Shelia and Ronald Banks:1972, Dayton, Ohio

 


  Shelia Grigsby was born in October 1949  in Charlottesville, Virginia to Margaret and Adolphe Grigsby. 


  Shelia and her mother moved to Dayton in 1960. Later, Shelia married Theodore Banks (son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Banks)  but I wasn’t able to find their wedding date. The two had a son who they named Ronald Eugene Banks. 


  20 year old Shelia Banks and her young son, Ronald Eugene, were at home at 804 Tyson Avenue on Saturday evening January 13th, 1972. Little Ronald was only 20 months old. I imagine that somewhere in the back of Shelia’s mind was a plan for his upcoming second birthday. 


  Shelia might have done some homework that night before going to bed. She was studying to become a nurse at Sinclair College in Dayton.


  Two other children were spending the night in the home as well. 




   Sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning on the 14th of January, someone entered the home. That person sexually assaulted Shelia Banks in her own bed. That killer also held little Ronald face down in the mattress so that he smothered to death. The killer stabbed Shelia to death but did not harm the other children in the home that night. 


  Shelia’s husband, Theodore C. Banks was questioned the morning after her murder but was cleared of involvement and released by the police. 




  The funeral of Shelia and Ronald was held at the Sunlight Baptist Church with Visitation taking place at the Bowman Funeral Chapel. Shelia and Ronald Banks are buried at West Memory Gardens. (That is Southwest of Dayton off Germantown Pike.) 


  Shelia and Ronald’s murders were not unique in the early 1970’s on the west side of Dayton. 


   Gloria Jean Buck and her young children Tracy and Scott were home on Saturday January 13th, 1973. They lived at 2020 Arthur Avenue in northwest Dayton. 


  Someone entered their home and sexually assaulted Gloria. That perpetrator shot her with a .22 caliber weapon and stabbed her to death. That man also stabbed young Tracy and Scott to death as well.


  Twelve days after the Buck family murders, Linda Dearth was killed in a rural area outside of Brookville, Ohio. That’s about a 30-40 minute drive from Shelia Banks’ home and the Buck family home. 13 year old Linda was sexually assaulted and shot three times in the head with a .22 caliber gun on January 25th, 1973. 


  On February 3rd 1973, at around noon, talented nightclub singer, Eddie Herring and his wife Sharon were murdered in a home invasion. The perpetrator was described as a skinny white man. He shot both adults with a shotgun but did not shoot the couple’s six year old daughter. 


   A .22 caliber cartridge was found at the scene, oddly enough. 


   The Herring family lived on the West side of Dayton near Shelia Banks. 


   Are these murders related?  Only a thorough investigation and testing will tell. 


   Shelia and Ronald Banks should still be here. They deserved to be able to live out their whole lives. 


   Rest in Peace, Shelia and Ronald


If you have a tip about the murder of Shelia Banks and her son Ronald please use this link:

  https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Investigator/Cold-Case/Homicides/Banks


  



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