Cold Case Murder from 41 Years Ago Solved

The long-unsolved murder of a traveling salesman that took place at a hotel four decades ago has finally reached a resolution. An Ohio man has been charged with capital robbery after evidence surfaced behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant, located hundreds of miles away.

Randy McAllister was indicted last week by a grand jury for the October 16, 1985, death of John Warren, following a demolition at the Holiday Inn along Interstate 75 in Middletown, situated about 40 miles north of Cincinnati, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.

At the time, Warren, who worked for an auto parts company, was in Middletown for a business meeting when he was discovered dead in his hotel room the following morning.

Several of his belongings were reported missing, including a 1985 Oldsmobile.

Initially, detectives faced challenges in their investigation due to a lack of evidence despite following various leads.

Fornshell mentioned that some of Warren’s stolen items were found discarded behind a Cracker Barrel in Dalton, Georgia, about 400 miles from the murder scene, shortly after the incident. Furthermore, the missing car was later located in Redington Beach, Florida.

Although three South Carolina men were previously identified as suspects, the inquiry stalled when lie detector tests confirmed their alibis, which led to the dropping of charges, as reported by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The investigation had been dormant for many years until it was reopened in 2019, prompting detectives to revisit old evidence.

Some of the stolen property was submitted for analysis at a crime lab, leading to McAllister and an unnamed deceased accomplice being identified as suspects.

Since 2021, detectives have been actively pursuing leads in the case and ultimately presented their findings to a grand jury, resulting in McAllister’s indictment last week.

“Instances where a case remains cold happen for a reason,” Fornshell noted on Monday. “Often, there might be a suspect but not enough evidence to proceed, leading to dwindling leads over time.”

He added, “However, in recent years, the Warren County Sheriff’s Office detectives have worked diligently on this case, allowing us to gather enough evidence to indict McAllister for the murder of John Warren, which the grand jury supported.”

The specific evidence linking McAllister and his accomplice to the murder remains undisclosed by prosecutors.

Currently, McAllister is being held in the Warren County Jail on charges of aggravated murder and murder.

He is set to be arraigned on Tuesday, according to jail records reviewed by the newspaper.