case."

As Det. Spaetzel, who Ewing also spoke to, will say, when asked, the case has never been closed. Not for one minute. And nobody has been completely ruled out as a suspect.

And then there's this:

The defense attorney and the police lieutenant sounded the same cautionary note when they warned there are many rumors circulating, fueled by people heedless of the difference between rumor and fact.

See, if you know Ewing, you know he's a petty, vindictive sob who likes to slip in little slaps like this aimed at the people he's writing about. At one time he was even bumped down to writing obits again for these kind of shenanigans. His hard-on for a Portage County judge's removal was some of the worst yellow journalism the Plain Dealer has printed in the last fifty years.

I also suspect metro editor Chris Quinn had something to do with the lack of coverage for this new development. And certainly this particular article should have passed by Quinn's desk. Quinn isn't a Renner fan. Not since I exposed his tight relationship with 1st assistant prosecutor Michael O'Malley, who would pass stories to Quinn which would then show up in the pages of the Plain Dealer.

For the record, let me state again, I am not convinced of Dienes' guilt. There are many likely suspects, which you can read about on this blog. But Dienes needs to be looked at. Needs to be questioned. And people need to know the police are looking at this guy.

Fox 8 Covers Joe Kopp Vigil

2011-05-15T09:37:00.002-05:00

Bill Martin was at the candlelight vigil held in honor of Joe Kopp last night and gets people on camera confirming that Kopp was talking about Dienes' possible involvement in Amy's murder shortly before he was killed.

Message to "Old Neighbor"

2011-05-14T15:13:00.001-05:00

I'm interested in hearing more. Please send your contact information to me at becarriedaway@hotmail.com

I need to speak with you about this in person or over the phone.

Dienes Connection to North Olmsted Girls?

2011-05-13T14:48:00.004-05:00

I've always believed the key to solving this case is to find a link between Amy Mihaljevic and the girls from North Olmsted who police believe were contacted by Amy's killer in 1989.

Last night, I received an email from one of these girls, now an adult. She says her parents replaced the floors in their home around the time Amy went missing. They are combing through their records to see if they had contracted with Dienes at the time.

Frank Dienes Questioned by Police 16 Years Ago UPDATED

2011-05-13T13:12:00.006-05:00

Channel 5 broke the news and Fox 8's Bill Martin shows up tonight with an interview with Dienes' lawyers last night (sorry for the late post on this, blogger was down for a bit).

Martin learned that Frank Dienes was questioned about Amy's abduction way back in 1995. Which, doesn't prove anything off hand, except that Dienes is, as I expected, a manipulative liar--he said he had never heard Amy's name before and had never been questioned by police.

Also stretching the truth until it's paper-thin is Dienes' co-councel, Eric Nemecek, who told Martin:

"They didn't specifically say why they ruled [Frank Dienes] out years ago however it is clear that they did rule him out. He was never formally charged."

Not only is this an untrue statement, it is detrimental to the ongoing investigation when said on TV.

Frank Dienes was never ruled out. NEVER. Just because police stop questioning a suspect does not mean he has been ruled out. It means they do not yet have evidence to support an arrest. Further, the fact that Bay Village police have said in the past week that they are looking at Frank Dienes shows they have not ruled him out. Nemecek is smart enough to know this. It sounds like spin to me.

Meanwhile, Dienes was in court again this morning. I'll have links to coverage soon.

***UPDATE***

Channel 5's Paul Kiska was in the room for the interview, too, and has a little more here.

Do I think Frank did it?

2011-05-02T16:39:00.005-05:00

That's the question most people are asking in posts and emails. And the one that Dienes' camp is wary of me answering.

But the answer is I just don't know.

The problem with this case is the number of individuals who look promising one way or another. You can find info about them here, too.

There are enough red flags about Frank Dienes that he should be seriously looked at. And questioned.

But there is no doubt in my mind that Joe Kopp told people Frank was involved in the girl's abduction. That alone makes Frank interesting.

But, like everyone else, I'm still waiting for that missing piece.

Is Frank Dienes Competent?

2011-05-02T16:21:00.003-05:00

Seems the court is trying to determine if Frank Dienes is competent to stand trial at all. Dienes is floating this story that he was brain damaged after his mother gave him bad oranges a few years ago.

I'm calling shenanigans.

We're talking about a guy who ran his own flooring business, a man, who, according to his LinkedIn profile, has received Communications awards and drives boats and motorcycles. So, he's competent enough to install flooring at Mark Mihaljevic's but not competent enough to stand trial for Joe Kopp's murder? Competent enough to allegedly wait until his wife was at the movies to shoot and bury Kopp, but not stand trial?

When I spoke to him today he understood the questions I posed. He answered every one of them. He knew who I was. Seemed quite competent to me.

UPDATED Dienes Attorneys Have Made Me a Witness

2011-05-02T12:09:00.006-05:00

In an attempt to end all access to Frank Dienes and his court hearings, attorney Ian Friedman got a signed order from Judge Russo today which essentially makes me a witness for the defense.

As such, I'm barred from speaking to any other potential witnesses or gathering evidence related to the Joe Kopp homicide.

The motion goes a long way in limiting reporting on this case, as the other news outlets have used this blog as a source of information.

I have no choice but to obey the order until the trial concludes.

However, I can continue reviewing any information that may link Frank to Amy Mihaljevic. So keep it coming.

EXCLUSIVE: Jail House Interview With Frank Dienes

2011-05-02T10:19:00.004-05:00

Last Friday, I quietly made a request to visit with Frank Dienes at the Cuyahoga County Jail for 10:30 a.m. today. I didn't expect him to show up. But he was there, waiting for me when I finally got through security.

We spoke for about five minutes before he finally walked away.

Some highlights:

Renner: Do you want to tell me what you know about Amy Mihaljevic?

Dienes: Who is that? I've never heard that name in my life.

Renner: You did work on her father's house.

Dienes: I don't remember that.

Renner: You did a lot of work in Bay Village didn't you?

Dienes: Yes. For my flooring business.

Renner: Ever do work on Lindford?

Dienes: Don't remember.

Renner: Who do you remember working for in Bay Village?

Dienes: I don't remember anybody.

Renner: You don't remember the name of a single person you did work for in Bay Village?

Dienes: No.

Renner: But your business is all word of mouth. How do you not remember your referrals?

Dienes: I don't know.

Renner: Something wrong with your memory?

Dienes: I had a fever. My memory isn't good.

Renner: Your brother Jim hasn't spoken to you or your mother since around the time Amy went missing. You want to tell me about that?

Dienes: It was about the business. We had a fight.

Renner: What about the business? Did he want more money?

Dienes: I can't remember.

Renner: Did your brother suspect you had something to do with Amy?

Dienes: I don't remember.

Renner: A lot of people are telling me Joe Kopp thought you had something to do with Amy's murder. That he could prove it. Did he ever talk to you about that?

Dienes: I don't know. I don't remember.

Renner: Why did you kill him?

Dienes: I can't talk about that. My lawyers said not to.

Renner: What color was the van you were driving in 1989.

Dienes: Blue.

Renner: You can remember the color of the van you were driving in 89, but not the name of a single person you did work for in Bay Village?

Dienes: (shrugs)

Renner: Have the police or FBI been in to talk to you?

Dienes: No.

By the time Dienes walked away, his bottom lip was quivering and he was quite shook up.

The Dienes Farm in Ashland

2011-04-30T23:12:00.001-05:00

View Larger Map

Dienes was a potential suspect 21 years ago.

