Unfortunately, what looked like a slam dunk case ended up fizzling out. But he sees the death of Runkle's twin sister at such a young age as a traumatic event that may have had an impact on the rest of his life. The abductor had contacted Mihaljevic by telephone and arranged to meet her on the pretext of buying a gift for her mother because she had recently been promoted, as he told her. Amy Mihaljevic was 10 years old when she disappeared from Bay Village, Ohio, on October 27, 1989, launching a massive, high-profile investigation. Spaetzel also discussed the dangers of strangers. That night, Amys photo appeared on the evening news. She waits outside, standing on a bench, twirling around a pole, her head down. He was released from police custody. Dean Runkle sigue siendo el principal sospechoso en el caso, segn un agente del FBI, pero el caso en su contra sigue siendo circunstancial. (MINDSHOCK TRUE CRIME PODCAST CLIPS)Examining the "NEW" suspect, and "NEW" evidence being reported in February . DR seems eccentric from what Ive read, but being eccentric isnt a crime either. Cookie Notice To me, Runkle is similar because there is just so much circumstantial evidence that points to him. Through Renners research and his own private investigation, Renner has produced what is by far the most valuable lead in Amys case so far. It was a crowded plaza filled with adults as well as middle and high school students who would frequent the Baskin Robbins after school. It was only then, in 2005, that investigators first learned that each of them had gone to the nature center in the weeks leading up to the abduction. If we can find out where that curtain came from or who owned that, we believe strongly that will take us to the person responsible for this, he said. The FBI brought in a sketch artist, and the artist was able to create a composite sketch of the man based on the two witness accounts. In terms of a suspect, I agree that Dean Runkle appears incredibly suspicious. This can suggest a couple of things about the behavioral profile of the killer. Amy Mihaljevic Cleveland Taco Week returns on Monday, April 10th. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Cleveland newspaper reporter James Renner investigated Mihaljevic's murder case and concluded that a teacher named Dean Runkle should be viewed as a prime suspect. We Got To Him First. He seemed excited about a new lead. Her murder case raised national attention. I can tell whatever I want to. Some of them just came to our attention recently. Amy's case, beginning with the phone calls from a stranger posing as a family friend, appears to have been a seduction gone wrong. Under interrogation, the suspect began softly muttering random words in no particular order. Amy Mihaljevic was 10 years old when she was abducted from the shopping plaza across the street from the police station in Bay Village, Ohio, on a sunny Friday afternoon in 1989. A Catastrophic Cyber Event in the Next 2-Years; Youth Pastor and Foster Dad in Florida Accused of Human Trafficking; Downtown Denver Dying? Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. . No mention of that investigation was contained in his personnel file. They recalled seeing him eating at Rax on Route 58 every night, sometimes with his classroom assistants. Friends of hers claim she slid into alcoholism. Family Life. Some of them have been suspects for years and decades.. I'm still going on the fact that Mr. Case knew everyone from that small town and he did not say that Dean Runkle was the man that was with the unknown child . Renner says on the podcast he believes Lamborgine can be connected to other top suspects . Sure enough, all the employees there recognize Runkle's picture - he's a manager, but he's not working today. Mother, Laura Smith, and Boyfriend Arrested in Toddler, Julian Madera's Death/ deputies say 21-year-old Landon Broussard showed up to his grandmother's house, carrying the badly bruised, naked body of the 3-year-old boy. Person Of Interest. Runkle was born in New London and grew up in a farmhouse just a couple miles from where Amy's body was dumped, along County Road 1181. On October 27, 1989, Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Renner pressed him for any information about Amys murder, but Runkle walked away. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. Margaret still left work immediately and returned to her house, but Amy wasnt there. "When you're dealing with human behavior," warns Lanning, "you're not dealing in absolutes. But don't tell her what we're doing. Anything is possible." His hair is thick and bushy above his eyes. The man asked Ryan if he wanted a ride to school. Privacy Policy. But they recently tested dog hairs found on the fabric and determined that they matched hairs taken from the dog Amy owned at the time. The sketch was released to the public, and soon the tips started pouring in. I ask him how so much circumstantial evidence could line up against one person. Runkle!" He worked for the bureau for 30 years, the last 20 devoted to crimes against children. As police struggled to connect viable suspects to the case, they compared the girls who received the suspicious phone calls. We know this perpetrator is both patient opportunistic, the play it safe type who allowed Amy to call her mom as to not raise suspicion, so why would he rush from his job to the abduction scene? And it seems that there's finally some break in the case. Renner interviewed all of Amys friends and teachers decades after the murder about the nature center. But Amy told her brother, Jason, and her friend, Kristy Balas, about the phone calls. Renner never made contact until he was about to leave town. Cleveland newspaper reporter James Renner investigated Mihaljevic's murder case and concluded that a teacher named Dean Runkle should be viewed as a prime suspect. Amy was last seen walking away from the plaza, toward the parking lot, with that man. "Man, me and Dean are friends. He was an eccentric teacher from the beginning. Send a News Tip. He looked after me when we lived at the shelter together a couple years ago. These items were found a ways down the road from her body and until now they were not sure that they were linked to the crime. Her dirty-blonde hair hangs, a little disheveled, over her earrings - turquoise horse heads, mounted on gold studs. on In the fall of 1989, Runkle applied for a teaching position at Nord Junior High in Amherst and was hired on the glowing recommendations of former administrators from Vermilion. When reached at home, he admits to being Runkle's "favorite" for a while. It's hard to tell what might be ailing Runkle, though, because, at 65, he could easily pass for 45. According to Jason, for months and years after Amys disappearance, Margaret would do nothing but go to work, and then come home and barricade herself inside Amys room. In August, after hearing from Perchinsky, I sent more than 500 e-mails to former students of Runkle's through MySpace and Facebook. People will say that DR was odd in many ways (which he may have been), about how he abruptly left, gave excuses, and whatnot but leaving and not telling anyone why isnt a crime. Several years after the murder, a man at a church service in a nearby town suddenly stood up and yelled out the words I killed Amy Mihaljevic. Some off-duty police officers happened to be in the congregation and immediately took the man into custody. Amy is . We have proof that this killer attempted to lure many other little girls into the same fate as Amy with phone calls to households with unlisted phone numbers. Apparently, in 1987, Dean even set up a few thousand dollars in a trust fund for his favorite student, but then, in the fall of 1989, they just stopped communicating. BAY VILLAGE, Ohio (WOIO) - Nearly 32 years after her murder, theres a new clue in the Amy Mihaljevic case. However, his confession proved to be false after investigations revealed that he had been institutionalized on the day that she was abducted. At the time of Amy's . After years and years of almost-suspects, Bay Village police had yet another lead go cold. Law Enforcement arranged a press conference and revealed new details on the Amy Mihaljevic case. Runkle resigned abruptly, explaining he had to leave for "health reasons." Amy Mihaljevic. Most "groom" and "seduce" their victims into going along with their plans, a salesman-like approach that allows them to believe the children are willing participants. In 2008, I learned of a man named Dean Runkle, who was once a teacher in the small Cleveland suburb of Amherst. . Hes also a person of authority whom Amy wouldve known and trusted. The FBI got involved in this case almost immediately to lend their resources to the Bay Village Police Department. Amy Mihaljevic has been died on Oct 27, 1989 ( age 10). 08/18/2006. Read More: Where Is Amy Mihaljevics Father Now? Other students of Runkle have since testified that Runkle engaged in sexual misconduct with them in the form of inappropriate touching and rides in his car to and from his apartment. No forensic evidence has tied Runkle to the crime. The story I've spent the most time on is the unsolved abduction and murder of Amy Mihaljevic. By the time police made this connection, the log book had vanished from the nature center. But when Renner questioned other teachers and students, they all confirmed that this teacher, Dean Runkle, did in fact frequent the nature center. [2 . "I walk a lot," he says. Lanning has weighed in on the case before. No forensic evidence has tied Runkle to the crime. At this point, the case was still considered a missing persons case, as Amys body would not be found until months later. As per our current Database, Amy Mihaljevic died on Oct 27, 1989 (age 10). Details: In 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic received a call from a man named