I recently visited the public library at looked at Columbus newspaper articles on microfilm from the late 1980s about the Margaret Cecelia Durant homicide.
Heres what the Columbus newspaper articles reported during the late 1980s about the homicides of Margaret Cecelia Durant.
Columbus Dispatch Saturday December 12, 1987
Body Discovered In Field
The body of an unidentified young woman, believed to be 15 to 20 years old, was found by two utility workers yesterday morning in a small field in an industrial park in Grandview Heights.
The body showed no visible wounds or other signs of violence and carried no identification.
The body was discovered about 10:20 a.m. by two Columbia Gas Company workers in a field near Higgs and Burrell Avenue in Grandview Heights.
Witnesses said that the young woman had light brown hair about 8 inches long and was lying on her back in 2-foot-high weeds about 6 feet from Burrell Avenue. They said she was wearing a bright red sweater and no coat, and her jeans were pulled down to her knees.
Police said that they believed the body was dumped in the field Thursday.
Columbus Dispatch Sunday December 13, 1987
Identity Of Body Sought
Grandview Heights Police are trying to identify a woman in her early 20s who was strangled and whose body was found by two Columbia Gas Company employees in a field near Higgs and Burrell Avenues. Police believe the body was dumped there Thursday.
The victim was described by police as white, 5-foot-5 and 97 pounds with shoulder length brown hair and blue-gray eyes. Police said she was wearing a waist-length black leather jacket, red sweater, pink-and-white striped blouse, blue jeans, red socks and leather tennis shoes.
Columbus Dispatch Tuesday December 15, 1987
Victims Identity Pursued
Grandview Heights Police said that they had tentatively identified a woman found strangled in a field Friday.
An acquaintance of the victim who saw the description in news media accounts called police yesterday.
Detectives were attempting to notify the womans relatives for positive identification.
Two Columbia Gas Company employees found the womans body in a field in an industrial park near Higgs and Burrell Avenues Friday morning. Police believe the body was left there sometime Thursday.
The victim, in her early 20s, was described by police as white, 5-foot-5 and 97 pounds with shoulder length brown hair and blue-gray eyes.
Columbus Dispatch Wednesday December 16, 1987
Slaying Victim Named, North Side Man Identifies Body As Daughters
The woman whose body was found strangled in a field near Higgs and Burrell Avenue in Grandview Heights was identified as Margaret Durant.
Margaret Durant lived in an apartment on North High Street near Ohio State University. She had been employed part time at the Limited warehouse on Morse Road.
Police said that Margaret Durant had been strangled and may have been sexually abused. She had been wearing a black leather jacket, borrowed from a boyfriend, and a bright red sweater. Her jeans were pulled down to her knees.
Durants apartment door had been found unlocked and partially ajar. Police say it indicated that she might have been taken there by force.
Margaret Durants father said that his daughter never left her apartment door unlocked. He also said that he last talked to his daughter on the phone on Tuesday December 8.
Her boyfriend is the last person known to have seen Miss Durant alive Wednesday December 9. He contacted police Monday night December 14 when he could not find her.
Margaret Durants father said that his daughter graduated from vocational school in the law enforcement field. His daughter worked a brief stint as a security guard at a department store prior to employment at the Limited. He said that his daughter hoped to enroll at Ohio State University and study law enforcement.
Margaret Durants father also said that his daughter was a fan of Barry Manilow and that she had planned to attend a Barry Manilow Saturday in the Ohio Center with a girlfriend.
Police found two concert tickets to a Barry Manilow concert on Margaret Durants bedroom dresser.
Columbus Dispatch Thursday December 17, 1987
Police Looking For Dead Womans Car
Grandview Heights Police are searching for a 1979 Ford Mustang owned by a North side woman whose body was found in a Grandview Heights field on Friday.
The two-door car is described as light blue.
Police said that Durant died of suffocation.
Police are trying to determine Durants whereabouts before her slaying and are interviewing relatives and neighbors.
Columbus Dispatch Friday December 18, 1987
Slaying Victims Car Found
The car of slaying victim Margaret Durant was found illegally parked in a loading zone on North 4th Street yesterday and has been impounded as evidence.
A Grandview detective said that Durants light blue Ford Mustang was recovered on North 4th Street just south of East 6th Avenue at about 8:30 a.m. The car had no damage.
Tri Village News Wednesday December 23, 1987
Police Investigate Slaying Of Woman
The body of Margaret Durant was found at approximately 10:20 a.m. on Friday December 11 by two Columbia Gas Company employees in a field near Higgs and Burrell Avenues in Grandview Heights.