2011-04-30T21:54:00.003-05:00

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?

2011-04-29T21:06:00.004-05:00

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

2011-04-29T13:17:00.003-05:00

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

2011-04-28T23:11:00.004-05:00

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

2011-04-27T12:38:00.003-05:00

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

2011-04-27T12:23:00.002-05:00

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

2011-04-26T15:00:00.004-05:00

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

2011-04-25T21:13:00.003-05:00

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?

2011-04-25T13:21:00.004-05:00

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.

Tradin Times

2011-03-13T22:46:00.001-05:00

I'm still lacking info on Tradin' Times, the place Margaret, Amy's mother, worked at the time of the abduction. Anyone out there know someone who worked with her? Or worked for Tradin' Times in the late eighties?

Former FBI Agent To Pen Book on Amy Mihaljevic?

2011-02-04T08:42:00.003-05:00

That's the word from this obscure newspaper from the Villages, Florida.

Seems former FBI special agent Gary Belluomini is living down there and thinking of writing his memoirs, which will detail his involvement with Amy's case. He spoke about the idea while answering questions about my book to a reading group. He also took the opportunity to take some cheap shots at me.

He informed the crowd of nearly 40 that he wasn’t Renner’s biggest fan, and the book was embellished

It does bother me a bit when they get down on the book. Especially after Belluomini, himself, was interviewed for the book and law enforcement was given an advanced copy to vet for anything they thought was inaccurate. Oh well. At least they're talking about the case in Florida.

Nancy Grace/Anderson Cooper Take on Cold Cases: UPDATED

2011-01-26T11:44:00.003-05:00

Both Nancy Grace and Anderson Cooper are revisiting famous cold cases in the coming weeks.

Please take a moment to send them an email and ask that they shine some light on Amy's case.

Send a message to Nancy Grace here.

Send a message to Anderson Cooper here.

Another girl linked to Kapela

2011-01-04T10:39:00.002-05:00

Today, I spoke to the mother of a girl who was on Greg Kapela's North Olmsted soccer team, in 1989. Her message was similar: Whether Kapela knew Amy or not, the man was a grade-A creep.

This woman was once friends with Kapela and even invited him to her family's summer cottage in central Ohio--a fact the FBI agents were particularly interested in. Kapela was also her daughter's dentist and, she says, he would close the door to the room when he was there, alone, with the girls. She often made excuses to step inside, herself, making small talk about soccer just to keep an eye on her girl.

Then, there was the pajama party. One of the girls on his team had a party at her house and invited the other 10-12 year olds to come in pajamas. Kapela was caught looking in the basement windows at the girls, but then invited inside by the parents.

But after Amy's abduction, rumors began circulating in the team about inappropriate contact with girls and eventually the story about Kapela asking an eleven-year-old girl if he could be her boyfriend surfaced. Parents began pulling kids off his team. The FBI asked at least one parent to stay on and pretend to be his friend, to see what he might say. But when Kapela began to spin his troubles by blaming the 11-year-old for "pursuing" him, it got to be too creepy and even those parents pulled their kids away.

The mother says by this time the FBI had a lot invested into the investigation. One agent, she recalls, said: "I'm going to get this bastard if it takes my entire life."

Ken Stanton, today.

2010-12-27T08:46:00.003-05:00

Here's what Kenneth Robert Stanton looks like today.

He is not up for parole until 2020 and will probably die in a Georgia prison.

I'll be putting in a request for an interview this week.

New Inductee into our Top 10 Suspects: Kenneth Robert Stanton

2010-12-24T14:43:00.003-05:00

How did we miss this guy?

A reader of this blog alerted me today to Kenneth Robert Stanton, who was featured in this old Unsolved Mysteries broadcast.

Stanton, as you can see, bears a striking resemblance to Amy's abductor. And he has a long history of molestation involving girls between the ages of 7 and 12. At the time of the broadcast, in 1990, he was wanted for 11 counts of child abuse in southern states. And his M.O. is also similar--he would find out when the girls were home alone after school and show up at their doorstep in a suit, posing as a policeman (not a giant leap from gaining Amy's trust the way her killer did). Stanton was nabbed a few days after the episode aired. Where had he been hiding? Ohio.

After a little digging, I discovered that early reports that he was living in Lorain are false. He was actually living in a mobile home park in Moraine, Ohio (south of Dayton). But he was working as a traveling salesman and is known to drive long distances to scout for young girls (always in affluent neighborhoods).

We need to know more about this man. If they would have released some info about him up here, in Cleveland, in 1990, it might have generated some good leads.

Buick Searched by Feds ID'd

2010-12-16T11:09:00.003-05:00

The 1987 Buick (license plate JOC-177) that FBI agents searched for fiber evidence in the Amy Mihaljevic case appears to have belonged to a man named Brad Studd.

Attempts to reach Studd have been unsuccessful.

Anyone know this fellow?

Is it Runkle's Kids?

2010-12-11T21:07:00.004-05:00

Following today's posting about the troll that has been posting insults on posts about Kapela, this one came in from "Aaron".

I actually completely agree with this person/these people.

What you're doing is pretty despicable.

At first, I wondered. Had I gone too far? I mean, if other readers agreed, maybe I had.

But then I did some digging. I'm a curious guy.

Turns out "Aaron" is Aaron Spencer, a former student of Dean Runkle's.

I get the argument that one shouldn't put the names of innocent people out there linking them to an unsolved murder. I get that. But, the people I have named are not innocent. Even if they are innocent of Amy's murder. Kapela scared the bejesus out of a little girl's family when he asked to be her boyfriend. Runkle wrote love letters to students. Robert Jones was trying to buy a girl from a prostitute. I'm not losing any sleep about it. Especially when it generates new information.

Who is Trolling This Blog?

2010-12-11T11:10:00.004-05:00

Over the last couple days, I've received increasingly hostile emails referencing posts related to retired dentist Greg Kapela, who was investigated for any link to the Amy Mihaljevic case after authorities learned his daughters took riding lessons at Holly Hill farms and Kapela coached soccer in North Olmsted, where many of the other girls who were called by Amy's killer were from. Kapela once passed notes to an eleven-year-old girl on his soccer team and called her at home, asking her if he could be her boyfriend--though he says his advances were misconstrued at the time.

Here's a sampling:

James, Dont you think it is irresponsible to publish a book in 2006 for your financial gain which names a possible murder suspect then 4 years later continue to libel innocent people when the sales of your book trickle off. you seem to have many contradictions in your assessments of possible suspects. maybe you should investigate all of the facts of this case before trying to ruin peoples lives for your own financial gain.

quote from james renner. "As a journalist I have written about a number of crimes. I followed the rules of journalism in all cases—except for Amy Mihaljevic. I tossed out the rules for this case because it was so personal to me. I lied to people, I talked my way into places I shouldn’t have been in, and I stood on the thin line between what is legal and what is not in order to get the answers I needed. I’m comfortable with that decision."

Was this case so personal to you because it makes you money? Do you find it to be responsible to throw peoples names on a blog and tell people that they are possibly child murderers? I believe you continue to post new items and "suspects" to keep people interested in your novel.

James, You are ridiculous and you are trying to ruin peoples lives so that people will stay interested in your manifesto. You really need to think about what you are doing by posting a laundry list of "suspects" on a blog site. Your so called sources would be ripped apart in any court of law or any real journalistic piece. It is disgusting that you are doing this all to benefit yourself financially.

Ray Brahler Owned Suzuki searched by FBI.

2010-12-07T14:49:00.002-05:00

One down, three to go.

