I recently visited the public library at looked at Columbus newspaper articles on microfilm from the early 1980s about the homicides of Janice Beidleman and Brandon Beidleman.
Heres what the Columbus newspaper articles reported during the early 1980s about the homicides of Janice Beidleman and Brandon Beidleman.
Columbus Citizen Journal Tuesday September 15, 1981
Mother, Son Missing Since Sunday Night Found Slain In Creek
The bodies of a 21 year old Columbus woman and her 20 month old son, both missing since Sunday night, were found Monday afternoon in Alum Creek, near Agler and Sunbury Roads.
Janice Beidleman was found lying on her back in about one foot of water and her son Brandon Beidleman was found face up about 50 yards downstream under the bridge on Agler Road.
The coroner said that Janice Beidleman was unclothed and apparently had been raped and slain near where the body had been found. Her clothes were strewn about on the creek bank between her body and the car she had been driving. Her body was about 50 feet from the car, an orange and white Chevrolet Vega that was registered to her husband.
The coroner speculated that the boy had been slain in the same spot as his mother, and then floated downstream. The youngster was clad in a white diaper and tennis shoes.
The coroner said that the cause of death had not been determined of either victim and it had not been known how long the victims had been dead.
A neighborhood resident discovered Mrs. Beidlemans body about 1:20 p.m. and called authorities. The resident said that he had seen the Vega drive down the wooded ravine toward the creek late Sunday night.
Police said that they found no possible murder weapons and did not have a motive or suspects in connection with the apparent homicides.
Mrs. Beidlemans husband rushed to the crime scene about 4 p.m. after he heard a radio news report about the discovery of a woman and child in the creek. The husband talked with a sheriffs deputy at the scene and it was confirmed that his wife was found slain. Minutes later, more than 20 relatives of the Beidlemans began arriving after having heard news reports about the two bodies.
Relatives said that Janice Beidleman was running errands Sunday night when she disappeared. After leaving a relatives house around 9:20 p.m., Janice Beidleman had planned to stop at a grocery store before going home.
The husband was recently laid off from a local automotive factory where he worked as a quality control inspector. Janice Beidleman had previously worked at a local hospital and was a full time homemaker and mother at the time of her death.
After a jurisdictional question regarding the crime scene location, Columbus Police homicide detectives took over the investigation.
A Columbus Police homicide detective told a reporter that the slaying was similar to the November 12, 1980 murders of Lynn Vest and Jeremy Pickens.
Columbus Dispatch Tuesday September 15, 1981
Mom Strangled; Baby Suffocated With Pillow
A young mother was beaten on the head, apparently raped and strangled before her nude body and that of her 20 month old son were dumped in Alum Creek.
Janice Beidleman, 21, and the diaper clad body of her son Brandon Beidleman, were found about 1:20 p.m. Monday afternoon in a foot of water in the creek which runs along Bridgeview Golf Course.
The murder victims lived a little more than two miles from where their bodies were found in the area west of Sunbury Road and just north of Agler Road on the citys northeast side.
The county coroner said that Janice Beidleman had several bruises from blows on the head and lacerations and scratches indicating she had been raped. The victim also had bruise marks on her neck and died of strangulation. The coroner also said that her son had died of suffocation.
Detectives speculated that the woman had been beaten by a mans fist and that her son was suffocated with a pillow that was found near the creek. Detectives also speculated that at least two people who may have known the victims killed the woman and her child.
Detectives were investigating the possibility that the attacker or attackers killed the woman elsewhere and then dumped her body in the creek. No blood was found in the car, which was 50 yards from the waters edge.
The mother and her son had been missing since 11:30 p.m. Sunday night after she left her mothers home for the five mile trip to her home where she lived with her husband.
The husband told a reporter at the roped off crime scene area where the bodies were found that when he reported his wife and son missing to Columbus Police at 6:30 a.m. Monday morning, he was told that he had to wait 24 hours before he could file a missing persons report.
An eyewitness who lived on Sunbury Road told a reporter that he noticed a car that was similar to the victims car that did not have its headlights on drive down a gravel road that runs off of Sunbury Road at about 10:45 p.m. Sunday evening. The eyewitness said that the gravel road was often used by fishermen to reach Alum Creek.
The eyewitness noticed the car was near the creek around 12:30 p.m. Monday and went to investigate. The eyewitness said that the drivers door was open and 10 to 15 bobby pins were on top of the car roof. The eyewitness also said that there was a mans foot print on the ground on the passenger side of the car.
The eyewitness found the body of Janice Beidleman lying face up in the water. After the eyewitness summoned authorities about the grisly discovery, Franklin County Sheriff deputies found the boys body on the west side of the creek underneath the Agler Road Bridge.
The area where the bodies were found was on the edge of the Mifflin Township and Columbus city limits line. The bodies were found 50 yards from each other and it was determined that the bodies were found inside the Columbus city limits.
Relatives said that Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman arrived at her mother-in-law homes about 8:00 p.m. Sunday evening.
