OH OH - Amy Mihaljevic, 10, Bay Village, 27 Oct 1989

[mothwings]

I think you hit on a reason. At that point she may have been afraid she had made a mistake in going with this man, but still thought she could deal with it. Either she thought she could get out of it, or she was truly afraid by then.

Who Killed Amy?

Timeline

3:00 pm
Amy last seen by others at Bay Square Shopping Center

3:14 pm
Amy's brother called his mom at work to tell her Amy was not home. Mom thought she might have a meeting after school and told him to call back if she wasn't home

3:30 pm
Amy's brother called mom again and said she still wasn't home. Mom is a little suspicious and starts getting her things together to go home

3:40 pm
Amy calls her mom from payphone. Mom thinks she's calling from home. Brief conversation, Amy only gave one word answers. Robert Ressler says killer was right there, knew he had to make her call. More complicated, personal and well planned than most child abductions.

Approx 4:00 pm
Mom is still suspicious, packs up and goes home

4:30 pm
After arriving home, mom searches the house and gets back in her car to start looking for Amy. Sees her bike abandoned at the Middle School. Drives a few blocks to the Bay police station, reports her missing. Bay officers pick up on it and start investigating

5:14 pm
Bay PD issues first bulletin to other PD's in the area with description of Amy, telling them they think she's been abducted - Westlake, Rocky River, Fairview Park, Avon Lake. (JMO, he may have taken her to Great Northern Mall in North Olmsted, south of Bay).

6:00 pm
Amy's dad arrives home from business trip, learns Amy is missing, goes to police station. Meets with officers and FBI, begin search

7:00 pm
Massive search begins. Amy's dad goes with a large group of officers to Cahoon Creek, near the Middle School, and walks it all the way to Lake Erie, searching for Amy along the way.


It all happened very fast, but the killer had a plan. He had figured it all out.

Thank you for this timeline.

 

[SAMS]

Delete

 

[MissLaura]

Finally, some news!!!

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...Exdld60ukLl-Uh7qoLwv97wVPf0ev8t1nWfZrTL-gT0qI

 

[MadMcGoo]

Interesting. I hope this leads to something!

 

[Betty P]

Wow, just Wow.

I can't believe the prosecutor's office has been sitting on this for nearly 2 years now.

BVPD needs to get someone experienced to find this guy and interrogate him in a way that he tells the full truth. An experienced interrogator can do that in a very safe, low key way.

According to court records, those included that 1989 and 1990 was a “dark period” in his life, and that the man indicated that he may have met Amy’s mother, Margaret, in a bar.

"The detective wrote that when asked if he ever called Amy Mihaljevic prior to her abduction, the man answered, “ I could have” and that “it could have been a wrong number.”

Police said when they asked the man if Amy was in his car he said “I don’t believe so,” but when they asked again if it was possible, they said the man said “okay, but I don’t know what the situation would have been.”

The detective said the man agreed it was possible that his DNA would be on a curtain found near Amy’s body, but said “I did not put it there,” and that his DNA would be on Amy’s body “if somebody planted it on her.”

Investigators said the man agreed to a DNA swab and a polygraph test.

Police said the results of the polygraph test were “deception indicated.”

The man's girlfriend at the time called and reported her suspicions to police in 2019. The man owned the same type of car with upholstery that nught have matched fibers found on Amy. He admitted his DNA might be on the curtain found with her body.

The man's appearance in 1989 was consistent with the sketch drawn of the suspect from witness descriptions.

He failed a poly. He lived a mile and a half from where Amy went missing. He had children in the same grade and school as Amy.

Witnesses placed him in the area where Amy's body was discovered on the day she went missing.


"In the affidavit, investigators said in May 2020 two witnesses who saw Mihaljevic talking with a man at the shopping center the day of her abduction, picked the man in question’s picture out of photo line-ups as the person they recalled seeing Amy Mihaljevic talking to the day she was last seen alive."

All of this happened in October 2019 and the police still haven't arrested the man!

 

[Betty P]

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...mihaljevic-prior-to-her-disappearance-in-1989

According to police, the woman told investigators that the man said his niece and brother’s family knew Amy. In fact, police said the man’s niece was the same age and in the same grade as Amy.

According to court records, the woman told police she “also believed she recalled [the man] telling her he himself knew Amy Mihaljevic.”

These documents were filed in Cuyahoga County Criminal Div of Court of Common Pleas. I hope this means the prosecutor is convening a grand jury to review the evidence. It sounds like there's quite a bit of evidence, including some record of the suspect's car traveling through the intersection nearby around the time Amy's body was discovered.

 

[Dot#5t]

BVPD needs to get someone experienced to find this guy and interrogate him in a way that he tells the full truth. An experienced interrogator can do that in a very safe, low key way.

We need to bring in retired Lt. Joe Kenda! I am nervous that this new suspect is a flight risk. I wasn’t happy to read that the reporters from Channel 5 tried to call and text the new suspect- I worry it will trigger him to run. -MOO

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Finally, some news!!!

