Anita Lias:1975, Columbus, Ohio

   


  Anita Lias was born on June 14th, 1959 to Alice and Moses Lias. She had an older sister named Pamela and an older brother named Phillip.  Another sister, Alicia, came along in 1964. 



The people in the photos are not named. I wonder if Anita is wearing #31. 

  Anita lived in Columbus, Ohio.  She attended Eastmoor High School. She was part of the undefeated track team there in her last year of life. The track team competed all over Ohio and even Indiana.


  The Lias family was also active in their church. 


  On Saturday night, August 30th 1975, Anita had been at a babysitting job. She was last seen walking near Nelson Rd. and Broad Street. (I am not sure if that last sighting was while she was walking to the babysitting job or later walking home from that job.) I wasn’t able to find Anita’s address or the address of the babysitting job that evening.


  She was, presumably, walking home afterward when a vicious predator struck. 


  Her parents, Moses and Alice,  were extremely concerned when she did not return home that night. They reported her missing the following morning at 9 a.m. 


  Anita was found on Monday morning September 1st, 1975 in front of a garage at 862 South Champion Street. (That’s a few miles from the spot that she was last seen. )



 The garage of that building is sort of behind the building. There’s space between the buildings and a view from the street between 862 and the neighboring house, back to the garage. 

  The garages are accessed by an alley behind the homes. So, the killer would have driven in that way. 

A view of the alley behind 862 Champion.


  August is generally hot in Ohio and 1975 saw temperatures into the mid 90’s Fahrenheit. 


  It is doubtful to me that Anita had been lying in front of that garage since Saturday night when she disappeared. Maybe. Perhaps there were items blocking the view from the street. I think someone would have noticed. These are two story houses all around and they would have had a pretty good view. 


  It was reported that Anita was fully dressed. That doesn’t necessarily mean she hadn’t been sexually assaulted. Sometimes a perpetrator will allow a victim to get dressed. Her hands had been tied behind her back. She had multiple stab wounds to her torso and chest. 


  An electrical cord was found near her body. Police thought it may have been used to strangle her. 


  Her injuries are very similar to those of Karen Bentz of Akron. She was abducted on an April evening while walking home. She was assaulted, strangled and stabbed in 1970. DNA evidence would convict her killer in 2019. 


 Anita’s murder also sounds like the murder of Loretta Davis in Akron on September 29th, 1975. She was abducted, assaulted, strangled and stabbed. That’s just about four weeks later. 


 In 1991, Bonita Parker was abducted from Columbus, assaulted, and stabbed. 


  Gustave A. Sapharas is guilty of all three of those murders. DNA has connected him to all three. He is jailed for life in Ohio. Did he also kill Anita Lias?  I think so. 


  Some serial killers do stick to their own ethnic group. I think that’s true in areas where approaching and talking to someone of a different race would be socially awkward. If you are luring victims then being of the same race would make them trust you more. But, if the killer is just ambushing and grabbing a victim off the sidewalk…then you don’t necessarily need to be of the same race. 


  There are killers who simply want to kill and they don’t necessarily care about the race. They may have been driving around for hours looking for an opportunity and this person presents the most viable opportunity at the time. 


  Four weeks later he would strike again and kill Loretta Davis. In 1976, a rape victim survived and Sapharas went to jail for 13 years. (His sentence was from 15-60 years. But, Ohio freed him early. Many states went through cycles of freeing prisoners when they had budget constraints. Imagine releasing dangerous criminals because you ran a campaign of cutting costs. It happened. 


  He went to jail again in 1991 on attempted murder. Ohio released him AGAIN in 2002. (DNA connected him to the Bentz, Davis and Parker murders in 2018-2019.)


  If investigators still have evidence stored in Anita’s case, they should look at Sapharas. He was the vicious killer who was committing similar crimes at the time in the Columbus and Akron area. 


  Anita was such a promising young girl. She was a talented athlete and part of an undefeated track team at Eastmoor. She was a dedicated student. She was a trusted babysitter. Anita was beloved by her family and friends. Who knows what she could have become?  She should still be here. 


   The articles about Anita’s murder are few and they are cold and rude. I am sure that her case was largely dismissed because she was black. There are fewer details in the articles. There are no photos. Anita is referred to as “the dead girl”. It’s all cold and very dismissive of the pain and trauma that her family, friends and community must have been going through. 





  Anita’s parents and two sisters have passed away waiting for answers. But Anita has a brother and many nieces, nephews and cousins who still hope for Justice. 


  Hopefully investigators have saved evidence in her case. It may be possible to compare any DNA found to Gus Sapharas. 


  Rest in Peace Anita.


If you have a tip that can help solve Anita’s case please use this link:


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



Shareable Video here https://youtu.be/4lyh1xZCy-Y?si=vo1ZT-M-U02lDXwJ



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