Linda Kay Harmon:1975, Cincinnati
On October 4th, 1975 a farm dog trotted home with something unusual in its mouth. Upon closer inspection by the farmer, that unusual object was found to be a human arm.
That must have been horrific for that farm family there in Clermont County, Ohio. It must have been quite shocking. It may not have been that surprising, though.
That area of Southern Ohio was going through a terrible crime wave of abductions, rapes and murders. Young women’s remains were being found all over the Cincinnati area.
Linda Kay Harmon was from Forestville, Ohio. That’s a community just east of Cincinnati. She loved music and poetry. She hoped to become a recording engineer and work behind the scenes in the music industry. She was looking forward to the start of classes at Withrow High School.
Linda was last seen on September 3rd,1975. Her mother reported her missing on September 6th after checking with friends and family. I imagine that Doris Schutz was desperately trying not to panic. I imagine she was hoping to just find Linda at a friend’s house.
Linda Kay Harmon was found just a month later in Clermont County. Her remains had been scattered by animals in a field in the rural area.
She was officially identified in mid October 1975.
In the coming year even more young women and girls would be abducted, assaulted and murdered.
An unknown young woman was found in Kentucky in April 1975. I haven’t found out if she was ever identified yet. I’ll continue to follow up on it.
Cora Ellen Durham O’Leary was found June 20th 1976.
Dorothy Madden was last seen alive on August 8th, 1975.
Carol Sue Klaber last seen June 4th 1976. Found 14 hours later; Carol had been bludgeoned to death and strangled. She was found only clothed in a bra and shirt. She was from Wright, Kentucky.
Mary Ruth Hopkins disappeared on 6/29/1976. She was found raped a murdered the following day. Mary Ruth Hopkins was found in a wooded area. That wooded spot was off Five Mile Road, north of Kellogg Avenue in Anderson Township.
Linda Sue Dyer August 22, 1976. She was found in an isolated area of Colerain Township. That’s on Cincinnati’s northwest side.
Dorothy Sullivan August 28th 1976. Another man was convicted of her murder. But, it is incredibly similar to the killings that Ralston was convicted of.
Victoria Hinscher October 20, 1976. Her murder is unsolved but very similar to the murders for which Ralston was convicted.(Her name is spelled Hinchler in newspaper articles. Her grave names her as Victoria Uchniat. I mention this in case investigators want to find her grave for possible exhumation in the future.)
Diane Sue McCrobie was found October 22nd 1976. Larry Ralston’s name in her address book helped investigators zero in on Ralston.
Nancy Grigsby was murdered in November 1976.
Elaina Bear was murdered in February 1977.
On September 24, 1977, Larry Ralston picked up three teenage girls. He drove them to a secluded rural area. He sexually assaulted all three. Inexplicably, he did not kill them. The area where they were raped was close to where another victim’s remains had been found. Before the assault; the girls were talking to Larry Ralston. They got a good look at him. They could describe him and his vehicle. They went to the police and reported the rapes. Police believed them. Ralston was identified by the three girls as their attacker. When his name was also present in Diane McCrobie’s address book, police began to consider him the prime target of the investigation into the 1975-1977 murders.
Larry Ralston was convicted of Linda Kay Harmon’s murder. He was also convicted of the murders of Elaine Bear, Diane McCrobie and Nancy Grigsby. He was given life sentences in each of those murders.
In 2018 he was up for parole. He failed to show up to his hearing. Parole was denied. I truly hope he is never released. Ralston is up for parole in 2028. Let’s hope that parole is denied.
Linda Kay Harmon deserved a long and peaceful life. Rest in peace, Linda.
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