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...Exdld60ukLl-Uh7qoLwv97wVPf0ev8t1nWfZrTL-gT0qI

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...mihaljevic-prior-to-her-disappearance-in-1989



These documents were filed in Cuyahoga County Criminal Div of Court of Common Pleas. I hope this means the prosecutor is convening a grand jury to review the evidence. It sounds like there's quite a bit of evidence, including some record of the suspect's car traveling through the intersection nearby around the time Amy's body was discovered.

I hope so. I think what happened here is akin to what happens sometimes if you've ever watched Cold Justice. BVPD identified this suspect, put together a case based on probable cause to charge, and the prosecutor says I want you to give me just a little more. I think they've been trying to do that. And now maybe they're hoping that might develop through a new witness realizing they have information that is significant.

 

[Kell1]

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...mihaljevic-prior-to-her-disappearance-in-1989



These documents were filed in Cuyahoga County Criminal Div of Court of Common Pleas. I hope this means the prosecutor is convening a grand jury to review the evidence. It sounds like there's quite a bit of evidence, including some record of the suspect's car traveling through the intersection nearby around the time Amy's body was discovered.

Remember the profile of these types doesnt sway as wide as it does for other killer types

this individual seems to fit it, plus his statements are interesting

 

[TravelingBug]

I JUST finished the Amy Should be 40 podcast yesterday and came to find this thread again.

It seems like I picked a good week to listen...actual possible news in the case.

Ironically, I started the Amy one this week because I had just finished the Your Own Backyard one on Kristin Smart on Tuesday and the Amy one came up in the suggestions. And there's possible news in that case today now also!

I picked a good week to start listening to older crime podcasts!

 

[Betty P]

Remember the profile of these types doesnt sway as wide as it does for other killer types

this individual seems to fit it, plus his statements are interesting

Thanks, Kell1. I was hoping you would drop in and share what you think.

The first article says he lived within a mile and a half of the place where he kidnapped Amy, so it sounds local to Bay Village. It sounds like he continues to live in the general area, but now living in his car. If he's to be believed, his brother & family also lived there.

 

[Kell1]

Thanks, Kell1. I was hoping you would drop in and share what you think.

The first article says he lived within a mile and a half of the place where he kidnapped Amy, so it sounds local to Bay Village. It sounds like he continues to live in the general area, but now living in his car. If he's to be believed, his brother & family also lived there.

My earlier post on this still holds what i feel to be true, if you go back a few pages .

 

[Jmoose]

Wow, just Wow.

I can't believe the prosecutor's office has been sitting on this for nearly 2 years now.

BVPD needs to get someone experienced to find this guy and interrogate him in a way that he tells the full truth. An experienced interrogator can do that in a very safe, low key way.

According to court records, those included that 1989 and 1990 was a “dark period” in his life, and that the man indicated that he may have met Amy’s mother, Margaret, in a bar.

"The detective wrote that when asked if he ever called Amy Mihaljevic prior to her abduction, the man answered, “ I could have” and that “it could have been a wrong number.”

Police said when they asked the man if Amy was in his car he said “I don’t believe so,” but when they asked again if it was possible, they said the man said “okay, but I don’t know what the situation would have been.”

The detective said the man agreed it was possible that his DNA would be on a curtain found near Amy’s body, but said “I did not put it there,” and that his DNA would be on Amy’s body “if somebody planted it on her.”

Investigators said the man agreed to a DNA swab and a polygraph test.

Police said the results of the polygraph test were “deception indicated.”

The man's girlfriend at the time called and reported her suspicions to police in 2019. The man owned the same type of car with upholstery that nught have matched fibers found on Amy. He admitted his DNA might be on the curtain found with her body.

The man's appearance in 1989 was consistent with the sketch drawn of the suspect from witness descriptions.

He failed a poly. He lived a mile and a half from where Amy went missing. He had children in the same grade and school as Amy.

Witnesses placed him in the area where Amy's body was discovered on the day she went missing.


"In the affidavit, investigators said in May 2020 two witnesses who saw Mihaljevic talking with a man at the shopping center the day of her abduction, picked the man in question’s picture out of photo line-ups as the person they recalled seeing Amy Mihaljevic talking to the day she was last seen alive."

All of this happened in October 2019 and the police still haven't arrested the man!

Where does it say that the man had children in Amy’s school and grade?

 

[BethAnn777]

Where does it say that the man had children in Amy’s school and grade?

Everything I have found says the man had a niece in the same grade as Amy. I haven’t read anywhere that his niece attended the same school as Amy.

...In the affidavit, police said the man worked in Bay Village at the time and had family living there, including a niece in the same grade as Mihaljevic.

From: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...pments-in-amy-mihaljevic-murder-investigation

Was there only one elementary school in Bay Village at the time? If so, I guess it would have been implied that Amy and the niece attended the same school.

 

[BethAnn777]

Where does it say that the man had children in Amy’s school and grade?

Everything I have found says the man had a niece in the same grade as Amy. I haven’t read anywhere that his niece attended the same school as Amy.

...In the affidavit, police said the man worked in Bay Village at the time and had family living there, including a niece in the same grade as Mihaljevic.

From: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...pments-in-amy-mihaljevic-murder-investigation

Was there only one elementary school in Bay Village at the time? If so, I guess it would have been implied that Amy and the niece attended the same school.

