Serial Killer Ralph Richard Howell, Ohio

    

   Ralph Richard Howell was born on January 16th 1950 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went by the nickname “Rick”.He graduated from Deer Park High School. Deer Park is an eastern suburb of Cincinnati. 

   Beverly J. Wilson became his bride in 1979. 

   In 1983 he got in a little bit of trouble with the law. He managed to get out of serious trouble though. He ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor…for unlawful restraint. So the trouble basically evaporated. 

   Ralph Richard Howell died in a car accident in Kentucky in 1985. 

   But then, decades after his death, investigators in Ohio would connect him to the unsolved 1978 murder of Cheryl Thompson. DNA would prove it and Ralph Richard Howell would be posthumously indicted. 

   On March 3rd, 1978 Cheryl Thompson was a 19 year old Universe of Cincinnati student. She had plans that night to meet her boyfriend at Gatsby’s disco. She never made it there. 

  Cheryl’s body was found about two weeks later on a sandbar of the Little Miami River. A state game warden found her body. Cheryl had been raped and strangled. 

  Remember that misdemeanor charge in 1983 for unlawful restraint? This is the victim’s description of what happened: The victim said she was on the side of the road with car trouble. Ralph Richard Howell pulled over and offered her a ride. He was in a truck that delivered bulk shipments of Cincinnati Enquirer newspapers. She refused a ride but he kept insisting. He said things like “I’m not an animal. I won’t hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid.”  That coercive guilt-based goading wore her down and so she got in. 

  As soon as she was in the truck, he immediately had a rope around her neck and was strangling her. He’d had that rope ready in advance. She fought. She also managed to frantically talk to him and beg for her life. She asked him if he had a wife. He said yes. She asked if he would want someone to do this to his wife. He said no. He eventually let her out. She went to the police and reported her story. He was charged with abduction and attempted rape but plead down to only a misdemeanor of unlawful restraint. 

  Remember that Ralph Richard Howell died in a car accident in Kentucky in 1985? I haven’t found the details of that wreck. But I did find that it happened in Kenton County, Kentucky. That is just across the River from Cincinnati. Was he alone in the vehicle? Did he go to the Crittenden area in Kenton County, Kentucky often? 

  In 1976 an unidentified body of a woman was found in Crittenden, Kentucky which is on the border of Kenton County.

  In 1977 another University of Cincinnati student, Nancy Ann Theobald, was abducted. She was found the day after Christmas in a creek near West Chester. She too had been strangled. 

  Ralph was a long haul trucker for part of his working life. He also worked delivering bulk shipments of newspapers. We know that he was doing that in 1983 when he abducted the woman who lived. What were his routes? I hope someone is putting together a timeline of his work record. 

  He is suspected of killing Nancy Ann Theobald in 1977, 17 year old 

Charmaine Stolla in 1978 and Victoria Hinscher in 1976. 

  I have written about Nancy Ann Theobald and Victoria Hinscher and posted YouTube videos about their cases. 

  In addition to the unidentified body found in Kentucky in 1976, I suspect him of Linda Sue Dyer’s murder. I also think he’s responsible for Susan Gorman’s murder and that the wrong man was imprisoned for it. 

  I wrote about Linda Sue Dyer’s case. She was found in Colerain Township. She was not the only victim found in that area. 

  Susan Gorman’s murder is one I will be researching and writing about in the coming weeks. 

  I will be adding to this post as I find more information about Howell. I think we will be seeing even more murders linked definitively to him in the future. 

  I am looking at many unsolved cases for which he might be responsible.  

  Keep checking back.