OH OH - Amy Mihaljevic, 10, Bay Village, 27 Oct 1989

[Wilma_W]

The phone records were never checked? Or was that not a thing in 1989?

Per James Renner's book, the Bay Village detective told him that there were no records kept of local calls back then, only long distance (because local calls were free I guess).

 

[Betty P]

I wondered that too about a co-worker. The Trading Times would of had telemarketers working there, and these people get very good/comfortable talking on the phone, and they can whip up little sales pitches, and be very persuasive. Not to mention they would be speaking to a lot of children while calling homes all day long.

IIRC from previous news articles, everyone at work and friends were checked out. That would have been a top priority. As the latest documentary notes, her mom hadn't exactly had a promotion, but had moved from part-time to full-time. It could have just been a good guess by the killer. WRT making the phone calls to girls and interacting with Amy, I agree with LE in the docu and Renner that the killer was comfortable interacting with children, knew how to talk to them and somewhat gain their trust.

 

[SAMS]

I have a question for all of you more experienced at this. I ran across this case randomly today and I'm left feeling extremely uneasy because of the reports of odd phone calls made to other girls. In the late 80's I was an early elementary student just a few miles from there. I received multiple creepy phone calls from a man attempting to get info about me so he could tell me stories in which I was the main character (luckily my mom was nearby, heard this happening, and hung up on him). He once called and didn't really say much. When I became uncomfortable and attempted to pass him off to my mom he weirdly insisted I was the one he wanted to speak to. Creeped out, I hung up on him. He called back and became agitated when my mom picked up, yelling, "where did you go?!"

I have no idea if this information is at all relevant or useful, and I don't want to clog up any lines if it isn't, but I'm sitting here just feeling nauseated. That man was so creepy. I always assumed it was a random creeper, but the multiple phone calls sounded very targeted even at the time.

I read this thread just now and missed if anyone ever replied to this post? Wondering if you are still active on WS and if you ever reported this to LE?

 

[SquidFarts]

I read this thread just now and missed if anyone ever replied to this post? Wondering if you are still active on WS and if you ever reported this to LE?

I did! I called the FBI tipline and they totally brushed me off. But I did report. And I can see why, as I didn't have any information beyond what I posted. I couldn't even tell the year, just my approximate age.

 

[SAMS]

I did! I called the FBI tipline and they totally brushed me off. But I did report. And I can see why, as I didn't have any information beyond what I posted. I couldn't even tell the year, just my approximate age.

Ty for responding!
Unbelievable. So many things that are brushed off by LE could be game changers for these cases. Perhaps contact James Renner since he wrote the book and seems to have an ongoing relationship with the FBI on this case. Maybe sharing with him will help get their attention? MOO

 

[YESorNO]

Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped in 1989, and police are still searching for her killer
Case remains unsolved despite new leads

Feb 08, 2019

"BAY VILLAGE, Ohio — Nearly three decades ago, Amy Mihaljevic, a young girl from Bay Village, received a phone call that would lead to one of Northeast Ohio’s most high-profile kidnapping and murder investigations. Friday, Feb. 8, marks the 29th anniversary of when her body was found....

In the years since Amy first disappeared, investigators have received more than 20,000 tips, conducted tens of thousands of interviews and spent thousands of hours combing over every detail. Authorities are still actively involved and waiting for the moment the case will break.

Amy In The Media

Beyond the hundreds of news articles and television spots, Amy's case has been featured in two podcasts and multiple documentaries.

Six years ago, Transition Studios made a Crime Stoppers Case Files documentary with the latest updates from the case.

You can watch the documentary in the player below:...."

29 years after Amy Mihaljevic was found, killer still loose

 

[YESorNO]

Renewed push to find person who killed Amy Mihaljevic

FEBRUARY 8, 2019

"BAY VILLAGE, Ohio -- Twenty-nine years to the day after Amy Mihaljevic’s body was found, authorities are hoping new advancements in DNA technology may soon bring them closer to identifying her killer.

Bay Village police are confirming that DNA from more then one source was found on Amy when the little girl’s body was recovered from a remote field in Ashland County on February 8, 1990.

“We have DNA that cannot be attributed to Amy or her family,” says Bay Village Police Chief Mark Spaetzel.

The DNA is limited, and is not a complete profile of any one person. It is also not the type of DNA that is used in the nationwide criminal database.

That type of DNA, known as “nuclear DNA” is more exacting.

The other type of DNA, known as “mitochondrial DNA”, is what was found on Amy’s body from sources other then her family.