Today, I positively identified the owner of that 88 Suzuki, from which the FBI took carpet samples, as Ray Brahler.

Brahler was an odd duck. He lived on Lake, and could see the Bay plaza from his house. He admitted being there the day Amy vanished.

Brahler was also a former air traffic controller, out on disability after he...and I'm not kidding here...fell into a valley after the wire supporting a gondola he was traveling in snapped. He was an avid believer in UFO's and the paranormal. And he owned a cabin in Western PA, in a small town where another little girl, Shanna Howe, was abducted and murdered on the anniversary of Amy's kidnapping. However, DNA tests in 2002, implicate three other men in that crime: James O'Brien, Timothy O'Brien, and Eldred "Ted" Walker.

Brahler died shortly before my book was published.

Similar M.O. being played out down south. UPDATED

2010-12-02T09:56:00.005-05:00

Someone is stalking young female students in colleges along the Gulf coast, via Facebook. He gains their trust, telling them he's a member of their sorority and then the conversations get increasingly more sexual until he's asking them what color underwear they have on. He's managed to get a few of them to send him nude photos, too.

Authorities have long suspected that Amy's killer may have moved from phone harassment to the internet. Something about this particular fellow seems very similar to the way Amy's killer spoke to the other girls from North Olmsted.

Read more about it here. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

**UPDATE**

A Florida man was arrested and charged with these crimes. Looks like there's no connection, here.

Need Help Tracking Back Suspects

2010-11-30T18:15:00.002-05:00

I came across some new information about the Amy Mihaljevic case.

The FBI took fiber samples from four cars to test against evidence. I have the vehicle types and license #'s. Now, I'm looking for the people who owned these cars in October, 1989.

Can you help??

-a 1985 Toyota License # 408HDV

-a 1988 Suzuki License # KJJ307

-a 1988 Pontiac License # JPQ353

-a 1987 Buick License # JOC177

Pretty sure these are the cars:

New Page

2010-11-22T14:57:00.001-05:00

Added a "suspects" page, finally. Will update as new info comes in.

Amy spotted at Heinen's the day of the abduction?

2010-11-18T12:23:00.000-05:00

That's the story from another girl who took riding lessons at Holly Hill.

I'm attempting to verify this claim, so would the person who posted the information please contact me directly at becarriedaway@hotmail.com?

New North Olmsted girl linked to Kapela?

2010-11-16T13:55:00.006-05:00

This week I sent out an email to many staff members at North Olmsted middle school, hoping for information on another potential suspect in Amy's case and was surprised to get a reply from another young woman from N.O. who received a phone call very similar to the one Amy received at home just before her abduction. The police and FBI interviewed her about this after Amy's murder. Turns out this new contact was friends with Dr. Greg Kapela's daughter.

A little refresher on Dr. Kapela:

-he was a dentist in North Olmsted

-he coached soccer practice for North Olmsted's middle school girls teams

-in 1985, when he was 34 years old, he got in hot water for passing notes to an 11-year-old girl on his soccer team. He said he wanted to be her boyfriend.

-took teams to Toronto, sometimes sharing rooms with some of the young girls

-some of the other girls from North Olmsted knew Kapela through soccer

-he lied about his alibi, saying he was at soccer practice that day, though other parents said he skipped Fridays.

-in 1989, owned a van with a CB radio antenna

-he kept a large warehouse storage unit in Middleberg Heights, too

Later, I discovered Kapela's daughter took horseback riding lessons at Holly Hill Farms, where Amy Mihaljevic also took lessons.

He maintains he had nothing to do with this crime, but has lied to me about such things as his daughter's relationship with Holly Hill Farms.

I did a little more digging into Kapela's background, today. Trouble follows this man like a dark cloud.

He's been asked to leave just about every dental practice he's been a part of and even got caught embezzling from an office in Cincinnati a few years back. Former coworkers say he could not handle the stress of so many patients and was medicated for mental disorders. He's seen a number of foreclosures and leans have been placed on a number of his properties.

A cincinnati database shows he expunged something in his record in 2003.

Anyone have more on this guy? BeCarriedAway@Hotmail.com

**UPDATE**

Yet another girl from North Olmsted who received those creepy calls right before Amy was abducted says she knew Kapela through soccer.

Switching Gears

2010-11-03T15:58:00.003-05:00

With the Nature Center bruhaha behind me, I'm looking to tie up some loose ends and follow up on some leads I've let sit for a couple years.

I'd like to know more about Amy's activities at Holly Hill Farms. The person who would know her best is Sue Tomsu, her riding instructor, but she moved to Florida in the early 90's and won't speak to me, anyways.

Anyone who knew Sue, the Tomsu family, or their friends, please contact me at BeCarriedAway@hotmail.com

I certainly don't suspect Sue, but I would really like more info in this area.

All Records Have Been Released!

2010-11-03T14:38:00.005-05:00

Just got off the phone with Lt. Mark Spaetzel and have received an email from Catherine Timko, at the Nature Center. Here's the gist:

Within the last year, "voluminous" records from the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center archives have been turned over to the Bay Village Police, including a large scrapbook. Additionally, Spaetzel confirms he has been back to the Nature Center for follow-up searches and claims every part of their archives has now been searched. (If anyone knows this to not be true, please let Spaetzel know). He is still reviewing the documents for any connection to Amy's case.

No logbook has been found.

The logbook and copies have either been destroyed (most likely, after all these years), moved, or long-ago misplaced by LENSC.

My journalistic spidey sense still tingles at their vehement denial of an independent search. However, Spaetzel was very earnest in his belief that everything of value has been searched. And we have to give them the benefit of doubt, I think.

So, there's no reason I see to move forward with this demonstration.

Thanks for the interest and support, but let's bottle that energy for something in the future.

In the meantime, please ask Catherine Timko to move Amy's plaque to the main lobby or museum, where it belongs: catherinet@lensc.org

P.S. The reward still stands, of course.

IT'S ON!

2010-11-02T20:17:00.004-05:00

The permits have come through and it's official.

I am organizing a protest of the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center THIS Saturday, November 6th at 11:30 a.m.

We'll gather at the southeast corner of Wolf and Porter Creek Drive.

Here is the location: MAP

What we want:

-- An immediate independent review (conducted by myself, or a third party we can all agree upon) of their archives and records for logbooks signed by Amy Mihaljevic and/or any reference to Dean Runkle.

-- Amy's plaque moved from the office to the main corridor or entryway.

-- Amy's name spelled correctly on all future correspondence and memorials.

I will be providing some signs but you are welcome to construct your own.

Anyone interested in coming, please RSVP at BeCarriedAway@hotmail.com

We need a good turn-out here. Let's try to get 100 people out there. Call friends, family, etc. I expect news cameras.

Check back for updates!

Total confirmed participants, so far: 13.

Pass on the news!

Nature Center Can't Spell Amy's Name Right

2010-11-01T13:05:00.004-05:00

You know, if her plaque was prominently displayed, Catherine Timko could check it for spelling. Look at what they put in their booklet that went out to all donors (which a current LENSC employee just emailed me.)

What do you think of a protest this Saturday, November 6 at 11:30 a.m.? Hopefully, they'll realize they have nothing to lose to open their records and we can conclude this without angry words in the news. But, if we have to protest, then we will. And if it comes to that, I'll have informative packets to hand out to LENSC visitors, media, and to be mailed to the donors listed in their 2007 annual report.

If they truly believe Runkle was never there, and that the logbook does not exist, why won't they open up their records??

