GUILTY OH - Gustave Sapharas, 75, arrested for the 1970 & 1975 Cold case murders, Tallmadge, 10 Sep 2019

[imstilla.grandma]

In July, a Summit County grand jury secretly indicted Sapharas on charges of kidnapping, aggravated murder, murder, attempted rape, and maiming or disfiguring another. Recently, the indictment was unsealed and on Monday, Sapharas' bond was set at $5 million.

According to the indictment, Sapharas was accused of murder in the first and second degree, maiming or disfiguring another, and aggravated murder in April 1970. The indictment shows Sapharas is also accused of murder, kidnapping, and attempted rape in September 1975.

Tallmadge Police Chief Ronald Williams identified the victims as 18-year-old Karen L. Bentz, of Akron, and 21-year-old Loretta J. Davis, of Portage County.

"We knew of those cases, but we couldn't introduce them. He hadn't been convicted of them and he didn't take the stand," Hayes said. "Had he taken the stand, we could've asked him about a lot of things."

Hayes said he didn't have any information to indicate Sapharas could be connected to any other cold cases in central Ohio, but indicated the cases in Summit County have stronger evidence.
Acquitted of murder in Licking County, man now facing charges in Summit County deaths

 

[JerseyGirl]

Jury trial begins for 78-year-old man accused of killing 2 Tallmadge women in the 1970s

Gustave Sapharas was arrested at his Jackson Township home by Tallmadge police on Sept. 6, 2019.

www.cleveland19.com

The jury trial for a 78-year-old Stark County man arrested in 2019 for the murders of two women in the 1970′s began in Summit County Court of Common Pleas Wednesday.

According to Tallmadge police, Sapharas stabbed Karen Bentz, 18, to death on Indian Hills Drive in Tallmadge on April 28, 1970.

The second victim, Loretta Jean Davis, 20, was found on September 28, 1975 on Congress Lake Road in Portage County.

 

[dotr]

March 17 2023

Murder conviction: 50 years after death of 2 local women

TALLMADGE, Ohio (WJW) – Almost 50 years after the crimes were committed, a 78-year-old man has now been convicted in two cold case murders that took place in Tallmadge in the 1970s. According…

fox8.com

rbbm
''TALLMADGE, Ohio (WJW) – Almost 50 years after the crimes were committed, a 78-year-old man has now been convicted in two cold case murders that took place in Tallmadge in the 1970s.

According to the Tallmadge Police Department Facebook page, the conviction of Gustave “Gus” Sapharas, 78, “is one of the proudest moments in TPD history and most likely the greatest individual achievement as well.”

''Sapharas will be sentenced on April 4. He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.''

Trial in 1991 killing in Licking County starts Tuesday

NEWARK — A trial is set to start Tuesday for a North Canton man accused of killing a Columbus woman more than 25 years ago. Gustave Sapharas, 73, faces charges of murder and aggravated murder after…

www.dispatch.com

Gustave Sapharas​

 

[Betty P]

Great work by the Tallmadge PD for following up and finding this creep. According to the article above, he will be sentenced April 4.

According to police, Karen Bentz, 18, left her parent’s home in Akron on the night of April 28, 1970, and her body was recovered the next morning on Indian Hills in Tallmadge.

Loretta Jean Davis, 20, was last seen in a car with a man in Tallmadge on September 28, 1975, and her body was recovered the next morning in Suffield along Congress Lake Road.

Both victims had been stabbed in the chest and dumped.

Police told FOX 8, Bentz had been stabbed at least a dozen times and, according to an indictment, Bentz’s body was badly disfigured, suggesting she was tortured before she died.

 

[dotr]

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