OH OH - Kelly Prosser, 8, Columbus, 20 Sept 1982

And this not so well travelled road, just happens to be the adjacent to the location where her body was found?

I also read that the Attorney who found her coat took it home and waited till that evening to call police, ?

The article also seems to insinuate that the attorney was on his way to pick up his housekeeper who lived near the site where both she and the raincoat were discovered

The areal picture, seems to show that where she was found looks to be some type of entrance point to the corn field , some place a car could be pulled over close to where he intended to dump her, and get out of there quickly .

If where the technician can be seen in that photo is where her body was located, she's not far off the road at all... this was most likely a quick dump and go . But again I state, that this was somewhere he felt comfortable doing so , someplace he was familiar with

In abduction cases, there are usually 3 points, when the offender is most stressed, and will usually search within a prescribed area of comfort. 1) is upon initial contact with the victim - worry about being seen, unpredictable victim response, possibility of identification, in most cases they are in the area for legitimate reasons, like living or working there (66%).

2) Time surrounding the actual homicide itself , immediately before, during and immediately after .. primarily if this wasn't a planned killing.

3) When dumping a body, and this is usually a better indicator . because they are now with a deceased victim, the stress is higher .

If they are caught with a living victim.. they stand a better chance, of avoiding death or life . If they are caught dumping a deceased child, who's been abducted and sexually assaulted, they have a HUGE problem ..so it makes sense they tend to favor places where they feel comfortable

Was an equivocal death analysis ever done?.. do we know how long she was deceased prior to being dumped ?

A study done by the Washington state attorney generals office, on abduction homicide , states that in 72% of cases, the distance, from the murder site to the body recovery site drops to less than 200 ft!

If you take into account that most children murdered during an abduction are killed within the first 2-3 hours, its safe to assume that Kelly was already deceased before her parents even reported her missing .. This seems especially true do the fact she was sexually assaulted, but not raped . If she was kept somewhere I feel you'd see much more evidence of rape .. Unless she was held somewhere , which doesn't seem likely though without a time of death , its still a possibility.

Unless her body was kept somewhere, then I assume she was dumped soon after she was killed.

If you figure in the Findings in the study done by the Washington state attorney generals office, its a safe bet she was killed near where she was found .

That location though could be a vehicle .

I find it odd that 2 days later someone would just happen upon a raincoat in the middle of an unpopular road, making no mention of never having seen it before on his travels.

It even seems more odd, to me that someone would pick it up and take it home, namely a lawyer, why the hell would anyone pick up a piece of clothing in a road and take it home ?

I see shoes, bags, sweatshirts in the street all the time.. never once did I decide "hey I better take this home". Its made more odd because its near where she was found, and turned out to be her raincoat.

Its not unheard of for a killer to re-visit a body dump site, but why wait 2 days to leave a clue to where she was ? .. he wanted her found ? then why even hide her in the 1st place ? I don't know of too many killers who will hide a victim, return to the area risk being seen, only leave clues to where the body is.

Now its important to note, its entirely possible she was dumped, there immediately before the coat was found, or that she was dumped with the coat that blew onto the road , or was possibly dragged there by animals etc... there's no forensic data available that I could find that stated 1) how long she was dead 2) how long they believe she was laying there at the site .

The bolt in the pocket, depending on size, could have several meanings, it could've been to weigh it down so it wouldn't blow off the road, It could've been something she just picked up, kids will pick up anything that catches their fancy, it could also be just something to throw investigators off, it could be an actual piece of evidence, the bolt is a tough piece to get a bead on.

Often the offender will inject himself into the investigation, and if you figure in that in 74% of cases, the name of the killer is known within the 1st week, which is why I find it odd that this "attorney" would simply find a raincoat, in the middle of a rural road, take it home, no less then call police later that evening, it seems really weird to me, again unless you are poor or homeless, why the hell would you feel the need to pick up a piece of clothing from the street , and keep the damn thing?

This puts him in the investigation, it explains any of his fingerprints, on the coat , he knows the area, he has a legitimate excuse to be in the area .

Im not saying this attorney who found the coat is responsible, but it seems odd to me , and worthy of deeper investigation.