Reward for Information

2010-10-29T20:03:00.002-05:00

I'm offering $1000 for the first person to bring me a copy (or the original) of the Nature Center logbook with Amy's name on it, or proof that Dean Runkle was once a volunteer with the organization.

No questions asked.

Nature Center responds

2010-10-28T14:29:00.002-05:00

Here's the response going out from the Nature Center to those of you who sent messages earlier:

Thanks for your inquiry. You should know that all of us at Lake Erie Nature & Science Center cherish Amy’s memory as a special child who loved our Center. We continue to pledge our full cooperation with the Bay Village Police Department and the FBI, as we have over the past 21 years, including opening all of our records for police inspection with no exclusions. We stand ready to help in any additional way possible should any new requests come from the law enforcement officials investigating the case.

Lake Erie Nature & Science Center is committed to maintaining a welcoming and safe environment where children and families come to learn, play and be inspired. Everyone on our staff is devoted to serving children and we share the community’s desire to see justice done for Amy Mahaljevic.

We are the stewards of a valued community resource with a 60-year history. We appreciate each and every one of our visitors, supporters and friends. Amy Mahaljevic was one of those friends and a plaque in her honor continues to hang in our Public Resource Center. We also honor her memory by continuing to offer our unequivocal cooperation to the authorities charged with seeking justice.

Thank you for your email. I hope I’ve been able to shed some light on the situation and dispel misinformation. Please feel free to contact me if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

Shawn Smith Salamone
Community Relations Manager
Lake Erie Nature & Science Center
28728 Wolf Road
Bay Village OH 44140

That's great, Shawn. But unfortunately, the police don't have the time nor manpower to devote to searching your entire archives. So, you're sitting on possible evidence while the case gets older. And for what reason? It's not like you're sitting on nuclear launch codes over there.

And, calling your office a "public resource center" doesn't change the fact that the plaque is in a place where 90% of visitors will never see it. It should be in the museum, where Amy spent her time.

Lake Erie Nature & Science Center Still Doesn't Care About Amy

2010-10-27T14:06:00.003-05:00

So I stopped by the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center today to introduce myself to new director Catherine Timko. The conversation was civil and was going well until I started talking about Dean Runkle and the logbook and asked to see the records they keep in the basement.

Amy, and the other girls who were called by her killer, visited the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center shortly before Amy was abducted. It's one of the few ways they are all connected. The woman Runkle was working with in 1989 has said that Runkle was breeding mice which he would take to the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center so they could feed them to the snakes. Several of Runkle's students at Amherst also said that Runkle was a volunteer at the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center. But the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center wants to pretend he was never there. The police and FBI have gone through some of their records but not nearly everything--they were never even given access to some storage rooms on site and off.

Catherine Timko, instead of taking some initiative, fell back on the old statement of: "We're cooperating with the police as far as they have any interest." My point is, if there's nothing to hide, why not let me look for Runkle's name or that logbook? What in the world could it possibly hurt? It's not like Catherine Timko is guarding some state secret.

Maybe there's a need for a civil protest sometime in the future.

Oh, and Amy's plaque is still hidden in the office.

You can contact Catherine Timko and the Lake Erie Nature & Science Center at Catherinet@lensc.org

21 Years

2010-10-27T12:08:00.003-05:00

I'm sitting here at Java Bay, the coffee shop in Bay Square, watching a group of contractors restore the doric column that Amy was twirling around the day she was abducted, 21 years ago this afternoon.

I still believe this case will be solved. I don't know why. Just a feeling.

Of the myriad new details we've learned about this case over the last couple years, I think the most important bit is knowing now--at least with 99% certainty--where Amy's killer parked that day. Rick Burns, who runs the auto shop on the corner of Dover Center and Wolf came forward a while ago and said he distinctly remembers a gold-colored Pontiac parked at his shop that day, in the space closest to the plaza. A Cuyahoga County judge came forward last year, backing up this claim. It explains why nobody saw Amy get into a car--her killer led her around the corner, away from the main parking lot, in an attempt to limit witnesses.

It says something about the mindset of her killer.

Besides being a coward, this man was calculating. Smart, but able to relate well with children. Able to earn their trust. Able to speak their juvenile language.

In a related note, I left a message on Dean Runkle's cell phone today, as I do every October 27.

Dan's Friend: I Wasn't There!

2010-09-02T15:12:00.004-05:00

Dan Monnett, a student at Bay Village High in 1989 who would later go on to become a Tier III sex offender, has told me repeatedly that he was feet from Amy at the time of her abduction and that this could be verified by several of his friends.

Jill Prochaska was one of those friends. And she now says she could not possibly have been there, as she didn't skip school that day like Dan. She says this is what she told me years ago, when I was conducting research for the book. But according to my notes, she backed up Dan's story at that time. Whatever the case (and, I'll give her the benefit of doubt and accept that I may have misheard her five years ago) she is adamant that she was not in the plaza when Amy was abducted. I am unable to verify that anyone was in the plaza with Dan, actually.

However, she still defends Dan to some extent, saying: "The facts of Dan's incarceration were made clear to you by Dan himself, and any misguidance would easily be clarified with a simple search through Cuyahoga County correctional records."

Unfortunately, the story Dan told me (and, likely, Jill, too) was not the truth. Also, most of the terrible records are in Lorain, not Cuyahoga. The true story is quite barbaric.

The point: Dan is lyin.

Bob Alaimo

2010-08-31T17:44:00.003-05:00

I've had some time lately to follow up on some old leads that have been kind of stagnating.

Around the time I started hearing about Dean Runkle, I got a number of tips about another guy who lived near the site where they found Amy's body. Guy's name is Robert "Bob" Alaimo. Runkle's stuff made it's way to the top of the pile and the stuff on Bob ended up on the bottom. A retired detective contacted me recently and reminded me about Alaimo and so I went out to his place earlier today.

Back in 1989, Alaimo worked at a dry cleaners at the corner of Dover and Center Ridge Roads, in close proximity to Tradin' Times, where Amy's mother worked. Alaimo also lived in Bay Village but had property in Ashland, a mile or so away from CR 1181, and moved into a log cabin there after or during a bitter divorce. He would drive to Bay Village often, though, to pick up his kids at soccer. He drove a Ford Fiesta. He looks like the composite sketch, but so do a lot of people.

Alaimo is still down there in Ashland, today. He's about 70. He said a few interesting things. He's read my book. Thinks it's garbage (he has company, there). The FBI took samples of carpeting out of his car. He says he was questioned a number of times by police and FBI and remembered one day when the police brought him into the station.

"They led me past one of those two-way windows and I remember thinking the girl who witnessed the kidnapping was probably on the other side." An odd thing to say, especially given that--as far as I know--the fact that Amy's abduction was witnessed by a girl was not released until my book. I think the papers, if they mentioned it at all, used the word "classmate".

He claims to have a photographic memory. "I know where I was every day of my life. For instance, July 4, 1959." Where was he then? "I was in prison." Why? "That's for me to know and you to wonder about."

He says he was born in New York, but moved to Cleveland when he was quite young. I can find no record of this arrest. So, 100 Master Class points to whoever can track that down, first.

He also has several Fiestas rotting in his yard. He says the police haven't spoken to him since 1989, but those who know Alaimo have been interviewed by detectives as recently as 2006.

Update: Alaimo was accused of domestic violence in 1984.

Dan Nash

2010-08-25T15:17:00.002-05:00

If anyone knows the real Dean Runkle, it's a man named Dan Nash.

