OH OH - Ricky Beard, 19 & Mary Leonard, 17, Akron, August 24, 1979

[Ohio Mysteries]

With the 40th anniversary of this teen sweethearts slaying approaching, these families deserve an answer.

Ricky and Mary disappeared after going to a drive-in theater in 1979. They were missing for 6 years until their remains were discovered in 1985. They had been shot multiple times, Mary had also been stabbed and beaten.

There have been a dozen theories in this case, but nothing that has stuck. Serial killer Ed Edwards lived in their neighborhood years before, but indications are he had moved before this.

We've set up a page at Ohio Mysteries. There are links to our podcast on this story, or just search for Ohio Mysteries on your favorite podcast app. It's a 2-part episode called Beard and Leonard, Waiting for Justice.

 

[Betty P]

Ricky and Mary grew up in the same area of north Akron. Ricky had just graduated high school the previous May and Mary was getting ready for her senior year. They had been dating 4 months.

On the night of Friday, Aug 24, 1979, they went out on a date to the Astro Drive In nearby in Cuyahoga Falls. After watching the feature movie that night, "Amityville Horror", they headed back to the Leonard home. They stopped at a nearby bowling alley parking lot to chat with friends. A short while later, a next door neighbor of the Leonards reported hearing the couple out on the front steps quietly laughing and talking.

The next morning, neither teen was at home. Before their parents could organize a search, police from nearby Cuyahoga Falls called to say they found Ricky's car halfway parked in an abandoned garage just a few miles from their home. In spite of a thorough search, their bodies wouldn't be found for another six years.

In 1985, a utility crew digging a trench on private property adjacent to a national park uncovered the bodies of Ricky and Mary. They were lying in thick undergrowth, down a narrow gravel road used as a "lovers lane" by local couples. They had been shot and stabbed, their bodies still wearing the same clothes they wore the night they disappeared.

Forty years later, police still have no solid suspect, though over the years a few theories have emerged. At one time, serial killer Edward Wayne Edwards was considered a suspect.

The Akron Beacon Journal published a series of articles about the case over the last 3 days.

40 years ago today, Akron teens on date vanished


Ohio Mysteries podcast series on the murders

1979: Waiting for justice - Beard and Leonard

 

[PayrollNerd]

This was a crime of passion & anger. Who was the dope dealer? Who wanted to date Mary and was jealous?

 

[Betty P]

This was a crime of passion & anger. Who was the dope dealer? Who wanted to date Mary and was jealous?

In the next couple of articles, they discuss some biker gangs in the area back then. Some were into dealing drugs, stealing motorcycles, etc. They don't have or won't name any specific people or gangs they suspect. It's vague references. In the last ABJ article, they discuss the theories. Officer Bob Swain did the most detailed re-investigation of the case. He reconstructed many files that were lost by re-interviewing a lot of people who worked the murders, discovery of the bodies and witnesses. JMO, he had the best theories.

Detectives explore 3 theories for Akron teens' unsolved murders

Besides the motorcycle gang, they also suspect someone they call "The Angry Homeowner". He was the eccentric, alcoholic guy who owned the property where their bodies were found. He was there the day the gas utility company was digging a trench on his property for a pipeline. He came down where they were working and became very agitated, threatening them every time the backhoe began digging. They had to call the police. The officer stuck around to make sure the homeowner didn't shoot the workers and that's when they dug up the bodies.

It was reported the homeowner then walked down to the police and confessed to the murder. They overlooked his confession because they thought he was crazy. Maybe not.

Other officers thought the kids were killed at the abandoned garage where Ricky's car was found. It was a place where police said motorcycle gangs hung out and partied.

There's also a theory that it was Edward Wayne Edwards, the serial killer who was from the Akron area. The MO fits for him, but before he died, when he confessed to another lover's lane murder of teens in the area in 1977, he insisted he didn't kill Ricky and Mary.

I'm leaning towards the Angry Homeowner because he acted suspiciously when they were digging and had threatened kids before who parked on his property. It would also explain why there haven't been many tips in the following years, since the guy was a recluse and wouldn't have told anyone else.

Hopefully, they'll get some tips.

 

[Betty P]

Here's a map to important locations:

Google Maps

Thayer St. is where Mary Leonard lived
Riverview Rd. is where the bodies were found and where many think the murders happened
Portage Trail (location now the Guardian Storage Co) is where Ricky's car was found in the abandoned

Looking at these locations strongly indicates it was someone who lived in that area.

If they were killed where their bodies were found, logistics are tricky for moving Ricky's car after the murder. Those who believe that think the killer could have walked to the bar next to the abandoned garage and gotten a ride from there.

But if they were killed at the Portage Trail Rd location, someone then had to drive the bodies to Riverview Rd to dump them. IIRC, there wasn't any blood in Ricky's car nor at the abandoned garage.

If it was Edwards, IDK. When he killed another couple on another lover's lane nearby in 1977, he left the victim's car there with their bodies. So, it makes sense that if someone moved the car from the murder site, it was because they didn't want the car to be seen on their property.

If it was a motorcycle gang, seems unlikely they would leave Ricky's car at the location where they sometimes had parties after hours. IDK.

The bar next to the abandoned garage is long gone. I think LE possibly didn't interview anyone there because they initially assumed the kids were killed at the garage by people who drove off with the bodies in their own car.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Several officers have pulled out the many binders of the Beard and Leonard case, trying to learn who did it, and why. They used every tool at their disposal, even going on a television show to ask psychics to weigh in on the mystery.

Many theories have been debated, though none seem to match all the evidence and witness statements, and none have the consensus of detectives and family members.

Still, three potential scenarios have risen to the top: the motorcycle gang, the angry homeowner and the serial killer.
Ohio Detectives Explore Theories for Teens' Unsolved Murders

 

[Fede]

Here is a podcast about the case: Ohio Mysteries: (1/3) Elusive Justice: The story of Ricky Beard and Mary Leonard. Part 1 - Missing

 

[Stella]

I think this is the same thing, only a different site. On here, it's a 3 part episode. Very well done series of Ohio what/who done its. From my listening to the Beard/Leonard podcast, it's sounds to me like the girl wasn't dragged but stomped on, to cause those injuries. Of the 3 theories as to the killer(s), I like the angry neighbor angle best.

Listen to Ohio Mysteries on TuneIn

 

[Mountain Mama]

New theory - rogue ranger(s). This double homicide has a lot in common with the Colonial Parkway murders that took place in Virginia. I recall reading on the Colonial Parkway boards that there were a number of park rangers who were working at Colonial NP during the parkway murders who worked at Shenandoah NP during the double homicide murders there. Would it be possible that any of those individuals worked at Cuyahoga NP in 1979? If so, is there more than one? Could there be a couple of rogue rangers?

 

[Betty P]

New theory - rogue ranger(s). This double homicide has a lot in common with the Colonial Parkway murders that took place in Virginia. I recall reading on the Colonial Parkway boards that there were a number of park rangers who were working at Colonial NP during the parkway murders who worked at Shenandoah NP during the double homicide murders there. Would it be possible that any of those individuals worked at Cuyahoga NP in 1979? If so, is there more than one? Could there be a couple of rogue rangers?

Not sure about 1979, but the ones here now are very nice, patient with hordes of visitors and very helpful. Many of them are women. Anything is possible, but the victims were on private property adjacent to the national park. The owner of the property still lived there,too.

 

[Beccalicious]

Bumping