The Cincinnati Post from Cincinnati, Ohio • 15

Nov 30 1977 ILtnxMill Rape case clues led to Ralston's door Tha Cincinnati Pott Wadnsiday Ralston eventually would be linked to the string of Mayings in the Cincinnati area It was Kim as well according to police who learned that Ralston was staying in the Chicago area That discovery led to his arrest Nov 10 by Cook County police at his home in Mt Prospect a Chicago suburb Ralston waived extradition to Clermont County and was returned to Batavia where he has been undergoing questioning by authorities He was indicted Tuesday for aggravated murder in four of the cases and information linking Ralston to a fifth slaying reportedly is being presented to Hamilton County Prosecutor Simon Leis Jr today name was Larry and that the four of them had stowed at a home on Harrison Pike during their Sept 24 odyssey Scheidt inquired there learned the name was Larry Ralston and that he lived in Norwood He obtained a photograph from police files and the giris identified the suspect Scheidt sought Rateton at his Norwood address but didn't find him Scheidt turned his information over to the robbery squad which investigates abductions and the homicide squad which investigates rapes At the time his involvement with the case ended Scheidt recalled today he had no idea that rape offenses however the girls apparently were driven about town for several hours and finally taken to rural Clermont County and raped cm a secluded driveway leading from Round Bottom Road It was precisely that facet of the case that led Cincinnati investigators to regard Ralston as a prime suspect in the on-going investigation into the deaths of 12 young women whose bodies many of them nude and sexually molested had been found in the Greater Cincinnaiti area since June 1975 Several days after they were raped the three girls led Cincinnati detectives Donna Kim and Gus Feld-mann to the spot where they were attacked The spot Feldmann recalled today was only about four miles from the gravel pit on Route 32 where one of the naked female bodies had been found months before The man they were dealing with Feldmann and Kim agreed knew his way about the darkness of Clermont County and he behaved suspi-cioulsy like the mystery murderer behind the death RALSTON WAS FIRST developed as a suspect by Spec Marvin Scheidt of District Three who was assigned- to investigate the attack on the three girls the day after it occurred He learned from the girls that the By BOB PAYNTER Larry Ralston indicted yesterday in Clermont County for the murders of four young women first became a suspect in those cases last month during a rape investigation by Cincinnati police That investigation involving detectives from District Three and the hom'chie and robbery squads resulted in Lie October indictment of Ralston in Clermont County on three counts of kidnapping and rape The alleged offense involved the abduction of three 15-year-old girls walking along Glenway Avenue in Price Hill outside the Covedale Theater the night of Sept 24 UNLIKE MORE ORTHODOX 4 Murder victim's mother underwent psychiatric care now feels relieved By BILL ROBINSON terribly glad" Mary Far-guer mother of murder victim Elai-na Bear 15 said when notified Tuesday by The Post that Larry Ralston 28 of Norwood had been indicted in her slaying "This family has gone through almost a year of hell" Mrs Far-guer the mother of six said adding "Me especially That was my Since the nude body of her daugh Here are ByPAULKENKEL Larry Ralston' a 28-year-old Norwood man was indicted Tuesday in the slayings of four young Cincinnati area women ranging in age from 15 to 23 Elaina Bear 15 of 1856 Chase A venae Northside was quiet and well-liked but an unhappy teen-ager She ran away from home to Florida and had a drug record She often went to parties with older boys who used drugs got Involved in the wrong crowd" her sister Rhonda Woodall said "She was easily influenced by her peers that's how she started smoking grass (marijuana)" Elaina spent a lot of time around the McKie Community Center 1655 Chase Avenue Northside But she never bothered to join the center which has supervised activities FAMILY last saw her Jan 15 when she and her friend "Debbie Whitt of Winton Place went to a party Debbie said they hitchhiked home that evening from Clifton and were picked up by a man driving a big car She said Elaina