Cincinnati Ohio: A 1970’s Hellscape
Most of my blog posts have been about murders in Indiana. I have been putting together detailed timelines and maps and submitting tips to cold case investigators in Indiana. I’ll continue doing that work but I became intensely interested in Ohio in the 1970’s. Indiana was not alone in terms of violent crime.
Linda Dyer was 15. She lived at 1720 Waltham Avenue, North College Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio. But, in the weeks before her death she was living at her friend Ernestine’s house.
On August 21st 1976 Linda wanted to go to a party but Ernestine didn’t feel like going. Linda went anyway and later left the party alone. She hitched a ride.
She was found stabbed and strangled three days later northwest of Cincinnati in rural Colerain Township on August 24th, 1976. Dental records and an X-ray of her skull helped identify her remains.
Before her remains could be identified; Dorothy Sullivan’s body was found. A month earlier, the body of Mary Ruth Hopkins was discovered. All three girls were found nude, stabbed and strangled.
Parents of missing girls were calling, asking to see remains to try to identify their daughters. They were doing everything they could to convince police that these murders were related.
Linda Kay Harmon went missing on September 3rd, 1976. She was found three days later on September 6th, 1976 when a farmer’s dog brought a human arm home in its mouth. Deputies found Linda’s remains scattered over a wooded overgrown hillside.
Abductions and rapes were still happening. Many young women and girls were simply considered runaways. Police did not think the attacks were linked.
Stories in the newspapers blamed the murder problem on marijauna. Marijauna can’t drive a car, lift a knife, abduct, rape and murder. The blame is on the murderer. The blame is always and only on the murderer. Victim blaming is infuriating to me.
October 20th Victoria Hinchler was abducted, raped and strangled.
Two bodies were found close together in Kentucky not far from Cincinnati. Carol Sue Klaber and another unidentified young woman. Carol Klaber’s murder would be solved in 2023 through DNA testing. Thomas W. Dunaway was 19 when he raped, strangled and beat her to death. I haven’t yet found if the unidentified woman was ever finally named.
Nancy Grigsby had been missing since May of 1976. Her skeletal remains were found in November of 1976.
Elaina Bear went missing in January of 1977. Her body was found February 28th, 1977. She and a friend had accepted a ride from a man named Larry Ralston. He had dropped Elaina off and then her friend. But he asked where Elaina lived in relation to where he had left her. When Elaina disappeared her friend relayed this story to police. She had the feeling he may have double back.
Diane Sue McCrobie went missing in July of 1977 and her remains were found in November of 1977. She had an address book and one particular name stood out: Larry Ralston.
Three young women had been together on September 24th, 1977 when they accepted a ride from a man. He instead abducted, raped and nearly killed all three but they survived. They knew his name was Larry. They pointed out a house he had stopped at and the place where the attack took place. A photo lineup was shown to the three young women and they all pointed to Larry Ralston.
Larry Ralston was chronically unemployed and always on the move. He had a lengthy criminal record.
Larry Ralston was arrested on November 15th 1977 after he had fled to his sister’s house in a suburb of Chicago. He was brought back to Cincinnati as the case against him developed.
Eventually he was convicted of the murder of Elaina Bear in May of 1978. He received a death sentence but it was commuted to life in prison. On July 6th 1978 he was convicted of the murder of Diane McCrobie. He again received a life sentence. On August 2nd 1978 he was convicted of the murder of Linda Harmon. This conviction also brought a sentence of life in prison. On August 24th he was convicted of the murder of Nancy Grigsby and was again sentenced to life. He was also convicted of two counts of rape.
In 1979 his conviction in Nancy Grigsby’s murder was overturned because the prosecution did not adequately establish a cause of death.
In 1984 he was convicted of the murder of Mary Ruth Hopkins. He received another life sentence.
He is still in prison as of 2024. He continues to appeal and to try for parole.
And Ralston wasn’t the only serial killer out there. I have others to write about in future posts. The victims presented here are just the tip of the iceberg.
But what about Linda Dyer? What about Dorothy Sullivan? What about Victoria Hinchler? There may be many other victims as some were dismissed as runaways. There may be bodies out there that simply haven’t been found.
I’ll do a post about each of these young ladies. Their lives deserve to be remembered and honored.
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