However that being said most abductoin murderers of children tend to be employed in some blue collar type environment , they tend to be social marginals with few social contacts , and a history reflecting some violent background .

I'd be very interested in talking to people who worked on that farm where she was found .

RichKelly said:

I also read that the Attorney who found her coat took it home and waited till that evening to call police, ?


.. do we know how long she was deceased prior to being dumped ?

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Kelly Ann Prosser was last seen on Monday afternoon September 20, 1982 when school was dismissed for the day.

The raincoat that Kelly Ann Prosser wore was found about 8:45 a.m. by the attorney in the middle of a rural Madison County road on Tuesday morning September 21, 1982.

It is my understanding from the newspaper article that after the attorney found the raincoat, the attorney dropped the housekeeper off at his residence, and he went to work for the entire day, leaving the raincoat in his vehicle.

When the attorney was at his home later that evening, he happened to remember that he left the raincoat that he found earlier that day and left in his vehicle.

The attorney’s daughter had been watching the Columbus news on television and suggested that the raincoat could be the missing girl’s raincoat.

It wasn’t until almost 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening September 21, 1982 when the attorney contacted Columbus Police about the raincoat he had found in the middle of a rural Madison County road.

The next day, on the morning of Wednesday September 22, 1982, Franklin and Madison County law enforcement authorities began a search in the area where the girl’s raincoat was found. The girl’s body was found that afternoon in the cornfield.

I think the killer left the girl’s raincoat as a clue sometime during the overnight hours (either late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning) in the middle of rural Madison County road.

To this day, LE has never revealed how long Kelly Ann Prosser was deceased when her body was found in the cornfield.

nerosleuth said:

Kelly Ann Prosser was last seen on Monday afternoon September 20, 1982 when school was dismissed for the day.

The raincoat that Kelly Ann Prosser wore was found about 8:45 a.m. by the attorney in the middle of a rural Madison County road on Tuesday morning September 21, 1982.

It is my understanding from the newspaper article that after the attorney found the raincoat, the attorney dropped the housekeeper off at his residence, and he went to work for the entire day, leaving the raincoat in his vehicle.

When the attorney was at his home later that evening, he happened to remember that he left the raincoat that he found earlier that day and left in his vehicle.

The attorney’s daughter had been watching the Columbus news on television and suggested that the raincoat could be the missing girl’s raincoat.

It wasn’t until almost 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening September 21, 1982 when the attorney contacted Columbus Police about the raincoat he had found in the middle of a rural Madison County road.

The next day, on the morning of Wednesday September 22, 1982, Franklin and Madison County law enforcement authorities began a search in the area where the girl’s raincoat was found. The girl’s body was found that afternoon in the cornfield.

I think the killer left the girl’s raincoat as a clue sometime during the overnight hours (either late Monday evening or early Tuesday morning) in the middle of rural Madison County road.

To this day, LE has never revealed how long Kelly Ann Prosser was deceased when her body was found in the cornfield.

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Anyone else find it odd?

-Lawyer, has a housekeeper , obviously doesn't need the coat
-Not only allegedly stops his vehicle, but gets out, picks up the coat and takes it with him
-I don't think Ive ever heard, of someone stopping to pick up an article of clothing off the road, EVER, only to hold onto it, why the hell would you keep an article of clothing, any article of clothing you found on some road? ..THEN turn it over as evidence, however where he found it just happens to be where the girls body is located.

Im not saying hes responsible, but god that sets, my BS detector off

RichKelly said:

Anyone else find it odd?

-Lawyer, has a housekeeper , obviously doesn't need the coat
-Not only allegedly stops his vehicle, but gets out, picks up the coat and takes it with him
-I don't think Ive ever heard, of someone stopping to pick up an article of clothing off the road, EVER, only to hold onto it, why the hell would you keep an article of clothing, any article of clothing you found on some road? ..THEN turn it over as evidence, however where he found it just happens to be where the girls body is located.

Im not saying hes responsible, but god that sets, my BS detector off

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You have a very good point here. I can understand someone stopping to push a tree limb away from the roadway or pick something up from the roadway that fell from their vehicle.