Frank who claimed to be her mother's coworker and that she was getting a promotion and wanted to meet with her in order to pick out something for her mother for a . "NEW" EVIDENCE? Oct 15. Who Killed Amy Renee Mihaljevic. Almost 30 years later, Amys killer is still at large. Searchers discovered Amy's body on February 9, 1990. Amy Mihaljevic disappeared on October 27, 1989. Dean lived a tumultuous early life, dealing with an abusive father and the tragic death of his 6-year-old twin sister in 1950. Several students have recently stated that they rode in Mr. Runkles car with him to donate the mice at the nature center. This means they have killed before, and theyve gotten away with it. Required fields are marked *. James Renner is an investigative journalist from the Bay Village area, and he was around the same age as Amy when she was killed. He's doing OK. 2.1 Dean Runkle; 3 References; 4 Further reading; When she learned he was also living in New London, not far from where they found Amy, she called the Amherst police and then confronted Runkle directly. Her body was found in Ashland County - about 50 miles away - a few months later. Renner never got in touch with him again. All rights reserved. "To me, that event is very significant," he says. Mr. Runkle taught classes at the nature center and frequently volunteered there. That obsession leads James to a successful career as an investigative journalist. Runkle was a twin, but his sister died in 1950, when they were 6. Amys case remains open to this day, and the Bay Village police have never let her case go cold in almost 30 years. Not only is it not a list, but there is NO ATTRIBUTION for it. In 1971, he quit teaching for two years to play ragtime at Disneyland. Earlier that day, Amy and Olivia had sat together at a school assembly and listened to a rookie policeman named Mark Spaetzel give a "meet your friendly local officer" presentation. They become confident with their methods, so they start getting sloppy and leaving evidence behind. There is a press conference scheduled for tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. EST. On Friday October 27th, Jason arrived home at about 3:15pm, but Amy was nowhere to be found. Blood was also found inside of her underwear. The latest update in the case is forensic testing of the one piece of evidence found with Amys bodya blanket that had been sewn into a curtain panel, found a few feet away from the body. He then corroborated what each witness said with what they told police back in 1989 immediately after the disappearance. Amy Renee Mihaljevic (December 11, 1978 - October 27, 1989) was an ten-year-old American elementary school student who was kidnapped and murdered in the U.S. state of Ohio in 1989. Serial killers who get away with murders early on their sprees are known for getting more and more negligent with covering up their crimes as they progress. She watches as he walks up to Amy and puts a hand on her back. She was known for being a Person. Nothing is that simple, I told myself. Since Runkle is exceptionally well liked as a teacher by many former students, Renner became the subject of strong criticism, unlike anything he had faced from naming previous suspects, when he named Runkle. She had been stabbed twice in the neck and hit in the head with a . He shrugs. Lanning helped create the Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia, where FBI agents are trained. Shockingly, another girl a few years older than Amy came forward to police that she had received a similar call months earlier. Four months later, her body was found in a corn field off a remote county highway. Case []. I shake his hand and introduce myself. Jason became concerned quickly and called his mother Margaret at work to ask where Amy was. But with each attempt the killer refined his pitch, until, finally, he called Amy and she agreed to meet. Dean Runkle himself denies any involvement in the murder of Amy Mihaljevic and the FBI has never officially declared him a suspect. The FBI believes the murder was actually committed in the remote rural area surrounding Bay Village to avoid being seen. As word spread around the neighborhood, friends and family started coming over to the Mihaljevic house to make flyers and search for Amy. Unfortunately, neither witness got a good look at the mans face, nor did they see him or Amy get into a vehicle, or go into a store. According to reporter James Renner, Dean Runkle is a possible prime suspect in the FBI investigation. Runkle also seemed to have volunteered in the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village at the time of the murder. He walks over to see what we're talking about. Mr. Runkle wouldve had access to the log book which listed Amys address and phone number, as well as the unlisted phone numbers of the other girls who received the suspicious phone calls. Joseph, real name Robert Ivan Nichols, committed suicide in