GUILTY OH - Johnny Clarke, 21, & Lisa Straub, 20, murdered, Springfield Twp, 31 Jan 2011

legallee

Paralegal
Joined
Jan 11, 2008
Messages
335
Reaction score
0
How can this world be so evil?


SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WUPW) - A young couple were found murdered early Monday morning inside a home on a quiet Springfield Township residential street, their hands were bound, and plastic bags were placed over the victim's heads, Lucas County Sheriff detectives and the county coroner said.


http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/dead-in-a-holland-ohio-home
 
This is beyond awful, they were both so young! The parents must be torn apart - I can only imagine if this happened to my daughter and I was only spared because I happened to be out of town, I'd never get over it. :(

I second LE's theory that it's likely a robbery gone wrong. That is a big, nice home (target). Maybe the boyfriend caught them and put up a fight. Whatever happened, I hope they catch whoever did this. So, so sad.
 
It sounds like a home invasion, like the Petit Family case, to me.
 
Authorities Investigate Strange Slaying of Young Ohio Couple

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/02/01/ohio-authorities-investigate-strange-slayings-of-johnny-clarke-a/

bbm
.....

The couple lived with Straub's parents, who were out of town on a Caribbean cruise for their 25th wedding anniversary. The Straubs' home is on Longacre Road in Holland, about 15 miles southwest of Toledo, police said.

Authorities suspect the slayings occurred sometime between 1 and 4 a.m. Monday. The couple was last seen alive Sunday night, when Clarke picked Straub up from her job at a T.G.I. Friday's restaurant. They apparently made it home, but what happened to them afterward remains a mystery.

The elder Clarke broke into the Straubs' home after he and his wife made several unsuccessful attempts to contact the couple. Johnny Clarke's mother had a "gut feeling" that something was wrong, according to Lucas County Sheriff's Detective Cathy Stooksbury.

"They were found in a dining room/kitchen area of the home," Stooksbury told AOL News. "They both had plastic bags over their heads and their hands were bound with duct tape."

1296602588418.JPEG
 
This sounds horrific... :(

I'm having a hard time finding anything else about this. I first found it on NG's FB page. I found this (not sure why MSM isn't picking this up???):

http://www.truecrimereport.com/2011/02/johnny_s_clarke_lisa_straub_fo.php

​Johnny Clarke's mom called his cell phone early Monday morning, but didn't get an answer. That struck her as odd, since the 21-year-old from suburban Toledo was truly a "mama's boy." And that's when her sixth sense that something was wrong kicked in...

​She called 911 for a welfare check at 1:24 a.m. She called again at just after 2. But when police arrived both times, they found no one home, no tracks in the snow, no indication of forced entry, nothing. So they let it be.

..............

There was no sign of a break-in, leading police to believe that the couple either knew their killers, or had let them in house for some other reason. It appears that someone had gone through a portion of the home looking for something, but that's the only evidence thus far.
 
How horrible!! I hope they catch whoever did this soon. They look like a lovely couple.
 
Okay, another article: http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/dead-in-a-holland-ohio-home

Murdered couple found bound, bags over heads

Detectives suspect the murders were possibly the result of a robbery gone bad.

........

"Without knowing what actually caused the death, not seeing a bullet wound or stab wound, that doesn't mean there aren't any ... I don't know what we're looking for," Det. Stooksbury said.

Autopsies are scheduled to be performed on Tuesday, the Lucas Co. coroner said.

"There is evidence of a struggle, there are things turned over inside of the house," said Lucas Co. Sheriff Det. Cathy Stooksbury.
 
http://www.foxtoledo.com/dpp/news/local/Couple-died-of-asphyxiation--coroner-says

Couple died of asphyxiation, coroner says

Dr. Patrick also observed injuries around the necks of both victims.

FOX Toledo News asked the coroner if either of the victims had any other injuries. Dr Patrick said, "neither had any other significant injuries."