I believe if there were any school age kids living on that rural road out in the country, the school bus would pick them up in front of their homes. They surely wouldn't have school age kids walking beside a rural road out in the country for any distance to catch a school bus.

nerosleuth said:

You have a very good point here. I can understand someone stopping to push a tree limb away from the roadway or pick something up from the roadway that fell from their vehicle.

I believe if there were any school age kids living on that rural road out in the country, the school bus would pick them up in front of their homes. They surely wouldn't have school age kids walking beside a rural road out in the country for any distance to catch a school bus.

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Unless you're homeless, or something, why the hell would you take it .... I mean that all too conveniently explains, any trace evidence on the coat.

Never once was I driving along, and say .. "Damn look that's a perfectly good glove, I better pick that sucker up before someone else gets this bad boy"...

Unless he was excluded, ....but as an investigator I would've been licking my chops, until I ran that one into the ground.

I will add however, that I don't think this individual was new to this kind of crime, nor do I think she was is last, if he wasn't incarcerated, already for something else

nerosleuth said:

Yes, I've always wondered if they two cases were connected. I also wondered if we had a SK in the Columbus area back then and didn't know about it.

I fear that there was a predator going after girls and school girls in the Ohio Valley region during the 1980's.

Check out the case of Cherrie Ann Mahan. Cherrie is another 8 year old school girl that disappeared going home after school in 1985 outside of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. She was never found.


PA PA - Cherrie Ann Mahan, 8, Cabot, 22 Feb 1985 *merged* - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

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If your asking if cherrie may be connected i would guess based nothing more than speculation from what i read from your thread that they are not connected.

These two were in Ohio, the other in Pennsylvanian. Cherrie has not been found, while these two were found after being murdered.

In the killers mind perhaps having the bodies discovered to him would turn down the heat for the search. The search would not be so active, no longer searching for a missing child. Somewhat a paranoid individual.

Tips sought in 1982 slaying of girl, 8

Today is the 32nd anniversary that the body of Kelly Ann Prosser was found in a rural Madison County cornfield two days after her disappearance.

An small newspaper article appeared in the Columbus Dispatch today about the Kelly Ann Prosser homicide being the featured crime of the week case in the Crime Stoppers program.

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward for information that leads to an arrest or indictment in the Kelly Ann Prosser homicide case.

Any tips in the Kelly Ann Prosser homicide case can be called in to Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477; or by email through www.stopcrime.org; or texted to 274637, keyword CMH.

Source:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/09/22/tips-sought-in-slaying-of-girl-8.html

nerosleuth said:

Asenath Louise Dukat was raped by her attacker.

Kelly Ann Prosser was sexually assaulted but not raped by her attacker.

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I don't want to sound stupid, but what is the difference?

I know there's technically a difference between "rape" and "sodomy," but aren't all rapes sexual assaults (and vice/versa)?

I have been pondering why would the attorney even stop and pick up the raincoat. I have three reasons (I am not saying these reasons are HIS reasons or necessarily what I would do).

1. He thought maybe a girl in the neighborhood had lost her coat and wanted to return it. This explains show wing it to his housekeeper and his daughter.

2. He initially picked it up as litter, but just delayed throwing it away. Then he realizes what he really has..

3. Depending on what kind of lawyer he is... a client may have asked him to pick it up. Due to attorney/client privilege, he couldn't say that much, but maybe giving the coat to the police was something he could do? This one depends on a lot of factors, so maybe it's too farfetched.

bflocket said:

I don't want to sound stupid, but what is the difference?

I know there's technically a difference between "rape" and "sodomy," but aren't all rapes sexual assaults (and vice/versa)?

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I don't remember reading about her being Sodomized?..Were you just asking the question about the differences?

They say fully clothed from what I read. Shoes , socks, pants, panties. But nothing about her top? I am assuming she was found with her top on to. She was probably killed within the hour after being taken. Or at least within two or however long it took him. I think from reading the sexual assault may had to do with evidence showing she was forced to perform oral sex on him. He beat her with his hands, though I don't know if that's been released. Maybe the bolt found broke off from something inside the truck during the beating and strangulation during and after the sexual assault.
Or maybe she seen it laying on the floor inside the truck and just put it in her pocket as a way to leave a message this guy that owns this bolt did this.
After dumping her on his way out he tossed the coat out to get rid of it. He may had forgotten to leave it with the body. Seems to me anyone that owned a red truck was reported to the leos. And yet nothing came from it. Or did it?...........Maybe someone was using a families, or friends red pick up instead of there own vehicle. But yet again someone would have reported that you would think after that information was released from the witness seeing her get into a red pickup.

