Regarding #1 above, he has been identified by name and there has been extensive online coverage about him and all the reasons he must be guilty. There are photos of him that do bear a striking resemblance to the composite and he does have family ties to the remote area where the body was found. Beyond that there is a lot of information that paints him as a bit of an eccentric but nothing that suggest criminal inclination or sexual interest in young girls. And, there is nothing forensically linking him to the crime. There is also some false “facts” that enhance his online status as a suspect. He has actually been investigated by the FBI and while the FBI is reluctant to release information on an active investigation and will not officially “clear” anyone, they have made it clear that the investigation has moved on in “ different directions” and he appears to have been dropped as an active target of the investigation pretty quickly. He resides a long way from Ohio so he has managed to remain safe from any vigilante violence. Still, the situation is a good argument for not identifying people by name as suspect unless they have been identified but Law Enforcement.t
OH OH - Amy Mihaljevic, 10, Bay Village, 27 Oct 1989
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Sonny Crockett
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Recently heard about this extremely tragic AM cold case. Also saw the 2019 Dateline episode covering this. Several comments/observations:
It's heinous that the perp. tricked AM into thinking that they were going to get a gift for her Mother - and this is why she went with him. Sickening & reprehensible.
It was especially creepy/disturbing that the perp. had AM call her mother (possibly from a pay phone in a local mall/shopping center?!) at roughly the regular time she would call her @ work - to let her know everything was OK, etc. And, presumably, AM was typically @ home when she called her mom each day. However - given that this was in the days before Caller ID# became prevalent/established, I suspect that no phone # showed up on her mother's work phone - so she had no idea where AM was calling from. And - this unfortunately worked in the perp's favor.
There were several?! other girls in that area that were called by possibly the same perp. (who were interviewed on the Dateline show as adults, with their faces obscured for obvious reasons). One of them said that she remembered an unfamiliar car outside her house?! at roughly the same time that the call(s) came in. And, she thinks the perp. was possibly calling her - while stalking the house. However, I find it unlikely that the perp. was calling her home from his car ATT, given that this era was years before cell phones became popular/established. I.e., in the late '80's I heard about wealthy people having car phones (with a cord) and some people even had cell phones - but, this was definitely uncommon. And, IIRC these had a very limited range ATT. So, yes - this was possible, but IMHO wasn't that likely.
A big question regarding the case is obviously this: How did the perp. know the schedules of these kids?! He seemed to know when they would be home without supervision, etc. Extremely disturbing.
It's heinous that the perp. tricked AM into thinking that they were going to get a gift for her Mother - and this is why she went with him. Sickening & reprehensible.
It was especially creepy/disturbing that the perp. had AM call her mother (possibly from a pay phone in a local mall/shopping center?!) at roughly the regular time she would call her @ work - to let her know everything was OK, etc. And, presumably, AM was typically @ home when she called her mom each day. However - given that this was in the days before Caller ID# became prevalent/established, I suspect that no phone # showed up on her mother's work phone - so she had no idea where AM was calling from. And - this unfortunately worked in the perp's favor.
There were several?! other girls in that area that were called by possibly the same perp. (who were interviewed on the Dateline show as adults, with their faces obscured for obvious reasons). One of them said that she remembered an unfamiliar car outside her house?! at roughly the same time that the call(s) came in. And, she thinks the perp. was possibly calling her - while stalking the house. However, I find it unlikely that the perp. was calling her home from his car ATT, given that this era was years before cell phones became popular/established. I.e., in the late '80's I heard about wealthy people having car phones (with a cord) and some people even had cell phones - but, this was definitely uncommon. And, IIRC these had a very limited range ATT. So, yes - this was possible, but IMHO wasn't that likely.
A big question regarding the case is obviously this: How did the perp. know the schedules of these kids?! He seemed to know when they would be home without supervision, etc. Extremely disturbing.
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The perp probably lived or spent time in town. Most of the students walked to and from the Bay Middle School. In the afternoons, it was hard to miss all the kids walking home from the school or over to the shopping center.
steeltowngirl
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Amy calling home after she was abducted makes me think she knew the person she was meeting up with.
