OH OH - Kelly Prosser, 8, Columbus, 20 Sept 1982

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Kelly Ann Prosser was an 8 year old third grade student at Indianola Alternative School in Columbus, Ohio. Kelly Ann Prosser had brown hair. The new school year had started a few weeks earlier for Kelly Ann Prosser.


milepost920-art-gp9jdepv-1kelly-prosser-jpg.jpg



On the afternoon of Monday September 20, 1982, school was let out for the day. Kelly left the Indianola Alternative School for a walk of 15 blocks from the school to her home on West Tompkins Avenue in the North Side of Columbus.

Kelly was last seen at 3:30 p.m. walking westbound on East 16th Avenue near the corner of East 16th Avenue and North High Street by her third grade classmates.

Kelly also was last seen at the intersection of Lane Avenue and North High Street walking home that day.

On the day she disappeared, Kelly was wearing blue jeans, white and pink flower blouse, gray tennis shoes, and a light and dark blue reversible raincoat.

Kelly’s mother called Columbus Police before 6:00 p.m. to report her daughter missing when Kelly didn’t return home from school. Police interviewed Kelly’s friends and relatives but they had no clues to her whereabouts.

Columbus Police launched a search for Kelly after 6:00 p.m. that Monday evening due to concerns about the girl’s age and the fact that another incident had occurred on Friday September 17 in the North Side neighborhood in which a man attempted to abduct an 8 year old girl.

In the September 17 incident, a man attempted to abduct another 8 year old girl. The man was driving an older model red pickup truck with a camper on the back of the truck and let the girl escape when he was frightened by another motorist.

Two Columbus Police officers on patrol on North High Street saw an older man walking with a younger girl on North High Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue at about 9:00 p.m. that Monday evening.

The younger girl wore similar clothing and appeared to match the physical description of Kelly Ann Prosser. But the two Columbus Police officers did not stop to question them at that time on account that the girl appeared to know the older man that was with her.

Kelly Ann Prosser was still missing the next day on Tuesday September 21, 1982. A large organized search for Kelly by police and volunteers was launched in an area bounded by E. North Broadway, Indianola Avenue, E. 11th Avenue, and Olentangy River Road. Aided by a German shepherd police dog, searched vacant buildings, garbage cans, and trash dumpsters.

A police dog was able to track Kelly Ann Prosser’s scent from where she left elementary school on the day that she disappeared.

The police dog lost Kelly’s scent near North High Street and Maynard Avenue.

On that same day on Tuesday September 21, 1982, a motorist driving on A.W. Wilson Road about a mile west of U.S. Route 42 and five miles south of Plain City in rural Madison County spotted a light and dark blue reversible raincoat in the middle of the road.

It wasn’t until later that Tuesday evening that Columbus Police was contacted by the motorist who found the raincoat and connected the raincoat to the disappearance of Kelly Ann Prosser.

The finding of the raincoat in rural Madison County increased fears for Kelly’s safety as Columbus Police believed she had been abducted after she left school on Monday afternoon.

On the morning of Wednesday September 22, 1982, a search for Kelly Ann Prosser was conducted in rural Madison County along A.W. Wilson Road in the area where her raincoat was found.

Columbus Police, Franklin County and Madison County sheriff deputies, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and police dogs from Upper Arlington joined in the search for Kelly.

The body of Kelly Ann Prosser was found later that afternoon by a state highway patrol trooper in a cornfield about a mile away from where her raincoat was found on A.W. Wilson Road.

The investigation revealed that Kelly had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.

No one has ever been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of Kelly Ann Prosser and the case remains unsolved to this day.

Sources:


http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/20/1982-abduction-slaying-never-solved.html
 

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Here are two different maps relevant to this case.

The first map is the route Kelly Ann Prosser took from her school (A) to her home (B).

The second map shows the location of her home (A) and the crime scene (B).
 

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I remember the Fall of 1982 very well in the Columbus area back then.

Parents in the Columbus area and the Central Ohio area became alarmed for the safety of their children when eight year old third grade school girl Kelly Ann Prosser was abducted and later found murdered.

The murder of eight year old third grade school girl Asenath Louise 'Seenie' Dukat that happened on June 3, 1980 in the nearby suburb of Upper Arlington was still fresh on the minds of many parents in the Columbus area.


There is a thread on WebSleuths for Asenath Louise 'Seenie' Dukat:


OH OH - Asenath Louise 'Seenie' Dukat, 8, Upper Arlington, Murdered in 1980 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community


A few weeks after Kelly Ann Prosser was abducted and murdered, a lot of citizens in the Central Ohio region became even more alarmed after the bodies of two teenagers were found severed in the Hocking Hills region of Logan, Ohio.