He had to stop somewhere at sometime to commit the crime. I don't think he wanted to travel far with a live or dead girl. So he probably parked somewhere near to where she was found, though not close enough he could walk to the spot but had to drive a short distance to get there.

The first 5 or 6 rows of corn from the road seem intact. But the rows of corn further on to the east of the body have impressions that make it appear some kind of activity had gone on there recently.

Maybe the red truck was parked somewhere further to the east from where she was found. And the killer walked the corn rows towards the road and left her about 4 rows from the road. Instead of parking there and leaving her four rows inside from the road. They mentioned no footprints around the area of the body. Which tells me the ground for whatever reason would not allow for an impression to be left. Not surprising with it being a corn field and late in the season.

Hello everyone, new member and first post. I found this site by Googling the Prosser case after being reminded about it in the Dispatch. This case has always intrigued me as I grew up a mile east of where the body was found. We moved there in 1986 four years after the crime. As a teenager in the late 90s I drove by that field many times late at night and was always freaked out that something so horrific could have happened in our little piece of country land. (I never knew the exact location of where the victims body was dumped until I read this thread, I just knew it was on A.W. Wilson Rd which is only approximately a little over a mile long.)

I no longer live in the area, but after checking Google maps I can assure you nothing has changed at that location since 1982. Both of those two closest farms and houses have always been there as long as I can remember, and id guess from my limited archtectual knowledge they were both built in the 70s or early 80s. From the satellite view on Google Maps, the same field entrance is still there and in use.

Being very familiar with the dump sight area, I will throw this idea out there.... all the maps on this thread show the suspects route of west on 70 to US 42 and west on AW Wilson. The dump sight is much closer to Lafayette Plain City Rd. I know most people from Plain City take US 33 to 270 to 315 to get to the campus area. Is it possible the suspect took that route instead and traveled south on Lafayette Plain City Rd which if you continue south takes you to US 38 and/or 29 that go into London.....

:+:MrTT:+: said:

I don't remember reading about her being Sodomized?..Were you just asking the question about the differences?

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This is what I was questioning...

The autopsy report also said that Kelly Ann Prosser was sexually assaulted but not raped.

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So you think it meant "oral." I guess it could also mean "with something" (i.e. stick, etc).

I understand sodomy vs rape. I just always viewed "sexual assault" as another name for rape (and vice/versa). Like you could be orally raped or raped with a hammer and such.

HBKid50 said:

Hello everyone, new member and first post. I found this site by Googling the Prosser case after being reminded about it in the Dispatch. This case has always intrigued me as I grew up a mile east of where the body was found. We moved there in 1986 four years after the crime. As a teenager in the late 90s I drove by that field many times late at night and was always freaked out that something so horrific could have happened in our little piece of country land. (I never knew the exact location of where the victims body was dumped until I read this thread, I just knew it was on A.W. Wilson Rd which is only approximately a little over a mile long.)

I no longer live in the area, but after checking Google maps I can assure you nothing has changed at that location since 1982. Both of those two closest farms and houses have always been there as long as I can remember, and id guess from my limited archtectual knowledge they were both built in the 70s or early 80s. From the satellite view on Google Maps, the same field entrance is still there and in use.

Being very familiar with the dump sight area, I will throw this idea out there.... all the maps on this thread show the suspects route of west on 70 to US 42 and west on AW Wilson. The dump sight is much closer to Lafayette Plain City Rd. I know most people from Plain City take US 33 to 270 to 315 to get to the campus area. Is it possible the suspect took that route instead and traveled south on Lafayette Plain City Rd which if you continue south takes you to US 38 and/or 29 that go into London.....

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Hi HBKid50, welcome to Websleuths. We're glad to have you here!


:welcome:


Were the farms on A.W. Wilson Road family farms or were the farms owned by a company? Did farmers ever hire folks to work on their farms?