was dropped off near a tavern on Kennan Avenue in Winton Place The driver took Debbie home and then asked a curious question: How far did Elaina live from Winton Place? AFTER LEARNING THAT the offenses took place in Clermont County Cincinnati police turned their information over to Clermont County authorities and ended their official involvement in the investigation Kim said she testified to the grand jury that indicted Ralston for rape and abduction She also said she suggested to Clermont and Hamilton County officials that they interrogate Ralston about the slayings if he ever was brought into custody That book was turned over to police early in the investigation of her daughter's death Darrell Bear the older brother said name meant nothing to him either but that he had some friends in Norwood who he thought might know him Mrs Farguer a private duty nurse who attended mid-week services at the Salvation Army Citadel on Spring Grove Avenue after learn 4 slaying school at Withrow High for Linda Kay Harmon 17 Her mother phoned her to awaken her in time to catch a bus to school Linda was eager to begin the new school year and looking forward to making new friends her mother Doris Schultz of 1317 Victor Street Forestville said Linda failed to meet a girlfriend in front of the school as planned and missed a dental appointment later that day On Oct 5 Linda's skeletal remains were discovered scattered over a 2000-foot area along Braun Road near Felicity in Clermont County Six months later her parents offered a reward for information about their daughter's disappearance MRS BARBARA MCCROBIE of 1057 McKelvey Road Springfield Township last saw her daughter Uir yyr -Avt '-sa ehetogreeheri NUfcKi vtuifcKMM The portrait of murder victim Elaina Bear 15 sits before her motner Mary Farguer right and her sisters from left Debra Ilensley' and Diana Hutchinson ing the news Tuesday night went to work following the service SHE SAID police have told her little about the case during their investigation "I called detectives everything They tell me a thing" she said But she also said she told police that if she got to her killer before they did he would be dead victims Diane Sue 16 on July 17 1977 when she went on a date with a boyfriend Attractive slender brown-haired Diane lived in Norwood until about three months before she disappeared She like school and dropped out of Norwood Junior High during the winter term She enrolled in Greenhills High but never attended classes She was popular with both boys and girls and often left home for several days to stay with friends She like her new neighborhood and often returned to Norwood She had no apparent reason to run away Springfield Township Police Lt Paul Huffman said She had no history of Juvenile offenses and was not a known drug user The skeletal remains of a young woman fitting Diane's general description were found Oct 22 in a brushy area near East Fork Reservoir about five miles cast of Batavia in Clermont County 'v i -t -j A- IfcVws- iv6 MU Ml FULLER Cases of 10 females bodies found since '75 ter was found in Clinton County last Feb 28 Mrs Farguer has moved to a new Ncrthside address taken an unlisted telephone number and "even undergone psychiatric care" MRS FARGUER said the name of Larry Ralston meant nothing to her But she said she thought she had heard her daughter "talk of a boy named Larry" and that there was a boy named Larry listed in her daughter's personal telephone book profiles of Elaina never returned home She was found Feb 28 face down in a Clinton County creekbed her body nude and frozen She had been strangled NANCY GRIGSBY 23 of 863 Meadow Ridge Drive Withamsville was a trusting woman She often hitchhiked 1 told her a million times to stop get in a car with said her boyfriend Phillip Kaetzel Nancy dropped out of Glen Este High School in her senior year An auto crash when she was 15 left her with a noticeable limp and limited use of her left arm Because of her physical handicaps she could not find a job although she had completed training as a cashier at Live Oaks Vocational School Kaetzel said her biggest problem was her temperament not her handicaps "She had a temper you believe" he said On May 4 1976' Nancy went to the apartment of a friend John Straehley in Clifton About 11 pm she told Straehley she was going to take a short walk She never returned Her badly decomposed