After dinner Janice Beidleman took her aunt back to her home to pick up her 14 year old brother at her aunts home. Janice Beidleman called her husband from her aunts house telling him that she and her son were heading home after she dropped her 14 year old brother off at her mothers home. Janice Beidleman visited briefly with her mother and told her mother that she might stop at a grocery store at the Northern Lights Shopping Center.
Columbus Dispatch Wednesday September 16, 1981
Screams Heard Half Mile From Location Of Bodies
A mother and her 20 month old son who were found dead Monday in Alum Creek may have been beaten or killed on a barricaded road about half a mile away.
Residents near the Bridgeview Hills subdivision, about half a mile west of Sunbury Road and south of Agler Road say they heard a woman screaming, a baby crying and a mans muffled voice on a barricaded road at the south end of the subdivision about 11 p.m. Sunday.
Residents said that Putter Avenue, located between Wedge Street and Clubhouse Drive, had been barricaded for about two years to prevent people from dumping garbage in the uninhabited section of the subdivision.
A resident living on Wedge Street near the barricade reported hearing a woman screaming and a baby crying minutes after hearing a loud thud from a fast moving car going over the curb and around the barricade.
The resident also heard a mans voice saying shut up and keep him quiet. A next door neighbor also heard a womans voice saying dont cry, baby.
The resident inadvertently called the Mifflin Township Fire Department instead of the police. A paramedic squad arrived at 11:13 p.m., and muffled voices could still be heard when the paramedics arrived. The paramedics told the resident that it was a police matter and radioed Columbus police. A cruiser and a helicopter arrived about 11:20 p.m., searched the area but found nothing.
Another resident who lived on Clubhouse Drive reported seeing headlights of a car shining through some trees behind the barricade. The resident on Clubhouse Drive also heard the screams and crying.
Areas East of Wedge Street are in Columbus and areas west of Wedge Street are in Mifflin Township.
A homicide detective told a reporter that detectives had not been aware of the incident regarding residents hearing having heard a woman screaming and a baby crying. The homicide detective also said that detectives spent Tuesday tracking down tips called into the department and made no headway into the case.
Columbus Dispatch Thursday September 17, 1981
Police Searching Area Of Screams
Prompted by a story in the Columbus Dispatch, homicide detectives late Wednesday began searching a barricaded road in northeast Columbus for clues in the Sunday slayings of a young woman and her infant son.
Residents in and near the Bridgeview Hills subdivision had told The Columbus Dispatch they heard a woman scream in terror, a baby crying, and a mans muffled voice coming from a barricaded road in the south end of the subdivision south of Agler Road. Witnesses at both ends of the barricaded road said they saw a car in the area.
Although neighbors said two police cruisers and a helicopter investigated the incident, detectives were unaware of details of the incident until reading an article in the Columbus Dispatch.
When asked why the uniformed officers hadnt told detectives about the incident, a detective said that officers didnt put two and two together, adding that detectives wished that they had heard of that incident before it appeared in the newspaper.
The detective said that if the double homicide and the incident Sunday night are related, the assailant could have returned to the area and removed evidence.
Detectives met Wednesday with Franklin County Sheriffs deputies to review the deputies reports on the homicide. The sheriffs department began investigating the killings first on Monday, but turned the investigation over to Columbus Police when it was discovered the area was in the city.
Columbus Dispatch Friday September 18, 1981
Police Think 2 Men Killed Mother, Son
Columbus Police detectives believed that Janice Beidleman and her son were killed by two men half a mile from where their bodies were found on Monday.
Detectives searched the barricaded road on the south end of the Bridgeview Hills subdivision where area residents heard a woman screaming, a baby crying, and a mans muffled voice late Sunday.
Detectives are convinced that the screams residents heard are those of Janice Beidleman and her son because of the number of persons who heard them at the same time.
There was no evidence of a struggle where the bodies were found and police cannot account for the Beidlemans whereabouts from 10:30 p.m. Sunday until residents heard the screams about 11:00 p.m. Sunday.
A detective said that there was evidence that Janice Beidleman was raped and sodomized, indicating there were two assailants.
Detectives speculate that Janice Beidleman was probably raped and killed, then taken from the area by her assailants when they heard a police helicopter arrive at the scene about 11:13 p.m. Sunday night.
Detectives believe that the assailants were familiar with the area, noting that the car was driven around a guard rail barricade at the east end of Putter Avenue, and then down an access road off of Sunbury Road, where the bodies were found.
Beidleman and her son left her mothers house at 10:30 and were going home. They were not seen again until their bodies were found in Alum Creek across from the Bridgeview Golf Club about 1:30 p.m. Monday.
Columbus Dispatch Sunday September 20, 1981
30 Minutes Missing On Deadly Day
The article gave a timeline concerning the whereabouts of Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman on Sunday September 13, 1981.
At 11:00 a.m., Janice Beidleman, her son, and her husband get into the familys Chevrolet Vega as they leave their apartment which is off of Morse Road and Westerville Road. As they make their journey towards the home of her husbands friend, they notice the gas gauge on the Chevy Vega reads nearly empty.