Because of the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser and the two teenagers in Logan, trick or treating for children were cancelled in many communities in October 1982 during Halloween in the Central Ohio region.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday September 21, 1982

Search Launched For Girl, 8

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Tuesday September 21, 1982, police feared that an 8 year old girl who didn’t come home from Indianola Alternative Elementary School on Monday afternoon may be a victim of foul play.

Columbus Police launched a search for Kelly Ann Prosser about 6:00 p.m. Monday after interviews with friends and relatives gave no clues to her whereabouts.

The article reported that police officers were particularly concerned because of the girl’s age and the fact that another incident had occurred on Friday September 17 in the North Side neighborhood in which a man attempted to abduct an 8 year old girl.

In the September 17 incident, a man attempted to abduct another 8 year old girl. The man was driving an older model red pickup truck with a camper on the back of the truck and let the girl escape when he was frightened by another motorist.

Kelly’s mother last saw her daughter at about 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning as she was getting ready to leave for work. Kelly’s mother called police before 6:00 p.m. Monday evening when Kelly wasn’t home after she returned from work.

Kelly’s mother was divorced from Kelly’s father and was recently remarried. Police said that Kelly’s father contacted them on Tuesday and told police that he did not have his daughter.

Kelly’s third grade classmates told police that they last saw Kelly at about 3:30 p.m. walking westbound on 16th Avenue, near the Bank One office at the corner of 16th Avenue and North High Street.

Police said that Kelly 4 feet 8 inches tall, weights about 74 pounds, and has a small scar above her upper right eye. She was wearing blue jeans and a white and pink flowered blouse, gray tennis shoes, and a light and dark blue reversible raincoat.
 

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The Kelly Ann Prosser case is a good example of police telling the local news media that they were looking for a poi wanted on an unrelated charge and believed to be a suspect in the case, causing the news media to drag the poi's name in the newspaper for several weeks.


The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday September 22, 1982

Missing Girl’s Coat Found In Rural Area

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Wednesday September 22, 1982, the raincoat that Kelly Ann Prosser wore when she disappeared Monday was found late Tuesday along a rural road in Madison County, increasing fears for her safety.

The raincoat was found by a motorist in the middle of A.W. Wilson Road, near a partially harvested cornfield, about a mile west of U.S. Route 42 and about five miles south of Plain City, Ohio.

Kelly Ann Prosser was reported missing by her mother on Monday night after she failed to return home after school. Columbus police believed she was abducted as she was walking home from Indianola Alternative School.

While police wouldn’t comment on the discovery of the raincoat, sources did say that the girl’s mother did identify the raincoat as her daughter’s raincoat.

Columbus police also issued a three state all points bulletin for a north side man for questioning in connection with Kelly’s disappearance after a police dog tracked Kelly’s scent from her school, up on North High Street, and to an area about two blocks from the man’s home. The police dog lost Kelly’s scent in that area, leading police to believe that Kelly may have been taken away in a car.

The north side man was also wanted by Columbus police in connection with an incident on September 19 involving an 11 year old girl. Police believed that the suspect may have been headed to Pennsylvania or West Virginia where he has relatives living there.

The north side man Columbus police were looking for was described as white, 5 feet 6 inches, 165 pounds, with blue eyes and graying hair.

A Columbus police sergeant said that a police officer patrolling North High Street on Monday evening spotted the girl and a man matching the descriptions of Kelly Ann Prosser and the north side man police were looking for. Police sources said that the police officer looked through mug shots and positively identified the man police were looking for in the mug shots book.

Police held out little hope for Kelly’s safety on account of her age and the fact that she had been missing for more than 24 hours.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday September 22, 1982

350 Search In Vain For 8 Year Old North Sider

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Wednesday September 22, 1982, about 300 volunteers and 50 police officers combed the North Side streets and wooded areas Tuesday afternoon in a vain search for the missing 8 year old Kelly Prosser.

The searchers were also aided by a police dog. The dog tracked the girl’s scent from Indianola Alternative School before losing her scent in an area a few blocks from her home.

The 300 volunteers and 50 police officers searched an area bounded by East North Broadway, Indianola Avenue, East 11th Avenue, and Olentangy River Road. The volunteers along with police checked vacant buildings, garbage cans, and trash dumpsters. The area was searched from 4:00 p.m. until police called off the search at darkness.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Thursday September 23, 1982

Man Questioned In Slaying Of Child

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Thursday September 23, 1982, the north side man wanted for questioning by Columbus police returned from West Virginia and turned himself in to police.

While the north side man hasn’t been charged in connection with the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser, police did say that he was involved in a molestation incident on Sunday September 19 with a 11 year old girl which the girl’s parents filed a criminal charge against him.

Columbus Police planned to make an out of state trip to retrieve the vehicle that the north side man left in West Virginia when he returned to Columbus.