body was found Nov 16 1976 in a wooded area off Bucktown Road in Clermont County The cause of death could not be determined SEPT 3 1975 was the first day of mile from Kellogg Avenue in Anderson Tbwnship on June 30 1976 Cared Sue Haber 16 of 414 Werner Avenue Ft Wright Ky found off Chambers Road about l'i miles east of 25 near Walton Ky on June 5 1976 An unidentified woman termed by police found off Mene-fee Road in Grant County Ky on April 17 1978 Linda Kay Harmon 17 of 1317 Victor Street found of Braun Road near Felicity in Clermont County on Oct 5 1975 Larry Ralston indicted Cora Ellen Durham O'Leary of Huston Avenue Norwood found off Irwin-Simpson Road three miles east of Mason in Warren County on June 20 1975 The remaining two cases have been solved: Dorothy Sullivan 18 of 1837 Republic Street Over-the-Rhine found off Round Bottom Road in Anderson Township on Aug 28 1976 Earl Elder of Camp Washington was convicted of manslaughter in her death and is serving a 5-to-25-year sentence Susan Gorman 19 of 3565 Overlook Avenue Price Hill found near Butler Ky in Pendleton County on Dec 3 1975 John Boyd of Middletown was convicted of her murder and is serving three consecutive 20-year sentences tures and was taken to General Hospital where he died two weeks later The incident was later investigated by the Cincinnati homicide squad and probed by a Hamilton County Grand Jury In both reviews the four policemen were cleared of any guilt Hamilton County Coroner Frank Cleveland however ruled Oder's death a homicide Hie bodies or skeletal remains of 12 young women have been found in the Greater Cincinnati area since June 20 1975 Two of the cases have been solved and persons are serving time for the murders The ten cases not yet brought to trial are: Diane Sue McCrobie 16 of 1057 McKelvey Road Springfield Township found near the East Fork Reservoir in Clermont County on Oct 22 1977 Larry Ralston inducted Elaina Bear 15 of 1856 Chase Avenue Northside found off Lane six miles west of Wilmington in Clinton County on Feb 28 1977 Larry Ralston indicted Nancy Grigsby 23 of 863 Meadow Ridge Drive Withamsville found off Bucktown Road west of Marathon in Clermont County on Nov 16 1976 Larry Ralston indicted Victoria Hincher 24 of Glen Meadow Lane Roselawn found off West London Road west of Hamilton in Butler County on Oct 31 1976 Linda Sue Dyer 15 of 1720 Waltham Avenue North College Hill found off Bank Road near Dunlap in Colerain Township on Aug 24 1976 Mary Ruth Hopkins 21 of Eastern Avenue East End found east of Five Mile Road about a half Where bodies were found Stars on map show where bodies of young girls were found three In Clermont County and one In Clinton County and the dates they were discovered sued in death- of Northside man Police city The family of Paul Oder a Northside man who died last spring from wounds suffered during an altercation with Cincinnati police has filed suit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court against four policemen and the City of Cincinnati The suit seeks damages amounting to $27906092 on seven separate counts ranging from negligence to er his conspiracy to deny Oder due process of law right to Two policemen named as defendants in the suits are Alfred Gross and Philip Schmerr Two others are not identified referred to on the document as John Doe Number One and Two Other officers known to be involved in the incident however are Charles Burdsall and David Til-ford Oder's death one -of the most controversial in recent years was the consequence of a sidewalk dispute with plaindothesmen of the Cin cinnati police force The 24-year-old Northside resident was standing outside a tavern at Knowlton and Langland streets near his home early in the morning of April 24 when he was allegedly struck by one of the police officers Sworn statements by three wit- nesses claim that Oder was the victim of an unprovoked attack One witness said under oath that she saw him struck in the face with a gun Oder sustained two skull frac Great Scot! Today is the Feast of St Andrew SL Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland Cincinnati City Manager William Donaldson Is of Scot ances- And that's the reason why he wore a skirt ah kilt to the office today en asked why he had particular affection for St Andrew he replied: "He drove the FOP from the Isle of In the background is Sharon Sturgill secretary i.