Police believed that Margaret Durant was killed elsewhere. Durant was wearing black leather jacket and blue jeans. Her jeans were unzipped but police had no evidence of sexual assault. Marks were found around her throat. Police said that the victim had no purse or identification when the body was found.
The coroner estimated the time of death 8 to 10 hours before the body was discovered, or between 12:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. on Friday December 11.
Those who work in the area of Higgs and Burrell Avenues said that Durants car was first seen there at 8:00 a.m. on Friday December 11, about two hours before the body was discovered.
Margaret Durants car, a light blue Ford Mustang, was found on December 17 at the corner of North 4th Street and East 6th Avenue parked in a loading zone. The car was locked and the keys were missing. Her car was found about a third of a mile from her North High Street apartment.
Police think that the victim left her car at where it was found at on North 4th Street and East 6th Avenue. Everything inside the car was neat and her clothes were folded.
Police have determined that Margaret Durant visited an auto parts store before going to work on Thursday December 10. Durant was employed part time at the Limited warehouse on Morse Road.
Police dont think Margaret Durant was killed at her apartment or at where her body was found. There were no signs of disarray in the weeds or signs of a struggle. Police believe her body was placed there.
The body was listed a Jane Doe until the evening of Monday December 14 when the victims former boyfriend walked into the Grandview Heights Police Headquarters and identified her from a photograph.
The former boyfriend had been trying to contact Margaret Durant for a couple of days. He went to her apartment on Sunday December 13 looking for her. He found two concert tickets for a Saturday December 12 Barry Manilow concert unused and lying on a shelf. He noticed her car was missing. After hearing the description of a Jane Doe in the news media, he went to Grandview Heights Police.
Margaret Durants father, brother, and sister-in-law went with police to the morgue and identified Durants body.
Columbus Dispatch Monday January 25, 1988
Police Seek Help In December Slaying
Grandview Heights Police are seeking help in solving the slaying of a North Side woman in December. It has been designated Crime of the Week in the Crime Solvers Anonymous program.
Police said that the body of Margaret Durant was found at about 10 a.m. in a vacant lot near Burrell and Higgs Avenue in Grandview. The body was clad in a black jacket, a bright red sweater, and blue jeans.
The Franklin County coroners office ruled the woman had been strangled and estimated she had been dead about 6 hours before her body was found. She was not identified until December 14.
Durant was last seen December 10 as she left work at the Limited distribution center near Morse Road and Interstate 270. Her car, a 1979 faded blue Ford Mustang hatchback, was found December 17 on North 4th Street near East 6th Avenue.
Columbus Dispatch Saturday April 23, 1988
Warrant Seeks Suspects Blood
Grandview Heights Police are using a search warrant to try to obtain a blood sample from a suspect in the slaying of a 21 year old North Side woman.
The man, who has not been charged with a crime, refused to allow blood to be taken on advice of his attorney.
The Franklin County Prosecutor said that the case could set a statewide precedent for whether bodily fluids could be taken from a person who has not been charged with a crime or is not in custody. The prosecutor believes the sample can be obtained legally with a search warrant, which a municipal court judge granted on Tuesday.
Police want to send a sample of the mans blood to a Lifecodes, a New York genetic laboratory specializing in DNA identification. Police believe the new biological test may further link the man to Margaret Durant, who was found strangled in a field at Higgs and Burrell Avenues on December 11.
Semen taken from Durant, who either had sex or was raped before she died, has already been sent to Lifecodes for a DNA test. Grandview Heights police want a blood sample from the man to see if his DNA matches that found in the semen.
The prosecutor said if the suspect does not comply with the warrant, he would seek a court hearing to see if the sample can be forced.
The suspects attorney said that his client was not afraid of the test results, but taking blood from someone who has not been charged with a crime is a violation of the persons rights.
Grandview Heights Police believed that by linking the suspect to Durant sexually and reviewing how close to the time of death the sexual encounter occurred, they could build a case strong enough to charge the man.
Columbus Dispatch Monday February 19, 1990
Grandview Seeking Help In 87 Homicide Case
Grandview Heights Police have reopened a 2 year old homicide case involving a North Side woman and are seeking help from the public in solving the crime.
The slaying has been designated Crime of the Week in the Crime Solvers Anonymous program.
The body of Margaret Durant was found about 10 a.m. December 11, 1987, by two Columbia Gas of Ohio employees in a vacant lot near Burrell and Higgs Avenues in Grandview Heights.
Durant had been strangled and the coroners office estimated she had been dead six hours.
Margaret Durant was left seen alive late on the evening of December 10 as she left work at the Limited distribution center near Morse Road and Interstate 270 on the citys far Northeast Side. Her car, a faded blue 1979 Ford Mustang hatchback, was found six days later on North 4th Street near East 6th Avenue.
No charges have been made in the case.