“There’s no mitochondrial database to insert our DNA into to see what it will match up against,” says Chief Spaetzel.

“You need nuclear DNA to really identify somebody,” says Dr. Fredrick Schumacher, a statistical geneticist at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine.

“Mitochondrial DNA,” he adds, “can really eliminate an individual (as a suspect).”

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t hope for the future.

“We may get to an identification of an individual off of mitochondrial DNA,” Dr. Schumacher says, “if you look at the current literature, there are some groups arguing that’s possible. It’ll just be awhile before that can be confirmed.”..."

Renewed push to find person who killed Amy Mihaljevic
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Wilma_W]

James Renner's website Finding Amy's Killer has a new post on the DNA news:

Finding Amy's Killer: The DNA and What It means

They have 3 hairs which were found with Amy that are all from different people:

"Three hairs were found on or near Amy's body when it was recovered in February 1990. One on her body. One on her sweatpants. One on her underwear.
- Each hair is from a different person. "

Then he talks about the haplogroups of each person - very interesting.

"The haplogroups of the three hairs are:

1. Hair from body - H2a2a
2. Hair from sweatpants - H1cf
3. Hair from panties - H1a1

These are all from white Europeans. "

I have so many questions. Even though the information they have now can't positively identify a person, it can be used to eliminate suspects, so I hope we can find out which of the known suspects or persons of interest have been eliminated!

 

[Ibiz]

Frankly, I have suspicions that this whole "Telephone Man" bit, could have been a big rabbit hole. I also have doubts as to whether it was even Amy who made the afternoon phone call to her mother's work. I know she left her bicycle at the school,, but I do believe their could have been other reasons for that.

Amy's brother said he had a coupon for a free ice cream, but he didn't want to go to the ice cream shop for fear of getting picked on by some other kids that were there at the time.

I believe it's possible that Amy got into somesort of altercation with some older kids, and at least one of these kids had access to a vehicle.

As far as the other girls that claimed to have received calls from the mysterious "Telephone Man," I think that's pretty common place when you send out hundreds of letters asking; of course their will be responses.

 

[Betty P]

James Renner's website Finding Amy's Killer has a new post on the DNA news:

Finding Amy's Killer: The DNA and What It means

They have 3 hairs which were found with Amy that are all from different people:

"Three hairs were found on or near Amy's body when it was recovered in February 1990. One on her body. One on her sweatpants. One on her underwear.
- Each hair is from a different person. "

Then he talks about the haplogroups of each person - very interesting.

"The haplogroups of the three hairs are:

1. Hair from body - H2a2a
2. Hair from sweatpants - H1cf
3. Hair from panties - H1a1

These are all from white Europeans. "

I have so many questions. Even though the information they have now can't positively identify a person, it can be used to eliminate suspects, so I hope we can find out which of the known suspects or persons of interest have been eliminated!

I'll try to look into this. On Ancestry.com, I don't think it's possible to do searches based on ID's from haplogroups.

 

[Betty P]

30 years later: New DNA evidence surfaces in Amy Mihaljevic case

29 years after Amy Mihaljevic was found, killer still loose

 

[Betty P]

Reading the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, I came across this news photo that reminded me of the avocado green curtain found with Amy. LE has probably considered this, but I've always thought the unusually long curtain might have been made to fit a window in one of those turn of the century farmhouses you see when driving through that area where her body was found.

The house in this photo (not implying a perp lived here at all) is a good example of the tall windows and, looking inside the high ceilings in those old homes. That curtain would have fit that kind of home.

Pittsfield Twp. home likely a 'total loss' following fire (UPDATED)

There are many in the area if you do a search on most real estate sites specifying this area and houses built between 1850 and 1920. Most have the high ceilings and tall windows. Link below is a typical room in that era home showing how standard length curtains/drapes don't cover the full window or reach the floor.

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/p_f/ISu8iglq66dop60000000000.jpg

Those are drafty old houses, and a homeowner may have sewed up their own insulated, custom drapes that would cover the whole window and keep drafts out.




Many are located on farms, set back from the road and away from neighboring properties. They also usually have barns and outbuildings. Just brainstorming.

 

[Falling Down]

Reading the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram, I came across this news photo that reminded me of the avocado green curtain found with Amy. LE has probably considered this, but I've always thought the unusually long curtain might have been made to fit a window in one of those turn of the century farmhouses you see when driving through that area where her body was found.

The house in this photo (not implying a perp lived here at all) is a good example of the tall windows and, looking inside the high ceilings in those old homes. That curtain would have fit that kind of home.

