Michael Dean Klitch:1971, near Galena, Ohio
Michael Dean Klitch was born on February 7th, 1959 to Joan Marie Smith Klitch and Richard Klitch. He had a large family with three sisters and a brother. The family lived on Cambridge Boulevard in Grandview Heights. That’s a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
On Monday, June 28th 1971, 12 year old Michael Dean Klitch left the house at around 2:10 p.m. to go play tennis at a nearby city park on Goodale Boulevard.
His mother Joan went to pick him up around 3:40 p.m. but could not find Michael. One of his tennis balls was found there at the courts though.
Michael’s mother went home and called around to friends. No one that they knew had seen Michael. She called the police. Searches were launched. People at the courts were questioned. No one had seen anything unusual.
Thirteen agonizing days would pass by while the family waited and hoped for news.
On Sunday July 11th, 1971, Mrs. Elaine Gowell of Rome, NY, was in Columbus visiting her grandfather who lived on Africa Road. Elaine Gowell, her brother and her brother’s children were out picking berries in the woods. They knew of an old quarry and decided to go there to skip stones. As they walked through the woods; the group passed by a shed and smelled the odor of decomposition. Elaine Gowell thought a dead animal might be in the shed. She was curious and opened the door. It took a while for her to figure out what it was she was seeing. She finally recognized human features. She and the others hurried to call the police.
The shed was about 2/10th of a mile off the road. The nearest cross streets to the shed were Africa and Plumb Roads. That’s a long drive from Grandview Heights. Michael had not walked there. He had been abducted.
Michael had been stabbed more than ten times and set on fire. His tennis racket and his tennis shoes were identified by his family. His eyeglasses were also found at the scene. Investigators checked the glasses against Michael’s known prescription.
The knife used was thought to be similar to a household butcher knife.
Two cans of lighter fluid were found. The FBI was asked to help test the cans for fingerprints.
A fisherman in the area called police with a tip about an old black car with two young men inside that he had seen driving around on the day Michael had disappeared from the tennis courts.
Despite all efforts Michael’s case went cold.
It is still unsolved today. I lean toward a local killer or killers. They would have had to know, I think, about the little lane of Africa Rd. that leads back to that shed near the old quarry pond. Maybe not. But there are other Ohio suspects.
One suspect that I would suggest is Joseph Norman Hill. He lived 2 hours and 46 minutes away from Columbus in Boardman, Ohio in 1971. In 2023 it was announced that Norman Joseph Hill was responsible for the 1972 sexual assault and murder of 12 year old Brad Lee Bellino of Boardman, Ohio.
In 1972, Hill drove a truck for a bottled water delivery service. I’m not sure if he was employed doing that same job in 1971. It would be interesting to track down what he was doing on Monday, June 28th, 1971. Could he have been in Columbus that day?
In 1978, Joseph Norman Hill packed up his family and moved to San Bernardino County, California. He lived in 14 different residences there until his death from cancer in 2019.
In the Youngstown/Boardman, Ohio area there were several other murders of boys.
On December 3rd, 1970 15 year old Thomas Baird was found on Lake Park Road. Most of his clothing had been torn from his body. He had been violently beaten but was still alive. He was transported to the hospital. Detectives were able to ask him if he knew who did this. He answered yes but was unable to give more details before he died of his injuries.
In late January 1973, Marvin Lee King was strangled and left in a field near Springfield, Ohio.
On August 15, 1974, James David Morgan disappeared from Akron, Ohio. His skeletal remains were found, with no sign of clothing, in a wooded area near Stow, Ohio. (Northeast of Akron) Investigators were sure that he was a victim of foul play but the cause of death was difficult to determine.
On January 18th, 1975, 12 year old David Evans went missing. Six days later his frozen body was found at Market Street and U.S. 224 in Boardman. He was found on January 23rd, 1975 buried in a pile of snow in a shopping center parking lot. A large puncture wound was found in his back.
The spot where David Evans body was found is incredibly close to where Brad Lee Bellino was found in 1972.
Investigations into each of the murders are still ongoing. Brad Lee Bellino is, so far, the only victim definitely connected through DNA to Joseph Norman Hill.
If Joseph Norman Hill did not kill Michael Dean Klitch then who did? Is there someone out there who knows something? Could the two young men in the old black car be connected?
Michael Dean Klitch is on Find A Grave but does not have a public resting place. His remains were cremated in lieu of burial. His case is still unsolved.
Rest in Peace Michael
If you have information about the murder of Michael Dean Klitch please submit a tip at this link:
https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Investigator/Cold-Case/Homicides/Klitch
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