Dan Nash was in Runkle's class when he was still a teacher in Vermilion, in the mid-80's. Dan was the one Runkle wrote love letters to. At one time, Runkle was also depositing money into an account set up for Dan but right before he disappeared from 1987 to 1989 he seems to have emptied out that account.

The love letters abruptly stop just before Amy's abduction. I've wondered if Dan came to his senses at that time and asked Runkle to leave him the hell alone.

But Dan's not talking. When I tracked him down a couple years ago, he was living in a rundown apartment near Lorain. Just mentioning Runkle's name was enough to send him into hysterics. His parents at first denied any connection to Runkle and the account he'd set up for his son. But then eventually admitted it.

When I spoke to Runkle, he said that Dan was like his son.

This is another story I don't quite know how to take. But I wish that Dan, or someone Dan has talked to, would come forward and tell us what he knows about the real Dean Runkle. He certainly didn't do him any favors.

Was Amy alive until December?

2010-08-24T19:53:00.002-05:00

I spent the day in Ashland and Norwalk, looking through old newspapers in the months leading up to and following Amy's abduction. I found a few interesting things I'll be sharing over the next few days. But the most interesting was a tidbit from the Norwalk Reflector from a couple days after they found Amy's body in Feb. 1990.

A man named Hursel Case came forward and claimed he was sure he'd seen Amy on December 7, sitting near 12 E. Washburn in New London. She seemed very unhappy and was talking to a middle-aged white man.

That's about a quarter-mile from where Dean Runkle was living at the time.

Speaking of Runkle, I spoke with his Aunt today, too. She explained he had a troubled childhood. His twin sister, Diane, died of polio before 1st grade. "His mother, Bessie, always blamed Dean for that for some reason," she said. "It wasn't his fault, but she made him feel terrible about it. And he was never the same. It affected the rest of his life."

I'll be taking a closer look at Runkle again in the next few weeks, too.

Anyone Know Dr. Richard Hammond???

2010-08-23T13:27:00.003-05:00

The morning of February 11, someone on an early exercise route sees a body a short way into a harvested field. They think its a mannequin until they get close enough to see that it's a female body. An autopsy shows sexual assault and mutilation. She was stabbed to death. Kept somewhere for a short time and cleaned before being deposited in the field off the road.

Sound familiar?

This wasn't Amy. The woman's name was Peggy Hettrick and her body was discovered two years to the day before Amy's--Feb 11, 1987, in Fort Collins, Colorado. Peggy was 37 years old. Her body was found a short distance from the home of an eye surgeon named Richard Hammond. Check out his picture. Looks kind of like the composite sketch, right?

Police discovered Hammond was a calculating pervert in 1995 when a woman noticed a video camera in a vent in his home's bathroom. When they searched the house, they found that he had a secret room full of videotapes of naked women he'd captured from the cameras set up in his bathroom, as well as a storage unit full of even more tapes. After his arrest, he posted bond, checked himself into a hotel, and committed suicide. His autopsy noted that he'd shaved all of his body hair, a strategy some killers use to keep from leaving DNA at crime scenes.

Here's the thing. Hammond was known to disappear for stretches of time with no explanation for where he had been. I'm curious if he ever visited our area.

***Correction: Amy's body was discovered Feb 8, 1989.

Witnesses Lie, Go Mum to Protect Friend.

2010-08-17T10:26:00.007-05:00

Frankly, I don't know what to make of this.

I was lied to. A source in my book won my confidence and I quoted him in a chapter about the minutes leading up to Amy's abduction and allowed him to spout commentary about the local police.

I knew this source had a criminal history. But I have a soft spot for people with down-on-their-luck stories. What Dan Monnett told me was that he had been busted for trafficking acid, serving 8 years in prison, a couple years after Amy's abduction. I recently learned the real reason Monnett was behind bars for so long--he's a Tier III sex offender, convicted of a crime against a female child.

That leads me to question just about everything Dan Monnett has told me.

Monnett was at the plaza the day Amy was abducted. He was 14 at the time and had skipped the last hour of school to hang out at the plaza with his friends Jill Prochaska, Nick Cline, and Dave Kotinsley. He told me they were standing by the bowling alley and he was watching Amy twirl on the pole in front of Baskin-Robbins. He said a cop came by and was talking to them about why they weren't in school when he saw a man walk up to Amy and lead her away.

Of course, now we know that every cop in Bay Village was at a meeting in the town hall across the street at this time.

So what's the truth?

I attempted to talk to Jill, Nick, and Dave to verify Dan's story, but they won't talk. Dan said he'd call me back but never did.

To think that Dan could have been involved goes against everything we know about the case. I'm not saying he had anything to do with the abduction. But he's lying and I don't know why.

Is he lying to get his name in a book? Why embellish the truth with this fake story about a cop? Why have his friends clammed up, now?

I don't know. But it troubles me.

BREAKING: Man arrested in Bay Village for trying to abduct girl from LENSC!

2010-08-05T11:57:00.005-05:00

Buddy, did you pick the wrong hunting grounds.

19 Action News is reporting this morning that John Still, a member of the National Guard, tried to lure an 11-year-old girl into his blue PT Cruiser outside the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center. Police arrested him a short time later in Cahoon Park.

This is very interesting, as Amy was nearly 11 at the time of her abduction from Bay Village. Also, many people close to the investigation believe there is some connection between the LENSC and Amy's abductor.

I've got some Q's out to police but so far we do not know this man's age. Only that he apparently resided in Strongsville.

I seriously doubt this was the first time he's tried this.

Let's not jump to conclusions, but who's got info?

**UPDATE**

John Still is 42 years old and was in the military in 1989.

The Boogeyman Had Company

2010-08-01T10:57:00.002-05:00

One of the more frightening stories I came across in Bay Village during my research into Amy's case for the book was the tale of James D. Sullivan.

In 1982, a young Bay Village girl began complaining of a man staring at her from inside her closet at night. But this was no monster-in-the-closet nightmare. This was real. The girl's father discovered James D. Sullivan in her closet. He was arrested and sent to prison for 22 years (after his release, he skipped town without registering his address with authorities but was caught by Marshals in Culver City, CA, in 2007 and sent back to lock-up).

Apparently, this was only half the tale. A source close to the investigation of Sullivan contacted me last week and claims that Sullivan was not the only man who climbed into the girl's closet. There was another man who sometimes appeared instead of Sullivan, who was never apprehended. They apparently switched off. One night it would be Sullivan, the next, another man. The second man looks like the composite sketch of Amy's abductor.

My question to authorities would be, did Sullivan know any of the suspects in Amy's abduction?

Who was this other man?

Does anyone have any info for me regarding James D. Sullivan?

Tradin' Times

2010-07-10T09:34:00.002-05:00

One thing I have never had a chance to look into was Amy's mother's employer at the time of the abduction. In 1989, Margaret Mihaljevic worked for Tradin' Times, a local barter magazine.

I'm very interested to know who else worked there at that time.

Anyone with info can send it to me at BeCarriedAway@hotmail.com

"Frank Vokoun Was a Monster"

2010-06-22T20:24:00.003-05:00

That's the word from a source intimately familiar with former Rocky River dentist Frank Vokoun. Seems Frank had a violent streak. Beat his wife. Had a fondness for young women. Really young. He once told a patient he had been attracted to her since she was a child.

Most interesting was how he skipped town around the time of Amy's abduction--moving his family to Costa Rica and letting his properties here slide into disarray. He allegedly asked for updates on Amy's case when he called back to family and friends in the states.