 

[Betty P]

Everything I have found says the man had a niece in the same grade as Amy. I haven’t read anywhere that his niece attended the same school as Amy.

...In the affidavit, police said the man worked in Bay Village at the time and had family living there, including a niece in the same grade as Mihaljevic.

From: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news...pments-in-amy-mihaljevic-murder-investigation

Was there only one elementary school in Bay Village at the time? If so, I guess it would have been implied that Amy and the niece attended the same school.

Yes,Amy was in Middle School in Bay Village. There was only one middle school there. Its a fairly smallish town.

The article also states the man lived within a mile or so from the place where Amy was kidnapped. That makes it a strong likelihood he lived in the town then.

...a sworn affidavit from a Bay Village detective, the woman told police at the time of Amy’s disappearance, the man and his former girlfriend lived less than a mile and a half from the shopping center where Mihaljevic was last seen alive talking to an unidentified man.

 

[Catmommy]

This is actually pretty exciting. The mystery of this poor baby's disappearance and death may be close to being solved at last. Let's put our energies toward supporting the work that has made this possible. Justice for Amy however long it takes.

 

[Joedudester]

Facts as I know them, The person knew enough about the family to convince Amy to meet him (phone #, mom's work, her name, etc.) he knew the area and was not worried about the police sta. being across the street or that she may see friends from school there that may connect them, parked away from being seen by people who would have seen his car as they entered, knew enough to have her call her mom to put her at ease to give him time to get away (maybe asked what she told her family why she might be late so he knew if he needed to buy time by calling the mom) called from somewhere mom would not question (quiet, not a payphone buy a busy street because mom thought she was home) The person knew the area the body was found and left the body where it would be found meaning he wanted her to be found, he could have buried her in a forest where she may have never been found. He kept her body where she was not affected by bugs but the body was there in the field long enough to have weeds growing under her so the Jan. & Feb. cold kept bugs away but the late Oct. and Nov. may have had bugs that would tell more also police know how long it takes certain weeds to grow and at what rate they grow so they so have an idea of how long she had been there. The place where she was kept and murdered is somewhere he would have had the most comfort at to be able to do what he wanted without interruption or discovery so he may have had a place near where Amy was found. Bay Village to Ashland is a good distance from one another, so someone with a connection to both areas or at least frequented both areas would be of great interest. The murderer was someone that did not look out of place in either area so he would have been comfortable in both areas and may have been known to people both areas but no one came forward to say so and so lives in Bay or Ashland and works in either area, so you may ask are the people in Ashland that far apart that no one knows their neighbors?

 

[jgfitzge]

Does anyone know what type of work or occupation this person of interest was engaged in 1989. I have always been intrigued by the fact that he could easily show up in the middle of a Friday afternoon Back in 1989 it was rare to be working remotely from home. IMO, I wasn’t seeing a lot of folks working remotely ( depending on your field) until early 2000s.

 

[kemo]

As I understand it, in early 2019, a woman came forward and claimed that on the afternoon and evening of October 27, 1989 in Bay Village Ohio, her boyfriend at he time was unavailable without explanation. At around 10:00PM, he called and along with whatever explanation he offered for his absence, he asked her if she had heard about the missing girl. This report, 30 years after the fact, could have been dismissed as one of the thousands of worthless “leads” but a cursory review of the facts turned up something potentially very significant. At the time Amy’s body was found, the FBI recorded the Tag Number of every car that passed through the intersection closest to the crime scene. (presumably on the theory that the perpetrator might want to check out what was going on). This guy owned a vehicle that passed through that intersection that day. It was 58 miles from his home. The car was a gold Oldsmobile. In addition, the fibers found on Amy’s body were consistent with the make and model of that vehicle and it fit the description of a vehicle seen near the scene of the abduction. This guy lived in the Bay Village area and had children around the age of Amy.

As compelling as this all seems, it isn’t a rock-solid case. The evidence is strictly circumstantial. The guy has no history of crimes against children and a search of his storage locker has turned up nothing. He has, of course, denied everything although he did apparently fail the polygraph. The big weakness with the case is DNA. Three human hair belonging to three individuals who are not related to Amy were found on her body. Normally only Mitochondrial DNA is found in hair. M-DNA is passed down through the female line so the thousands of people distantly related to some woman who died centuries ago can have the identical M-DNA. Unlike Familiar DNA, is not absolute proof of who the donor was and it can’t be used for genetic genealogy. If someone is otherwise implicated in a crime, it can be very strong supporting evidence. In this case however, none of the hairs match this suspect. This doesn’t prove he is innocent; the hairs may have come from some casual contact unrelated to the crime but, at trial, the defense attorney is sure to argue that someone who was with and close enough to kill her should have left some hair. It could very well be enough for an acquittal.

The DA may take it to a Grand Jury to see how they rate the evidence. In the meantime, they are hoping to find more evidence. They have not released the guy’s name but they have put out enough information so that people who know him will recognize him and , hopefully come in with more information. We will have to see how it plays out. I don’t have a real strong feeling about this one way or they other but it certainly merits further investigation.