OH OH - Lynn Vest, 23, & Jeremy Pickens, 2, Columbus, 12 Nov 1980

[dotr]

January 23, 2026 rbbm

Cold case breakthrough: suspect identified in Columbus 1980 murder of woman and 2-year-old

After over 45 years of uncertainty, the families of Lynn Vest and her 2-year-old nephew, Jeremy Pickens, finally have answers.

abc6onyourside.com

'The pair disappeared in November 1980 after going out to run errands, last seen at Hamilton and Main in Whitehall, and were found dead in the trunk of Vest's car, four miles away at Kelton and Main Streets. The father of Vest, a CPD robbery detective at the time, had reported them missing.''

''Lynn had been strangled, and Jeremy suffocated. Missing from the scene were Lynn's credit card, some money, and her wedding ring.
On Friday, Columbus police announced the identification of Charles Elliott, a career criminal who died in prison in 2000, as the suspect.''

"We've gotten to a point in technology that we were able to use two rootless hairs to come to an identification on the suspect, Charles Elliott," Sgt. Terry McConnell of the major case investigations unit said.

'Despite the identification, the case remains open as investigators seek to determine if a second person was involved. Columbus police said multiple independent eyewitness accounts identified two Black males in a white car following Vest.'

 

[nerosleuth]

According to the Columbus Dispatch newspaper article, Charles William Elliot had previously abducted a woman from a shopping center in Tennessee. Elliot forced the abducted woman to drive him to a wooded area.

Elliot believed he had killed the woman after sexually assaulting her, but the woman survived and later identified Elliot.

After serving time in a Tennessee prison, Elliot was released into custody of his sister who was living in Columbus, Ohio.

Police investigators say that it was weeks after Elliot arrived in Columbus that he encountered Vest and her nephew.

Source:

DNA Technology Identifies Suspect in 45-year-old Columbus killings

Https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/crime/2026/01/23/dna-solves-a-lynn-vest-and-jeremy-pickens-cold-case/

 

[Richard]

So then, he wasn't rehabilitated?

Comparing his MO with other similar unsolved attacks might indicate other victims. Certainly there were more in the 20 years between 1980 and 2000.

 

[nerosleuth]

So then, he wasn't rehabilitated?

Comparing his MO with other similar unsolved attacks might indicate other victims. Certainly there were more in the 20 years between 1980 and 2000.

No he wasn't rehabilitated.

The Columbus Dispatch reported that weeks after the Vest-Pickens homicide, Elliot committed a jewelry store robbery in Wilmington, Ohio. He was arrested and served time in an Ohio prison for the jewelry store robbery.

After serving prison time for the jewelry store robbery, Elliot later committed another armed robbery in the Columbus area for which he was convicted and sent back to an Ohio prison again.

The Columbus Dispatch report that Elliot died in 2000 at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility at Lucasville.

I don't know how many years Elliot served in Ohio prison between 1980 to 2000, and may be possible that Elliot could have committed other abductions.