Columbus Dispatch Thursday August 28, 1975
Police Check Shorts For Blood Traces
In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Thursday August 28, 1975, the article reported that detectives had found two or three cutoff shorts belonging to the mentally handicapped man and were planning to have then checked for bloodstains.
Police revealed that several north side girls told police they had received similar prank phone calls in the late part of the previous week.
The girls reportedly took the path to the woods to the rear of the store that the caller instructed. Carol went inside the store to check on the time. When Carol came back out from the store, Christie was gone. Carol thought Christie had gone on home and Carol then returned to her own home.
It was during the few minutes that the killer grabbed Christie onto the woods about 300 yards from the store and tried to rape her. Police said that it wasnt certain that the victim was raped, but the mentally handicapped man told police he had raped the victim.
Christies underwear was still on but her halter top was pulled down to her waist. Police said that Christie struggled with the suspect and police believe the suspect picked up a two foot long two-by-four board and clubbed the victim five times on her head and face.
The mentally handicapped man was unclear what happened after the murder but thought he rode the public transit bus back to downtown Columbus.
Police were reportedly looking for the bus driver who might have seen the killer.