Amy apparently rode her bike to/from school (weather permitting) which was about 1.5 miles from her house. And according to her father she was riding to/from Holly Hill Farm almost every day "near the end" which was about 1.8 miles from the house.
It's a mystery that still haunts Northeast Ohio: Who killed 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic?Friday now marks 34 years since Amy disappeared from a Bay Village shopping center on Oct. 27, 1989. The fifth grader vanished after reportedly being lured to that location by a man who claimed to work with her mom, saying he wanted to help Amy in buying her mother a gift as she had recently been promoted at work.Her body was found months later in Ashland County.
VIDEO @ link..
Oct. 27, 2023
Facinatingtimes
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I always felt it was a horse stable curtain that was found. Amy wore boots and horse earrings (both taken). Did the suspect have a connection to Holly Hill or their own stable? Harold Bound was a suspect and lived on the HH property. His parents (owners) were also gone in Florida when Amy was abducted. It doesn’t mean it was him, but there was a reason he was suspect #1. I think it’s very possible this person had access to a horse stable of some sort which made it easy to lure her there.
That idea has been a real eye opener. The curtain looked so unusual to most people not involved in the horse world. Someone in a prior post said the quilting was done on a home quilting machine, the type that hobby quilters use. So, someone who had a place in the area where Amy’s body was found, who owned or boarded horses and who owned a quilting machine used to make stable curtains and possibly other accessories for hoses.
Jmoose
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He was suspect number one, because he was “weird”, and had some issues. He is no longer a suspect, and has not been for a loooong time. And full disclosure-Hollie Fettinger was my first riding instructor in the early 70’s, at Holly Hill Farm. And they didn’t use “stable curtains” there at Holly Hill.
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I always felt it was a horse stable curtain that was found. Amy wore boots and horse earrings (both taken). Did the suspect have a connection to Holly Hill or their own stable? Harold Bound was a suspect and lived on the HH property. His parents (owners) were also gone in Florida when Amy was abducted. It doesn’t mean it was him, but there was a reason he was suspect #1. I think it’s very possible this person had access to a horse stable of some sort which made it easy to lure her there.
I don’t think anyone is implying the curtains came from Holly Hill, but that whomever killed Amy also had or used another property where people kept horses. It’s also possible the killer worked at or visited other horse farms where he picked up the stable curtains.
The killer could have been someone who was friends with someone at Holly Hill Farm or did business with them. He could have been someone who was part of the local equestrian community who attended horse shows, auctions, competitions, etc. Someone who was in the background so to speak, but who was watching, listening, learning things. Someone who lived and or worked in that area north of Ashland, where Amy was found.
JMO
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Would the green curtain in question be suitable for a horse stall? Horse stable curtains look as if the are made of a different material - slicker. Even if the green curtain is a poly material, it still is quilted, lots of crevices to accumulate dust and grime.
Lots of them have a slight pattern and weren't like the material of today, but again the one in question was homemade. Most stall curtains were used for horse shows, races, contests.
JMO, this connection to Amy's horse riding lessons does narrow the profile of her killer.
- Some degree of association with local equestrian activities, shows, competitions, such as boarding or owning horses or doing business with people in that field. He had access to that used stall curtain. The students most likely traveled to competitive events in the area of northern Ohio, possibly farther.
- Privy to information about her mother's recent promotion at work, whether direct conversation or something overheard
- Somewhat familiar with Bay Village, whether living, working or visiting there
- Had access to names and personal contact information of Amy's family, particularly her mother. With that he could look up their phone number in the Bay Village directory, where parents listed the names of their children along with address and phone number.
- Familiarity with the area surrounding the location where Amy's body was left.
An internet search for 1989 revealed there were groups in the area, including Holly Hills/Avon Lake, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland, etc. It would be great to hear input from anyone involved in horse riding lessons from the area.
The top two items are key to the killer's profile. While not an absolute, its highly likely that any suspect has to meet the top two criteria. JMO, suspects who don't meet the top two qualifications probably can be ruled out.
It might help to check old newspaper stories about dressage competitions, etc. It's difficult to access newspaper archives in this area because the daily newspaper in Greater Cleveland isn't easily accessible online. If you have a library card, you can read some article online via the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
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