Interesting Tip

2010-05-24T11:44:00.003-05:00

This came in via a comment to this website today. But I can't seem to find the original post. Would the person who posted this message please contact me at becarriedaway@hotmail.com

Thank you.

Original message:

my sister was attacked by a man in a cabin in Mentor.Woke a friend by screaming'He said he killed Amy and let her go saying he only likes 12 yr. olds called crime stoppers no help.he was also running around the cabin,saying he was all upset cause it was amy's birthday'.She can't remember his last name .believes she knows someone who might.

Whatever happened to this guy?

2010-05-13T12:36:00.003-05:00

Seems the FBI were interested in a fellow by the name of Ricky Cuyler for awhile back in 1989. Cuyler was busted for "pandering sexually-oriented material to a minor" in 1988, according to the Cuyahoga County common pleas court website. There's also an "importuning" charge from Rocky River. He also apparently served time for similar crimes in Wisconsin. He lived in Fairview Park in 89.

This story comes from a man who remembers Cuyler well:

"The FBI showed up one evening when my mom was coming home from work. There were two guys. You could see the parking lot and the entire apartment building from our back yard. As feisty as my mom was, she went into the backyard and started chatting with the two men. They actually said that they wanted to talk to us, if we had time, but they wanted to go into this guy’s apartment and talk to him.
About an hour later, they came over. My mom and dad had them in the house for coffee. They told us that this guy was actually in their top ten list of suspects for the Amy case. I don’t remember much beyond that, other than them telling us that they believed he would come up with an alibi."

Dr. Frank Vokoun

2010-05-12T09:43:00.002-05:00

Seems the guy's name is "Vokoun". Bit of an entrepreneur. According to an old website, he left Bay Village for Costa Rica in 1988, though people keep coming forward saying he didn't leave until after the Amy case. Just another interesting character:

"Located in Downtown San Jose the Morazon Apartments offer a reasonably priced alternative to the nearby luxury hotels. Ideal for business travelers or nighlife lovers who want to have a much larger living area with the the comforts of home not often supplied with even the highest priced luxury hotels. All units have high end computers, supplied by Analytical Data Systems Development Group, with high speed LAN access to the internet. The Owner Dr. Frank Vokoun Jr. DDS. lives on site and is a wealth of knowledge on Costa Rica. He has lived in Costa Rica since 1988. He has operated several successful businesses including a fish farm with his son Frank III."

Where in the World is Frank Vocune?

2010-04-18T15:02:00.003-05:00

What is it with creepy dentists and this case?

A Constant Reader gave me some info today, regarding one Frank Vocune, a local dentist who allegedly appeared obsessed with Amy's case and then abruptly fled the country after her body was found. He is supposedly living in South America at the moment.

Anyone have more info on this guy?

Don't Let the Door Hit Your Ass on the Way Out

2010-04-10T17:22:00.002-05:00

Ashland Times-Gazette reports that Dr. William M. Emery has announced his retirement as Ashland County Coroner, after 24 loooooooong years. His wife, Karen Emery--also the coroner's unpaid "investigator"--is leaving with him.

Good riddance.

These two backwater socialites have long tried to limit media access to Amy Mihaljevic's case, beginning as far back as 1990, the year Amy's body was found in Ashland, when Dr. Emery neglected to file her death certificate until interest died down. No one, outside law enforcement, had read Amy's autopsy report until I demanded it in 2005. Still, many years went by before I forced them to release it (via a last-minute deal with the retiring Cuyahoga County coroner).

Their animus for me went beyond their office. At a reading in Ashland, Dr. Emery sat at the back of the room and loudly voiced his opinions of my work while I spoke to a crowd of 80. Karen Emery had Ashland University's bookstore remove my book from their display.

The blatant conflict of interest in Karen's access to her husband's office so that she could play investigator should never have been allowed--and certainly would not have in a county with a more astute prosecutor.

Their retirement is good news for Ashland County. It's an opportunity to start fresh, with a little less cronyism.

Tina Harmon documents reveal Amy Mihaljevic info

2010-03-19T14:12:00.003-05:00

Spent the morning reviewing documents in Wayne County related to the recent closing of the Tina Harmon murder down there (in case you haven't heard, DNA tests revealed conclusively last week that Bob Buell raped and murdered the young girl in 1981.)

A couple years ago, I uncovered evidence that suggested Buell's nephew, Ralph Ross Jr., at the very least participated in the cover-up of the murder of Krista Harrison--the murder for which Buell was executed in 2002. I asked local law enforcement agencies to take a close look at Ross in relation to some other crimes that occurred after Buell was locked away in prison.

In a memo inside the Harmon file, it was revealed that an FBI agent procured cigarettes butts believed to have been discarded by Ross for possible DNA testing and comparison.

That revelation is followed by the paragraph:

"Lt. Spaetzel plans to make contact with [FBI agent] and request the cigarette butts be sent to FBI Forensic Lab for further DNA testing. He indicates they have DNA evidence in that case. He also informed us that based upon the circumstances involved in their case, it appears that whoever was involved knew the Mihaljevic family or Amy; therefore, it would be unlikely that Ross was involved. He does plan to do addition follow up."

There it is. They have some DNA associated with the Mihaljevic case that can be used for comparison analysis. It also proves Bay Village is still diligently at work in the 20 year old cold case.

New Video of Amy

2010-02-25T16:54:00.006-05:00

The quality isn't great, but this is the first video we've seen of Amy in nearly 20 years so I wanted to share it with you. These are stolen glimpses of the girl from a graduation party that took place in Bay Village the summer of 1989. I think you can get a sense of her personality, here.

She strikes me as shy but fun, a girl with an odd sense of poise for her age, and no fear of adults. She reminds me very much of the way the family describes her mother.

** Update **

Many have asked about the person who took this video, as it appears the camera zooms in on Amy. The zooms you are seeing are mine, put in during the post production process of transferring this video. So ignore that. The original video does not seem to focus on Amy in any way.

However, as one reader noted, yes, I believe Amy is wearing the riding boots she was wearing the day of her abduction and which have never been found.

Similar M.O.?

2010-02-25T12:31:00.002-05:00

Stumbled upon this report from last year, today.

A man named Dwight W. Baldwin was busted last year by Bay Village cops. According to the article, Baldwin had been going to Tower City and snatching names and phone numbers of women out of those free-drawing boxes (for things like winning a free car). He then called the women on a pay phone in Parma Heights and made sexual comments about them.

This is exactly the type of behavior we're looking for in Amy's case. Anyone know more about this man?

2008 sexual assault near Van Gunten home.

2010-02-25T11:24:00.003-05:00

Remember this sexual assault of a young girl in Bay Village in 2008?

Yeah, it happened in Van Gunten's back yard.

Van Gunten's Father Was a Creep Too

2010-02-20T14:18:00.003-05:00

Kurt Van Gunten's father was a policeman with Cleveland P.D. At times, he was a sketch artist for their detectives.

He was also a perv.

Mr. Van Gunten liked to take pictures of Bay High girls dressed in skimpy clothing at football games. I've seen these pictures. The girls who were photographed had no idea he was doing so until they were developed and given to them as gifts by Kurt. The pictures also have no photolab info stamp which suggests Van Gunten had a dark room in which he developed his own pictures.

Additionally, one of these girls who were photographed received a very obscene phone call after she was featured in a West Life article, twenty years before Amy was abducted.

Van Gunten's father died under mysterious circumstances a few years ago. He was found pinned between his car and his garage. At the time, his death was ruled an accident; they figured he left his car in drive when he stepped out to open the garage door and the car rolled forward.