Pittsfield Twp. home likely a 'total loss' following fire (UPDATED)

There are many in the area if you do a search on most real estate sites specifying this area and houses built between 1850 and 1920. Most have the high ceilings and tall windows. Link below is a typical room in that era home showing how standard length curtains/drapes don't cover the full window or reach the floor.

https://photos.zillowstatic.com/p_f/ISu8iglq66dop60000000000.jpg

Those are drafty old houses, and a homeowner may have sewed up their own insulated, custom drapes that would cover the whole window and keep drafts out.




Many are located on farms, set back from the road and away from neighboring properties. They also usually have barns and outbuildings. Just brainstorming.

You bring up a great point. A friend owned a house built around 1890 in Pulaski, a hamlet along U.S. 127 near Bryan, OH, some years ago. It had those windows, in fact when the previous owner had new windows put in before selling the house they had to be custom made, nobody makes them commercially/mass produced. Which makes me wonder about curtains, the windows were tall and narrow, and the ceilings in those homes are 9 feet tall.

MOO

 

[dotr]

May 1 2019
Is pedophile ring behind Amy Mihaljevic murder?
"ASHLAND -- Three different hairs were found on 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic’s body when it was discovered in Ashland County over three decades ago.

Mihaljevic was a 10-year-old elementary school student who was kidnapped from a Bay Village shopping center on Oct. 27, 1989. Her body was discovered in a remote field of Ruggles Township in Ashland County on Feb. 8, 1990. The notorious case, which has received national attention over the years, has never been solved.

Traditionally, the suspect list has been linked to one abductor. But new findings could point to multiple assailants, and perhaps a connection to a pedophile ring in Michigan.

During Richland Source's new true crime podcast, “Chalk Murder to Me,” Mihaljevic investigator James Renner, expanded on that theory."

"An old acquaintance of Lamborgine told police about a pedophile ring they had both been a part of, and the informant thought Lamborine was involved in the most famous unsolved serial case in Michigan’s history, the Oakland County Child Killer.

A serial killer was suspected in four graphic child murders around Detroit.

“In the late ‘70s, somebody was abducting kids that were about 10 years old, 11, 12, two of them were boys, two of them were girls, and that has been definitively linked to this ring of pedophiles and creepy men that were operating out of a bicycle shop basement. And they would take these kids and do awful things to them. One of these guys was named Ted Lamborgine. He’s in prison right now up in Michigan for his role in these crimes,” Renner said on the podcast.

Renner believes he can link Lamborgine to his two top suspects in the Mihaljevic case, as they all frequented an adult bookstore in the Brookpark area."

 

[jaejae]

I will give Amy's case a bump with a Podcast about the case recently posted on You Tube:

 

[:+:MrTT:+:]

not sure if the curtain is still relevant, will watch some of the newer videos later. But on this curtain, if you zoom in there are numbers at the top left corner. I am wondering if these are actual numbers on the curtain, or some kind of LEO stamp as far as evidence. Anyone know?...Or perhaps there not really there, just my mind seeing things.

 

[Tony1902]

Are those H haplogroups actually mtDNA? As in a Clan Helena? That also can suggest a Southern European origin.

 

[dotr]

not sure if the curtain is still relevant, will watch some of the newer videos later. But on this curtain, if you zoom in there are numbers at the top left corner. I am wondering if these are actual numbers on the curtain, or some kind of LEO stamp as far as evidence. Anyone know?...Or perhaps there not really there, just my mind seeing things.

Also seeing what you are seeing regarding numbers on the upper left side of the curtain, unsure if it is an LE or photographer's mark of some kind, or ??
imo.

 

[jb9672]

maybe her case has ties to the case with all them kids that turned up dead in mi? because some wheres I was reading and it said some thing about that guy bush would call ppls house and try and get kids to met up with him if I find the link where I had read that at I will post it but well just some think I was just thinking about after I read the story.

 

[dotr]

maybe her case has ties to the case with all them kids that turned up dead in mi? because some wheres I was reading and it said some thing about that guy bush would call ppls house and try and get kids to met up with him if I find the link where I had read that at I will post it but well just some think I was just thinking about after I read the story.

Welcome to Ws!
This one?
2012 rbbm.
New doubts raised about '70s child killings in Mich.
"DETROIT -- Since the mid-1970s, the disturbing abduction murders of four Michigan children have been attributed to an unknown killer — but Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper isn't convinced all four cases are connected."

"We don't know if it was one killer or two, operating in tandem, or not," Cooper said recently in a wide-ranging interview about newly released documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press under the Freedom of Information Act. "We just don't know. It will be science that will solve these cases."