Eastlake, Ohio, in 2002, but when investigators were unable to locate his family at the time, they discovered that he had stolen the identity of an eight-year-old boy who was killed in a car crash in 1945. Margaret started to panic, so she ran down the block to the middle school to inquire after Amy. Ten-year-old Amy was lured from her Bay Village home on Oct. 27, 1989, to a shopping center at Dover Center . I work with your mother, he told her. Revealed to have close relationships with some students, In 2005, investigators reveal that other girls from the area had, received similar calls to Amy trying to lure them to a public place. He names the same restaurant that had been my first stop. "He would stare at me in class," says Kim Raeburn. I spoke to him last week to better understand the mind and behavior of the man who killed Amy Mihaljevic. I do not believe that so much evidence can point to one person and it be just a coincidence. 10-year-old Amy grew up in Bay Village, OH, an altogether peaceful town on the shores of Lake Erie. I thought about showing his picture to the managers, but then scolded myself for thinking it would be so easy. Thursday marks 33 years since Amy was taken from a shopping plaza in Bay Village. All four girls, who received suspicious phone calls (with Amy being the last one), have visited it in the weeks before the abduction and may have written their names and phone numbers in a logbook by the front doors. All the interviews checked out except one. ALSO, Dean Runkle has NOT been named as a suspect. Why do you think Amys body was recovered where it was? In 2001, Margaret Mihaljevic was found dead in her apartment. . And I realized the nature center was in Bay Village.". Ryan said the car followed him a ways until it pulled up beside him and the man inside slowly lowered his window. inappropriate behavior and unwanted physicality? Men with mostly shady pasts and weak alibis, vague connections to the suburban area, or those who have a history of sexual offenses are the ones who are included in the suspect list. The lengths that Joseph went to hide his real name and the longevity of his identity theft led them to speculate that he was a dangerous fugitive. By James Renner on Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 4:00 am. The police also released a letter to all households with school-age children asking if they had received any mysterious phone calls similar to the one that lured Amy out to the shopping center. The new information still led to no significant new leads or suspects. The killer also must have been local at the time, having known about the corn field on the remote county road for disposal of Amys body. The three-hour special, premiering 9 p.m. Sunday on ID, takes a deep dive into the still-unsolved 1989 murder of 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic, who lived in a town on the shores of Lake Erie. And that's when the old man with a Frisbee shows up. I quickly began to see why this man was on the FBI's list of priorities. Again, no one remembered the name. Runkle liked to tell boys sexual jokes, says Derek Chase. She lugs a blue-denim book bag with red piping. He says that after he left for high school, Runkle used to write him letters. In late October 1989, Amy Mihaljevic was lured to a suburban Ohio shopping center by an unknown male who had befriended her via conversations on the phone, and she was never seen alive again. He also photographed his students regularly, developing the negatives himself. It didn't. He arranged to meet Amy after school that day to help her buy a gift for her mom for a work promotion. We know where she was found. Keeping all this in mind, only a handful of strong suspects remain. Child murder victim who was kidnapped from an Ohio shopping center and whose body was found four months later in an Ashland County field. Residents of Bay Village lived on edge for years after Amys disappearance and murder. When I ask him if he could have used the logbook at the nature center to gather phone numbers for girls in North Olmsted, he says he's done talking and begins to walk away. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Over time the letters became sexual in nature. They walk together until they reach the shopping plaza a quarter mile down the road. Amys death affected everyone in the Bay Village community and surrounding areas. He told them he needed their help to pick out a present and asked them to come with him to the store. Suspects Dean Runkle Runkle most resembled the famous composite drawing made with the help of Amy's classmates who saw her at the shopping center on the day of her disappearance. While Im sure Renner has spent more time on this than some investigators, I will respectfully disagree with him as being the perp here. He asked each of them if they remembered visiting the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center in Bay Village. Richard Holbert.