Greetings All,
There are two big mysteries that surround this case. Mike's special tennis ball found at the gate and the question remaining that Mike's clothes and shoes were found at a nearby dump site twenty-five miles or so out from the tennis courts. Hate to sound horrific, but why would Mike's abductor and killer char his body, but not burn the rest of the evidence? If they really wanted to remove themselves from this case? I could see the distance involved from the crime scene, and the horror of burning of the body to remove evidence. However, Mike's clothes and tennis racket were not destroyed. You wonder why?
I am assuming that the tennis courts where Mike was abducted are similar today compared to 1971. If Mike was taken by force, I was wondering how easily or not so easily a fight or screaming could be seen or heard? Maybe Mike did scream and try to run away, but was overpowered by someone much stronger and larger than he was. Sadly, it probably would not take that much of a struggle for a fully grown person with bad intentions to lure a young per-teenage kid away fairly quickly.
I am now thinking along the lines about how the heat may have influenced Mike leading to this horror. You figure that he spent at least forty minutes in that stifling heat. A good twenty minutes just to walk to the tennis courts, and he was outside at first talking to some kids near the church across the street. A good half-hour playing. One newspaper snippet I found on-line said he was alone.
I wonder how many tennis balls Mike took with him and the lingering thought that others have suggested. Barring the use of a ricochet wall, how does one play tennis alone, let alone with a heat index of nearly 100 degrees? Mike expanded tons of energy that day and his endurance had to be near collapse. I think he probably did not try to hop a train for thrills, but maybe he dropped his tennis ball left at the gate fully intending to return, went over to that woods just to find a shaded tree or a place to sit down to relax for twenty minutes or thereabouts. Somebody could have grabbed him by force and had a weapon at that time, or charmed him taking advantage of his obviously tired, and exhausted physical state. The kidnapper may have used that wooded area to shield himself from the horror that he planned. His activity would likely not be seen, and Mike's resistance if he could even resist, would not be likely to be seen or heard.
We need to find out if anyone in the Klitch family had enemies, especially any possibility of potential people who may have been resentful of Mike's Dad's success in tennis, both playing, and coaching. Or even Mike's success in not only tennis, but other athletes as well. It also appears that the Klitch's had money. Not super-rich I would say, but I know that Mike's sister Beth, and Jenny, forgive me, I cannot think of the name of the other female sibling, anybody know? The Klitch siblings all grew up playing tennis very religiously. Jenny Klitch was at one time rated at the US Open and Wimbledon back in the 80's. And in recent years, I read that Dick Klitch was still coaching and helping tennis players in the area.
You can't rule out the family's strong prominence in tennis to suspect the possibility that some nutcase would want to do something to a family member in a vengeful and sick way, just because they were angered at the father's, Mike's, or the family's success. It seems that even if you didn't know the Klitch's personally, if you grew up in that Ohio area, if not the Midwest, and maybe even other parts of the country as well, many outsiders probably knew the Klitch family name concerning their involvement in tennis.
Mike's Mother Joan was also a prominent school board member for years and in recent research, she is very involved in community activities in education. And she also as I understand chaired a local bridge club. Even when Mike was abducted, before anybody knew his tragic fate, there was an annoyances $5000 reward for his safe return. I believe that the donation was anonymous because the donor may have been concerned for his/her own safety. It is know the donor was a family friend. But Mike was kidnapped and later killed so I could see how they would not want personal information given out to the public.
What are your thoughts?
Satch
More thoughts,
A Google Search shows a Joan Klitch, listed as an attorney in the Columbus Ohio area, when I did a search a few weeks ago. If that is the same Joan Klitch who is Mike's Mother, it is unlikely that she would still be practicing law, as both of Mike's parents I believe are in there late 70's or early 80's. If she was an attorney at the time of Mike's abduction and murder, the families' strong financial status could indicate that someone out there was angered by the Klitchs' successes.
We know it is likely that Mike's kidnapper was familiar with the Columbus Ohio/Marble Cliff area, even within a 25 mile radius of the area. It is less likely that a complete stranger would have that kind of "cognitive" map of the area. Mike's killer obviously wanted to get out of the area and likely knew of the shack location, where his plan was to get all evidence out of town, so that this person would likely not be caught, or have any connection to the local area concerning the horror of what they did to Mike.
The mystery of why that special tennis ball would remain at the gate, or why Mike's clothes, shoes, and tennis racket were not burned, like his remains were, is one of the most baffling mysteries of this case. We do know that they were left at a "dump" site. Could the killer had planned to burn the other evidence, but got distracted with what he was doing? Quickly disposing of the tennis racket, Mike's shoes, and clothes, but with not enough time to destroy the evidence, as perhaps could have been the killer's original intention?
The stab-wounds to Mike's torso, I believe about twenty six of them, I remember reading, were jagged and half-hazard. As if they happened during a struggle, or were created amateurishly, in a possible revenge or frenzied typed of attack. I don't recall the wounds being "organized" or systematic in nature. Was there a fight between Mike and his killer leading to those types of wounds? Was Mike killed with little to no struggle by simply being over-powered or knocked out very quickly? I don't think this was a, for lack of being able to find better words, a "Professional" or "Ritualized" murder. I think this was a quick "Get out of the local area" type of killing by a local resident who, for reasons unknown, had a vendetta against Mike or the family.
The killer may not have even known Mike or the family personally, but may have know the local success of the family through community stories. Mike beating out somebody related to the killer in a tennis competition for example. Mike's Mother, if she was an attorney, getting a successful conviction against someone who sought revenge against the family or Mike by committing the horror of abduction and murder. Mike's father involved in sports and coaching may also have singled out someone in a negative way related to Mike's killer. (For example someone cut from a tennis team that Mike's Dad coached.) It could be that some sort of negativity was sensed by the killer that was seen as such an injustice and such an outrage, that Mike's killer sought the perfect time and place to kidnap and murder him.
With what little of the evidence there is, strategically placed around and outside of the Marble Cliff/Columbus Ohio community and the killer knowing where that shack was where Mike's body was found, along with Mike's family's athletic and monetary status, this case may be centered more on a cunning and false sense of trust by a local perpetrator, rather than some complete stranger. A stranger would not have that kind of familiarity with knowing where that abandoned shack was, about twenty five miles outside of town in relation to the tennis courts where Mike was last seen. Additionally, with Mike's apprehension of new situations and people, it would seem that he would have to be taken by force, if a stranger was involved. This abduction I think was more likely than not, someone that Mike knew, or at least the killer knew the family and for reasons unknown, the perpetrator sought to kill Mike over a revenge or vendetta type of situation.
Satch