At 11:20 a.m., the Beidleman family pulls into the Bonded Oil Company service station at East Hudson Street and Joyce Avenue. The Beidlemans only have $10 between them. Janice pays for $3 worth of gas keeping $2 for herself. Her husband gives her another $2 and keeps $3 for himself.
At 11:30 a.m., the Beidleman family arrives at the home of her husbands friend on Jermain Drive. Janices husband and her husbands friend are members of a motorcycle club. Janices husband keeps his motorcycle in the garage at his friends home since the Beidlemans doesnt have a garage where they live at their apartment complex.
At 12:15 p.m., Janice Beidleman and her son leave the house of her husbands friend. It was the last time that Janices husband would see his wife and son alive. Janices husband and his friend rode their motorcycles with other friends on that Sunday afternoon. Janice Beidleman and her son return back to their apartment which is off of Morse Road and Westerville Road.
At 4:30 p.m., Janice Beidleman and her son arrive at her aunts house on Bonham Avenue to visit her aunt. Janice Beidlemans 14 year old brother is also at her aunts house.
At 6:00 p.m., Janice Beidleman takes her son Brandon and her brother to White Castle to pick up some hamburgers for the group.
At 7:30 p.m., after eating, Janice and her aunt decide to take her son Brandon to visit his grandmother who lived off of Woodland Avenue, about a mile and half away from Janices aunt. Her brother stays behind at his aunts house.
At 9:30 p.m., Janice, who has taken her aunt back home, receives a telephone call from her husband who is at home at their apartment.
At 10:00 p.m., Janice leaves her aunts house after some prodding from her 14 year old brother, who had to attend middle school the next day. Before Janice Beidleman departs from her aunts house, Janice write out a shopping list. Janice tells her aunt that she planned on stopping at the Kroger grocery store at the Northern Lights Shopping Center on Cleveland Avenue in Clinton Township.
At 10:15 p.m., after a two mile drive from her aunts house, Janice Beidleman arrives at her mothers house on Marcia Drive to drop her 14 year old brother at her mothers house. Janice stays at her mothers house for 15 minutes and tells her mother that she was going to the grocery store before heading back with her son to their apartment.
At 10:30 p.m., Janices 14 year old brother carries her infant son to the back seat of her Chevrolet Vega, where there is a pillow on the back seat and placed her son on the pillow. It was the last time that Janices mother and brother would see Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman alive.
The newspaper article noted that the Marcia Drive home is in a quiet neighborhood of streets that dead end to the north and east. To leave, Janice would have to travel towards Cleveland Avenue.
The newspaper article also noted that if Janice Beidleman did reach the Northern Lights Shopping Center on Cleveland Avenue, she would have found that the Krogers grocery store closed. A 24 hour operation all week, the Krogers grocery store closes at 10:00 p.m. on Sundays.
At 11:00 p.m., residents of the Bridgeview Hills subdivision off of Agler Road see a car drive around a barricade into an uninhabited area. A womans screams and the crying of a baby are heard. It is in this area, less than half a mile from her parents home, that police believe Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman is killed.
Police believe that the missing half hour, from 10:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., lies the answer to the mystery. Police believe there were two assailants, but they have drawn a blank trying to fill in that time.
Janice Beidlemans relatives say that Janice, protective of her baby, would not have stopped to pick up a hitchhiker or aid a stranger, but wonders if Janice had stopped for someone she knew or if her car forcibly entered?
Columbus Dispatch Tuesday September 14, 1982
Memory Of Murder: Misery Never Leaves
A year ago today only minutes after hearing that her daughter and grandson failed to return home the previous night, Janice Beidlemans mother heard a news report on the radio about the body of a young woman and infant had been found in Alum Creek.
She had hoped that she was wrong, but when she arrived at the crime scene, her instincts that the body of a young woman and an infant were proved to be correct that the victims were her daughter and grandson.
Janice Beidlemans mother is the last person known to see her daughter and grandson alive.
Police speculate that someone got into Janice Beidlemans car after she left her mothers home, killed Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman, and dumped their bodies in the creek near Sunbury and Agler Roads.
The final moments of Janices life, when she was raped, sodomized, beaten, and strangled, are vivid in the memory of Janice Beidlemans mother.
Janice Beidlemans mother noted that her daughter was always so afraid of being raped and that her daughter didnt deserve to die like that, adding that she loved her grandbaby and would never forget him.
No one has ever been arrested for the deaths and police have been unable to account for thee 30 minutes after Janice Beidleman and her son Brandon Beidleman left her mothers home at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday September 13, 1981.
At 11:00 p.m., screams and a crying baby were heard about half a mile from where the bodies were found. Police feel that the missing minutes hold the key to the murders, but have been unable to account for the time.
A homicide detective told a Dispatch reporter that the Beidleman murders is still an active investigation.
Janice Beidlemans mother told a reporter that the killers of her daughter and grandson think they got away, but she firmly believes that it will all come out someday.
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