This is absolutely horrific. For a murder-gone-bad, it sure seems over the top. Why the bags? Why not just kill them? I wonder if the bags were placed over their heads and the death was accidental? But the coroner says there were also injuries around the neck.

So sad... my heart goes out to the families. Also the poor couple...:(
 

How awfull! I wonder what was taken and what an awful way to die.Think about the terror.
 
We have two threads on this horrific crime. I alerted the mods.

My prayers go out to these families. What a tragedy. I found Lisa's "older" MS page. I don't think she'd used it for a while. Such a pretty and vivacious girl.

This crime seems particularly vicious for an interrupted robbery. I'll be watching as to what turns up.
 
We have two threads on this horrific crime. I alerted the mods.

My prayers go out to these families. What a tragedy. I found Lisa's "older" MS page. I don't think she'd used it for a while. Such a pretty and vivacious girl.

This crime seems particularly vicious for an interrupted robbery. I'll be watching as to what turns up.

My apologies - I searched before posting but the names did not come up.
 
Earlier this evening, I was thinking there would not be too many crimes in the effected areas where there's storming and snow. How wrong I was.

I agree with others, this seems to be a home invasion gone bad. What a shame and senseless crime. Such a beautiful and young couple.

My prayers and thoughts to the family and friends and may LE catch those responsible for this crime.

fran
:rose:
 
I am hoping they can get fingerprints from the duct tape.. it seem impossible to wear gloves and use that stuff.
 
Good point. The man arrested in the recent Escambia County Florida murder also used duct tape. DNA was lifted from it. We have a thread on the case.

I just checked and the article has been taken down but I snipped a bit from it for the Post #28 on our thread here:

2 women found dead in Escambia CO, FLorida-same place different times of death - Page 2 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

http://www.pnj.com/article/20101209/...l-report-shows

"....Investigators used DNA to connect Douglas to Broxson's death. Semen collected from Broxson belongs to Douglas, according to the report. The report also says that DNA collected from duct tape at the scene is consistent with Douglas' DNA..."

We discuss duct tape on this thread in a number of places. The accused says that the young woman asked him to do this to her. The prosecutors are not buying it. I hope there's some matchable DNA in this case.
 
this is a burglary gone bad IMO

I think this is someone who knew the parents were going on a cruise (neighbour, co-worker, acquaintance of the young couple)

this is someone who didn't know Lisa & Johnny were going to be there and I think when they came back from Lisa's job, they walked in on a burglar

or this person was watching for Johnny & Lisa to leave and they came back too fast before the burglar could get out of there

this person is a young, soft criminal who's never killed before - the bag serves three purposes - it's a soft kill (as opposed to stabbing, shooting), it covers the victim's eyes so they can't look at their killer (who they could then identify or who they know personally) and also so the killer doesn't have to look at them b/c he would feel too guilty

this is a kid from the neighbourhood IMO
 
this one haunted me last night. I couldn't sleep and kept thinking about it. Maybe because it's not too far from me or maybe because they are so young and such a beautiful couple. I dunno but it really is bothering me.

I do believe it was someone they knew and I believe it was more than one person. In one of the links above it stated there was damage to the necks but it didn't say what type of damage. I am wondering if the murderer strangled them first then put bags over their heads to ensure they would die?
So senseless...
 
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110202/NEWS16/102020307

I hope this link works. There are 3 911 calls and they are sickening to listen to. Especially the last one. I can't believe more wasn't done to get in that house!!! My heart is swelling right now with grief for these families.

I don't think these kids new who was attacking them from what Johnny's mom says on the tapes. Perhaps the door was simply left open or unlocked?? Thiis truly horrifying.
 
I read that a friend on the phone heard Johnny asking "who are you, what do you want" before call was disconnected...so it does not sound as though he knew the killer(s). I wonder how they got into the house, or if it was as simple as the door being unlocked. No sign of a break-in.

(www.truecrimereport.com)
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
72
Guests online
699
Total visitors
771

Forum statistics

Threads
589,923
Messages
17,927,699
Members
228,002
Latest member
zipperoni
Back
Top