Did Van Gunten sub at North Olmsted?

2010-02-19T11:48:00.005-05:00

According to a former teacher at North Olmsted schools, Kurt Van Gunten worked as a substitute for North Olmsted schools for a short time, possibly in the late 80's.

As you may recall, several young girls from North Olmsted received calls from the man police believe to be Amy's killer shortly before her abduction in 1989.

Update: This appears to have been confirmed by another source.

Kurt Van Gunten is "Mr Harvey"

2010-02-17T10:52:00.002-05:00

As many in Bay Village have previously speculated, "Mr. Harvey" is local playboy Kurt Van Gunten.

I actually identified Van Gunten as a suspect way back in the first article I wrote about this case for the Cleveland Scene, but chose to refer to him by the moniker "Brad Harvey" or "Mr. Harvey" in the book, since he remained an uncharged suspect. I think it's time now to reveal his name in an attempt to learn more about his character--especially in light of a new bit of info.

Following yesterday's post, I was contacted by a man claiming to be a former FBI agent who worked the case. This man has contacted me before and certainly seems to know many specific details about the case. He says Bay Village PD officials "like" Van Gunten as a suspect. This is no surprise. In 2005, I interviewed former BVPD Chief Bill Gareau and he told me outright he believed Van Gunten was in some way responsible for Amy's abduction. The informant who reached out to me yesterday says some law enforcement believe there also may have been two men involved in this crime.

First, let's rehash what works against Van Gunten as a suspect. 1. He's well known in the area. If he was in the plaza the day Amy was taken, it's very likely someone would have recognized him. 2. He had an alibi whom I can now identify publicly as well known sportscaster Casey Coleman, who said he recalled being with Van Gunten at a football game the day Amy was taken. 3. I have found nothing to connect Van Gunten to New London/Ashland.

So why do some investigators like Van Gunten for this crime? Well...

- Van Gunten is a sleaze of the highest degree, chasing after women in Bay and doing weird stuff like listening to pornos really loud with his windows open.

- A young girl who lived across the street from Van Gunten claims he used to stand in the window of his house, naked, whenever she played outside (her mother has seen this as well). Also, the only time we met in person, he answered the door completely naked.

- Van Gunten's parents owned a house directly behind the Bay Square plaza where Amy was last seen. The garage has an attached apartment with carpeting that somewhat matches the color of the fibers found on Amy's body. Further, two weeks after the release of my book, in which I revealed the fiber evidence, Van Gunten ripped out all the carpeting in the apartment and trashed it.

- When he was asked to submit DNA to police in 2006, Van Gunten immediately hired one of the best criminal defense attorney in town to represent him in case he was charged. The lawyer's name is Mark DeVan and readers of the Serial Killer's Apprentice should remember him from the Lisa Pruett case in which he repped Kevin Young, who was ultimately acquitted of that murder, thanks to DeVan's efforts. It should be further noted that both Young and Van Gunten are freelance house painters and Young was known to have worked in the Bay area. DeVan says Young did not refer Van Gunten.

- Van Gunten drove a flashy red sports car in 1989. His appearance and car and behavior seem to match up well with reports of a "West Side Flasher" that stalked young girls in the summer of 1989.

- According to several former classmates of Van Gunten, he likes to get rough.

- He understands law enforcement behavior and procedure; his father was a police sketch artist.

- He looks like the composite sketch.

- Like many offenders, he cannot keep out of trouble. His docket at Rocky River muni court is long, most recently including OVI and improper handling of firearms charges.

So what do you know about the man previous known as "Mr. Harvey"?

Did Bay Village Chief Let Something Slip?

2010-02-16T19:09:00.002-05:00

I didn't even catch this.

Apparently, back in October, when asked about Amy's killer, BV Police Chief David Wright told Channel 3 News that he believes the suspect lives in the "West Shore" area.

"West Shore" is local slang for the Bay Village, Rocky River, Westlake area. "Living within 5 miles of Bay Village," he told the reporter.

You can see the Channel 3 vid here.

This leads me to believe that BVPD may have someone they like for this. One explanation for not spending more time on Runkle or other suspects is that they have another suspect they like better, though Det. Spaetzel has long denied this.

But why else would Wright say such a thing? That statement would seem to specifically rule out several suspects in their mind--Runkle, Kapela, Bound--who live outside that radius as well as suspects that are dead--Brahler, Strunak.

Three suspects come to mind that still live that close to Bay--Mr. Harvey, the Math Teacher, the Lawyer.

I have a big problem with this line of thinking, though. You have to assume the man who committed this crime was comfortable enough to return to Bay after the murder. I don't buy that. Not with two eye witnesses who could have bumped into him again on the street and identified him as the last person they saw with Amy.

Honestly, I don't know what to make of this. It's a damn weird thing to say.

We Have, Apparently, Not Seen The Last of Amy Mihaljevic

2010-02-09T21:04:00.005-05:00

This is not a picture. It is a still frame from a video taken in the summer of 1989. I hope to have more for you Friday.

It is still okay to hope.

* Update: I've had a chance to watch the video. It's from a graduation party for Amy's babysitter, that occurred in Bay early summer 89. Amy appears for about 15 minutes, mostly in the background, with her brother. It gives a sense of her personality more than anything we've seen before. I'm working on transferring some of it online and making copies for law enforcement. Hope to have more to show you next week.

Meet James Schnitzler

2010-02-07T23:45:00.003-05:00

Here's another creep to look into a bit.

A source close to James L. Schnitzler suggested recently that authorities look into his background. Schnitzler is currently is prison for myriad convictions from 1994, including Gross Sexual Imposition, Rape, and other savage crimes.

In 1989, he was apparently living out of his car--which somewhat matches the description of the car seen parked at Burns' garage behind the plaza where Amy was taken. He may have been working at a YMCA in or near Bay Village. He has some connection to Polk, Ohio, as well.

Don't know how I feel about him. I don't see him dressed as nicely as the man described by witnesses. Obviously he's a psychopath. At the very least, he needs to be vetted and ruled out.

Another Girl Stalked, Another Link to Runkle

2010-02-04T11:40:00.005-05:00

I found this included in an email sent to my hotmail account a couple days ago:

I grew up in New London, OH. I can't remember exact dates but at least a couple years prior to Amy's murder, I was receiving calls by an older man. He would call regularly and at late times of the night. He would try to have general conversation and acted like he knew me. He knew what I looked like and how I walked home from school. After a bit on the phone, he would start to talk very vulgar. This is usually when I would hang up as I had not heard things like that before. The only reason I would stay on the phone for a while is to try to figure out who he was. Because in New London, everyone knows everybody.

And then this reply, following questions from me:

I lived in town. North end of town. I went to New London School. I have no idea if anyone I knew had a connection to Bay Village. There are a lot of people in our town who would go to Cleveland area for things. I was not involved in horseback riding. I had a few friends that did. Sometimes, I would go to the horse shows at the NL Recreation Park.

Well, my family knows the Runkles.

All the girls who received calls but who did not visit the Nature Center are connected to Runkle through proximity. It's getting kind of laughable at this point.

All roads lead back to New London.

Who Was Ted Lamborgine?

2010-01-25T18:23:00.004-05:00

I didn't like this guy for Amy's murder. I thought they were making Ted Lamborgine into a Boogeyman and looking to blame him for every murder committed in Michigan and Ohio in the last 25 years. But I'm beginning to wonder.