The driving map that I had showed I-70 and US 42 route as the shortest route from the area where Kelly Ann Prosser was abducted to where her body was found. But you do have a very good point here that the suspect could have taken another route, such as SR 315 to I-270 to US 33.

Here's another possible route the suspect could have taken. How about the suspect taking the back roads in western Franklin County to get on the back roads in Madison County?

The suspect could have taken Scioto Darby Creek Road west of Hilliard and got on Price Hilliards Road in Madison County to get to US 42 and on to A.W. Wilson Road, or took Price Hilliards Road all the way to Lafayette Plain City Road and took Lafayette Plain City Road to reach A.W. Wilson Road.

The suspect could have taken the back roads rather than the main highways to avoid being pulled over by the police on the main highways.

Any of those routes are possible. The farms in the area especially back then would have been family ran. Id guess they may have employed a couple of workers/helpers but in no way were they big enough to be considered "corporate."

After studying this case, ive racked my brain trying to think of who might have had a connection with the campus area then that would have lived out that way. Granted I didn't even live in the area until 1986, but im drawing a blank.

HBKid50 said:

The farms in the area especially back then would have been family ran. Id guess they may have employed a couple of workers/helpers but in no way were they big enough to be considered "corporate."

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I live in a tiny town in Kentucky. There are large and small farms surrounding me. But most of the larger (I'm not talking huge) ones have trucks/etc with "Smith Farms (family name)," "Fairfield Farms" (I think that is actually one down the road), "Hidden Hollow Farms" or something of the like on them.

I guess that depends upon whether "incorporated" means "corporate" if the farm has a name. When I think of a "corporate" farm, I think of a giant chicken farm (with slaughterhouse/processing/etc on site). We mainly have tobacco, soybeans, cattle and the like in my area.

nerosleuth said:

I believe there is a possible explanation as to why the killer didn’t place Kelly’s body at a state park. I think the entrance gates to the state park are closed at night, and park rangers regularly patrol the state park at night. So the killer probably didn’t want to take a chance of getting caught and detained at night by a park ranger.

I may have some ideas why Kelly’s body was found at that location in a rural Madison County cornfield.

The area where Kelly’s body was found is in the northern part of Madison County and five miles south of Plain City. There are Amish and Mennonite families that live in that part of Madison County.

I do wonder if the metal bolt that was found in Kelly’s raincoat pocket could be some kind of a farm machinery bolt.

Not only are there family farmers living in that area, I believe there are also commercial farming operations in that area as well.

Keep in mind that Kelly’s raincoat was found in the middle of the rural road the day before her body was found in the cornfield.

I believe her killer wanted Kelly’s body to be found. I believe her killer could have a background in farming. Her killer knew that the corn stalks in the cornfield would soon be cut down by farm machinery after the fall harvest season was over.

It could be possible that her killer may have been employed at a commercial farming operation somewhere in that area.

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Maybe the bolt symbolizes were he did his last killing like "Detroit". The Oakland County Child Murders have a similar M/O the children being sexually assaulted with an object. The story about Allen and Frank and a Ohio connection is interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_County_Child_Killer Kelly was found fully clothed like the Oakland victims.

killer Chaser said:

Maybe the bolt symbolizes were he did his last killing like "Detroit". The Oakland County Child Murders have a similar M/O the children being sexually assaulted with an object. The story about Allen and Frank and a Ohio connection is interesting. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakland_County_Child_Killer Kelly was found fully clothed like the Oakland victims.

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April Tinsley was found clothed and a sex toy was found near her body. http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...-abducted-raped-and-killed-in-Fort-Wayne-1988

Here is the info regarding the nature of the sexual assault in the Kelly Ann Prosser case.

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on October 22, 1982, the Madison County Coroner revealed in the Kelly Ann Prosser autopsy report that marks from a blunt instrument were found in the anal area.

The Columbus Dispatch newspaper article did not say what kind of blunt instrument it was or if any blunt instrument or sex toy were found at the crime scene.

The coroner said that Kelly Ann Prosser was strangled and attributed the cause of death to a lack of oxygen to the brain. The coroner also said that marks around Kelly's neck indicated a rope or a piece of clothing was used to strangle her and that superficial bumps and bruises were found on Kelly's head and hands.