Mary Ruth Hopkins: 1976, Cincinnati, Ohio

    


   Mary Ruth Sanders Hopkins was born February 26th, 1955 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents were Jacqueline (Taylor) and Lonnie Sanders. Sadly, Mary Ruth’s mother passed away when she was only three. Trauma like the loss of your primary caregiver at such a young age can seriously negatively impact a young child. 


   Her father remarried. Mary Ruth went through some very difficult adolescent and teen years. Likely the trauma from the loss of her mother had a great deal to do with that. 


    She was 21 in 1976. Her family expressed concern about her friends and boyfriends. They had seen her get involved with drug use. They worried and tried to help when they could. 


    On June 29th, 1976, Mary Ruth was last seen leaving her apartment to go to the Mt. Lookout Tavern. She planned to hitchhike. 


   June 30th 1976, Mary Ruth Hopkins was found in a wooded area. The spot was off Five Mile Road, north of Kellogg Avenue in Anderson Township. That’s very close to where some other known victims of Larry Ralston were found. 





   Mary Ruth was found with a tank top wrapped around her neck. Her face was very badly bruised. Patches of her hair had been viciously torn out. 


  This seems very much like the work of serial killer Larry Ralston. He was convicted of the murders of Elaina Bear, Diane McCrobie, Linda Harmon and Nancy Grigsby. So far, his known crimes stretch from 1975 through his arrest in 1977. 


   I think he also killed Linda Sue Dyer and Mary Ruth Hopkins and possibly many more. Dorothy Sullivan was found near there. Someone else was convicted of her murder but I believe she was yet another Ralston victim. 


  Mary Ruth Sanders Hopkins is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Campbell County, Kentucky. She does not have a grave marker there. On Find-a grave there are no photos of Mary Ruth Sanders Hopkins. I wasn’t able to locate a photo of her on any of the usual places I search either. 


Ralston is up for parole in 2028. I truly hope he never gets paroled. 


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