IN Evansville - "dickie" Kratzer - Killed In Intentional Hit-and-run 11/1981

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I came across this cold case from not too far from where I live while I was looking for something else. I'd never heard of it, but I was only two when it happened and it happened on the other side of the state and across the river.

The first story is from earlier this year. The second doesn't have a more specific date than a "©2010" at the bottom of the story.

Webb: Who killed Dickie Kratzer? 1981 Evansville hit-and-run remains unsolved
Courier & Press (Evansville, IN)
4/16/2018

On Nov. 12, 1981, 6-year-old Richard Eugene “Dickie” Kratzer was crossing Covert Avenue when a truck barreled toward him. According to witnesses, including his 7-year-old cousin who watched from across the street, Dickie tripped onto the pavement and couldn’t get up in time. The truck struck and killed him – and kept rumbling down the street.

Authorities released descriptions of the truck and driver based on eyewitness accounts. The vehicle was a 1963 or ’64 Ford adorned with a white camper shell and a driver’s-side mirror held on with a c-clamp. The driver was described as a bearded white man wearing a red shirt.

A few years ago, Mayhew told 14News he believed Dickie might have been intentionally run down. He said he had pinpointed a person of interest – an unnamed man jailed on molestation charges in Tennessee.

EPD has new info about 1981 hit and run death
WFIE-14 (Evansville, IN)
2010(?)

The accident was recorded as a hit and run accident, but an EPD detective now believes Clayton's son was killed intentionally.

Detective Tony Mayhew says a man was convicted of molesting the little boy weeks before he was killed. Now Mayhew is looking for clues that may finally solve the case.

Detective Mayhew believes his person of interest is still alive and in jail in Tennessee for other child molestation charges.