Lamborgine, as you may know, worked at the Ford plant in Brookpark. When authorities caught up with him in 2007, he admitted to being a serial pederast, responsible for ruining the lives of countless young boys in Oakland County, Michigan, where a series of 4 murders of girls and boys took place in 1976 and 1977. The murders were similar to Amy's in many ways.

The more that is revealed about the Oakland County murders, it seems that the murderer must have been a member of a small group of sickos, including Lamborgine, who operated a kiddie-porn ring out of a Michigan bicycle shop. While I don't feel Lamborgine was responsible for Amy's murder (his flavor was boys) I'm beginning to wonder if one of his friends may be responsible.

And I'm beginning to wonder if one of his friends might be this Arthur Nelson Ream, who was just recently convicted of a murder very similar to Amy's (lured a young girl to an ice cream shop) that occurred very near the epicenter of the Oakland County cases.

On top of this, last week I received a tip from a reliable source who worked at the Ford plant in Lorain. He says he believes he met Arthur Nelson Ream--that we was introduced to Arthur by a man named Henry "Hank" Cowhick, who worked with him and Lamborgine at Ford. Cowhick happens to live on County Rd. 40, just a mile or so from where Amy's body was found. He had access to a cabin.

This info has been forwarded to police and FBI. As far as I know, the name of this man from Ford is new to everybody.

UPDATE: An astute reader picked up a mistake in an earlier draft. Lamborgine worked at Ford in Brookpark (or did when he was arrested). I'm not sure how often employees working for one plant would switch to another.

Who Was the Other Caller?

2010-01-14T15:30:00.002-05:00

There's yet another odd fact about this case I haven't revealed since two former investigators told me details about this in 2005. I didn't want to identify them and they assured me it wasn't important. Enough time has gone by now that I feel okay talking about this.

Shortly after Amy's abducted in 1989, the FBI conducted a sting operation on an obscene caller targeting young females in the Bay Village area. An FBI agent posed as a young girl on the telephone and at a meeting location. The man was arrested.

But, apparently, this man had a good alibi for Amy's murder.

Anyone know who this man was? I'd like to talk to him eventually.

Does this Art Nelson thing have legs?

2010-01-07T12:49:00.002-05:00

According to an Ashland resident, police detectives were in the neighborhood, asking questions about "Art Nelson" at the local fire station. Still trying to confirm.

New Twist Debunked

2010-01-05T19:10:00.003-05:00

Word came from a pretty high source last week that as the killer fled Bay Village with Amy in his car, Amy either managed to jump out or was pushed from the car on the West side of town. I was told the police found blood evidence just off the road there.

Word today from a source more familiar with the investigation claims the rumor was either misunderstood information or "misinformation".

Sorry folks. That one appears to have been another goose chase.

Art Nelson?

2010-01-02T20:01:00.004-05:00

One reader claims there was a man matching Arthur Nelson Ream's description living in Cinnamon Lake in Ashland in 1990, who called himself "Art Nelson".

I need more than this. Can anyone verify this Art Nelson character?

Here's a pic of Cindy Zarzycki.

Hmmm. What do you think of Arthur Nelson Ream?

2010-01-01T17:31:00.006-05:00

An astute reader reminded me today about Arthur Nelson Ream, a creep from Eastpointe, Michigan, serving time for the 1986 slaying of 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki. He lured the girl to a Dairy Queen by promising her that he would take her to his son's surprise birthday party. Sounds a little similar to Amy's case, doesn't it? Read more about Zarzycki's case here.

So far, I've found nothing to connect Ream to Bay Village or Ashland, Ohio in 1989. But if anyone out there knows more about this man, I'm interested. Especially in light of this, pointed out by a blogger...

This is the map drawn by the strange man who entered Paula Varney's Crescent Moon boutique in Ashland County. The man said he had an aunt who lived nearby. This map, he said, showed where Amy's killer took her.

This is a map drawn of the Zarzycki crime scene, by Arthur Nelson Ream. There are some similarities. Mostly all capital letters. And those little dashes for roads and houses. And the need to include directional letters and arrows.

Here is a picture of Ream. Anyone know this man?

Finding Amy's Killer

Attempted Abduction from 60's linked to Runkle? **UPDATED**

Did Amy's Killer Leave Another Victim Behind?

Question

Plain Dealer hears your anger, rises to the occasion!

Plain Dealer Refuses to Correct Erroneous Story on Dienes

Police get Dienes' DNA to test against evidence in Amy's case.

Judge Russo Should Ignore Plea Deal

The 22nd Anniversary Approaches

Crime Presentation in Green

Who reported Dienes first?

Frank Dienes turns down plea deal, will face life in prison.

***UPDATED*** What Nicole Knew

Action News Spins Kopp Murder

Research

Who is Walter Jackson?

Amy Now Available as an eBook.

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire!

Another Case

Judge Scolds Frank Dienes for Playing Crazy

Fred Sullivan: Similar M.O.

Fear

Dienes cleans house.

Frank Dienes is out of jail!

Good story on Frank Dienes, Amy links

Cleveland Scene Jumps Into the Fray

FBI interested in blue vans in 1995.

Plain Dealer comes to party late, throws insults and untruths.

Fox 8 Covers Joe Kopp Vigil

Message to "Old Neighbor"

Dienes Connection to North Olmsted Girls?

Frank Dienes Questioned by Police 16 Years Ago *UPDATED*

Do I think Frank did it?

Is Frank Dienes Competent?

*UPDATED* Dienes Attorneys Have Made Me a Witness

EXCLUSIVE: Jail House Interview With Frank Dienes

The Dienes Farm in Ashland

Dienes was a potential suspect 21 years ago.

Have info on Frank Dienes?

Frank Dienes in Court

Frank Plays Coy

Bloody Scene Near Dienes' Hunting Cabin

Joe Kopp told many people about Amy

Frank Dienes did flooring work for Mark Mihaljevic

A little more on Frank Dienes

Are FBI agents looking at Frank Dienes?

Tradin Times

Former FBI Agent To Pen Book on Amy Mihaljevic?

Nancy Grace/Anderson Cooper Take on Cold Cases: UPDATED

Another girl linked to Kapela

Ken Stanton, today.

New Inductee into our Top 10 Suspects: Kenneth Robert Stanton

Buick Searched by Feds ID'd

Is it Runkle's Kids?

Who is Trolling This Blog?

Ray Brahler Owned Suzuki searched by FBI.

Similar M.O. being played out down south. **UPDATED**

Need Help Tracking Back Suspects

New Page

Amy spotted at Heinen's the day of the abduction?

New North Olmsted girl linked to Kapela?

Switching Gears

All Records Have Been Released!

IT'S ON!

Nature Center Can't Spell Amy's Name Right

Reward for Information

Nature Center responds

Lake Erie Nature & Science Center Still Doesn't Care About Amy

21 Years

Dan's Friend: I Wasn't There!

Bob Alaimo

Dan Nash

Was Amy alive until December?

Anyone Know Dr. Richard Hammond???

Witnesses Lie, Go Mum to Protect Friend.

BREAKING: Man arrested in Bay Village for trying to abduct girl from LENSC!

The Boogeyman Had Company

Tradin' Times

"Frank Vokoun Was a Monster"

Interesting Tip

Attempted Abduction from 60's linked to Runkle? UPDATED

UPDATED What Nicole Knew

Frank Dienes Questioned by Police 16 Years Ago UPDATED

UPDATED Dienes Attorneys Have Made Me a Witness

Similar M.O. being played out down south. UPDATED