I am brand new here...this case is what brought me to WS. I live in Hilliard which is pretty close to GH. The maps and pictures you see from today look NOTHING like things did in 1971. Columbus and its suburbs have exploded as has the freeway system. I have some things on my mind with this:
1) 33( Dublin Rd, Riverside Dr) is very close to this area and at that time the probable route the abductor would have to go to get to Africa Rd. This is about 25-30 miles and at that time a much "quieter " drive than it would be now where that area and this area are booming. There wasn't even a close freeway access ramp to get to 71 at that time. Not sure what exit you would use off of 71 even to get to Africa but TODAY that is Polaris Pkwy and very developed area. When I was little we used to go to the zoo which is about halfway from here to Africa rd and it felt like eternity because NOTHING was around it and it was two lanes. The point is....the person that did this absolutely had a specific plan to hide this body in a place that was soon to be under water. The Alum Creek area was just about to be developed to water at that time and while that area had not yet been excavated it was certainly not populated but with a few sparse homes still left standing. VERY rural. This person knew exactly where they were going and knew of that tool shack and didn't just stumble upon it. It would be interesting to know that connection-- how they knew to go there....
2) There is not much I could hear at this point that would lead me to believe this is a random or a serial killer. 26 stab wounds is WAY over the top for a 12 year old boy. This was rage, anger, passion, personal. To convince me that some crime of opportunity happened and this poor boy was taken and then stabbed that many times just at random is very far fetched for me. Doesn't mean it isn't the case, but for me that doesn't seem plausible at all.
3) Play this scene out in your head...now try to explain how randomly a stranger was able to get Michael, a tennis racket, a bag with the rest of the balls and everything else all into the car if Michael doesn't know him/her. Let's think about this...he's 12...he can swing and fight back and although not strong, this makes him cumbersome being wiggly and moving. So, now add in that the stranger must have a weapon in one hand...somehow all this happens and he grabs all other belonging except ONE tennis ball? This is highly unlikely. Too many things with Michael for one person to grab and go like that brandishing a weapon.
4) If Michael was supposed to go swimming after the tennis practice, where are the swim shorts he would need to change into? He certainly isn't going swimming in a sweater and shorts? So were they in the bag? where did they end up? Did his mother bring his change of clothes? There are holes in the story with leaving a note. Why would he have to leave a note with his mother and was it noted that he usually did but didn't that day if his mother already knew to come pick him up at the tennis courts to go to swim club at 330? The note thing rings odd to me as does the fact that if he was just going to practice tennis at a municipal court( not country club) that everybody thought it completely acceptable he was wearing a sweater( possible vest) in 95 degree heat. You don't need to go dressed to hit a ball up against a wall for an hour and especially not in that heat. Are we for CERTAIN that is what he had on? Do the kids that saw him verify that? ( I wish we could see that interview with those neighbor kids).
5) I feel very strongly that the family absolutely had this person in their lives one way or another. This was someone well known to Michael and he got in the car with them for whatever reason. I don't think this person even had to say, " something happened to your dad" HOWEVER, this is obviously before cell phones and if Michael is expecting his mother to come get him at 330 he isn't getting in a car with someone before then without being able to tell his mom he won't be there, so this person had to know how to get around that by saying simply, " I am supposed to get you to the pool, your mom is running late..." or something along those lines. That, unfortunately, means this person is very close to the family possibly. This version to me is far more likely than a serial killer, or a random stranger with an opportunity. Those neighbor kids are the biggest source of information on this.
I did read somewhere on this thread that a neighbor that was a bit scary had commit suicide a few years later and I have often wondered if there is any connection there.
My heart breaks that this 12 year old boy hasn't received the justice he deserves.
100% agree with everything here! This case will haunt my for the rest of my life!
This was NOT some random stranger abduction. This was someone close to the family that was out to get revenge. Examples might be as I stated in an above post:
1.) Killer or Killer's family had a beef with the Klitch family that was severe. Killer's family or killer knew that Mike's Mom turned down killer's family member for a school board position. Or killer's family or killer, was rejected by Mike's Dad for a position at the club. Or Mike saw something that he wasn't supposed to see relating to the killer or killer's family and was killed to be silenced. Or Killer had a son who played in Mike's tennis tournaments, hated Mike winning all the time, and sought to
"get rid of him."
2.) This person knew EXACTLY what he/she was doing and had a plan, He/she was also likely from the Marble Cliff area. An area associated with high-income people, so probably had the means to pull off this horror. Get twenty five miles out of town, in his sick mind.
"Who's gonna know? I'll just tell my own family I'll be gone for a couple hours. " Killer thinking, "
Well, we will never had to deal with Mike Klitch anymore." This person really had
intense hate in his mind.
Some questions for Buckeye 1971:
Love the details of this post! It makes me think that Mike could have gone willingly and that the level of (false) trust was gained very quickly:
1.) Do you think conversation got violent right away? Like after getting Mike in the car? Or was there escalation to that point that turned violent?
2.) The closest accuracy I can find today is a relation to the tennis court pictures above, which are fairly recent according to Google.
3.) Mike's note, despite telling his mother that he planned to play tennis that day is confusing, unless it was just the time in the note that he wanted her to pick her up at the court.
4.) Who plays tennis in a long sweater in 95 degree heat? with potential heat indexes close to 100 degrees? His clothing choice needs further investigation. That's just weird.
5.) I used to think that maybe Mike was supposed to meet someone at the court and maybe they were supposed to go someplace. But than, I say no, cuz Mike was close to his family, and truthful, good student too, and would not have told his mother to pick him up after only ninety minutes of practice.
6.) Interview the kids with whom he talked to outside the church to see what they remember? You'll get a big lead in this case!
7.) A surveillance camera at the court could have likely solved this case!
Satch