Authorities in eastern Ohio closed a 60-year cold case on Saturday, four years after a man hospitalized in fear of death admitted he witnessed a murder and identified the suspect, police said. Ta.
The Miami County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) says murder victim Daisy Evelyn Shelton, 43, of Dayton, was murdered and dismembered in 1964, and her body was later found in multiple locations. did. statement. A fisherman retrieved Shelton’s arm from a gravel pit near Tipp City in June 1964, and four days later another fisherman found a gunny bag containing Shelton’s torso in the old Miami and Erie Canal channel. Authorities later discovered Shelton’s head and arm. His leg was found in the canal, the statement said.
“The investigation stalled in 2017 until a witness to the murder confessed to a nurse that he feared he would die while in the hospital,” but “he survived and was interviewed by detectives,” the MCSO statement continued. Ta.
According to MCSO, a key witness saw the suspect fatally hit Shelton with a hammer inside the home, then saw Shelton’s body chopped up and scattered in the water in and around Tipp City. he confessed.
The suspect, who was interviewed multiple times by investigators, said,[i]At first…he denied knowing Daisy Shelton, even though they lived on the same street and worked for the same employer.” However, in August 2017, he denied knowing Shelton. I reluctantly admitted something. (Related: Police charge man in cold case of single teenage mother found dead nearly 50 years ago)
The statement said the suspect also claimed that witnesses found his DNA on a box used as a transport tool to transport Shelton’s dismembered body, but that Shelton may have been murdered in his home. The suspect admitted that the box was in his home.
The suspect also “admitted that he appeared to be guilty and could be found guilty in court,” MCSO added.
The witness testified before the grand jury, but reportedly died before the indictment could begin. The suspects reportedly died in September 2022 at the age of 92, but MCSO did not release either name in a statement.
“It’s shocking that a human being could do something like that to another human being,” said Maria Walling, Shelton’s granddaughter. told WHIO TV Looking back on the gruesome murder case. “So what kind of animals are they?”
The newspaper said a third suspect was involved in the murder.
MCSO noted that cold-case homicide cases are among the most difficult for investigators, and said, “Even if a long time has passed since the crime occurred, it is difficult to revisit a case.” “This is an important aspect in bringing a sense of justice to the families of the victims,” he added.
MCSO closed the case with approval from the Miami County Prosecutor’s Office, according to a statement.