The motorist who found Kelly’s raincoat in the middle of the road on Tuesday was an attorney from nearby London. The attorney explained that he was driving on A.W. Wilson Road to get his housekeeper when he saw what looked like a clump of blue plastic in the middle of the road. He drove past it, picked up his housekeeper, and retrieved the raincoat from the roadway as he drove back to it again.

He said that his housekeeper went through all the pockets to see who the raincoat belonged to, but only a metal bolt in the pocket. The attorney thought the coat belonged to a young boy but his housekeeper thought it belonged to a young girl. He left the coat in the car and forgotten about it until his 21 year old daughter noticed it on the car’s floor seat.

His daughter recalled reading a story in the Columbus Dispatch about a girl from Columbus who was missing and was wearing a light and dark blue reversible raincoat. She contacted Columbus police about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday evening about the raincoat that her father found on a rural Madison County road.

The information on the coat was critical because the search for Kelly Ann Prosser had been stymied when tracking dogs late Tuesday lost Kelly’s scent around Maynard Avenue and North High Street.

Police said that after Kelly’s raincoat was found on A.W. Wilson Road by a motorist on Tuesday, it led to the discovery of Kelly’s body on Wednesday afternoon in a nearby cornfield a short distance off of A.W. Wilson Road.

While police refused to release the cause of Kelly’s death, they did say that there were no obvious wounds on her body when it was found, she was fully clothed, and lying between corn rows.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Thursday September 23, 1982

Mother’s Worst Fears Confirmed

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Thursday September 23, 1982, the newspaper article had an aerial photo of the crime scene where the body of Kelly Ann Prosser was found in a rural Madison County cornfield.


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The Madison County Sheriff said that the body of Kelly Ann Prosser was found in a cornfield about two miles west of U.S Route 42 off of A.W. Wilson Road by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper who was searching the area.

The sheriff said that Kelly was fully clothed with her shoes, socks, pants, and underwear on, there were no obvious signs of gunshot wounds or knife wounds, and they didn’t know how long she had been there.

There were no obvious footprints around the body or left in the field of unharvested corn. The sheriff said that tire tracks in a neighboring field appear to be related to farm work.

The news article said that there were 11 homes on A.W. Wilson Road which runs between U.S. Route 42 and Lafayette-Plain City Road. Kelly’s body was found just east of 3625 A.W. Wilson Road.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Friday September 24, 1982

Abducted Girl Was Strangled, Sources Reveal

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Friday September 24, 1982, while Columbus police refused to discuss the cause of death or the autopsy results, anonymous sources told the Columbus Dispatch that eight year old Kelly Ann Prosser had been strangled.

Columbus police questioned the north side man extensively on Thursday about Kelly’s murder. Columbus police still consider him to be a suspect in the Kelly Ann Prosser murder case.

The north side man also appeared before a judge on Friday morning concerning the molestation incident on September 19 with an 11 year old girl that occurred at Whetstone Park on the north side of Columbus.

The north side man’s defense attorney told the judge at the bond hearing that his client left town on Monday to visit his relatives in West Virginia.

The attorney said that his client contacted police and made arrangements to be questioned when he learned that he was wanted for questioning in the girl’s disappearance, and followed the police’s instructions to the letter.

The attorney admitted that while his client was convicted of breaking and entering in 1950 and also had five intoxication arrests in recent years, his client had absolutely no record of sex crimes.

The judge set the north side man’s bond on the molestation charge at one hundred grand. The judge set the high bond on account the defendant’s past felony record, and the fact that he was out of state after the crime for which he was charged with occurred.

The Columbus Dispatch also learned that in addition to the north side man’s 1950 conviction for breaking and entering, he also had a 1939 conviction for breaking and entering in which he received five years probation.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Friday September 24, 1982

Students Cope With Killing

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Friday September 24, 1982, teachers at Indianola Alternative School were repeating lessons to their elementary school students about what they should do if they’re approached by strangers.

School officials at Indianola Alternative School were also seeking advice from the staff of Barrington Elementary School in Upper Arlington where an 8 year old third grade student, Asenath Louise Dukat was abducted and murdered on June 3, 1980.

Asenath Louise Dukat was killed by a blow on the head and no one has been arrested in that case.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Saturday September 25, 1982

Man Still A Suspect In Prosser Slaying

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Saturday September 25, 1982, Columbus police said that the north side man is still a suspect in the slaying of Kelly Ann Prosser.

The north side man also remained in the county jail on a one hundred grand bond stemming from a molestation incident involving an 11 year old girl.

Columbus police said that they were also investigating other persons they consider to be suspects. Police were also looking for a heavy set bearded man who drove a red pickup truck and tried to molest another girl on the north side of Columbus on September 17.

Columbus police also said that they were determined to conceal the results of the autopsy that was conducted on Kelly Ann Prosser. The Columbus police chief agreed with the head of the detective bureau that the autopsy report, which indicates the cause of Kelly’s death, should be kept secret.

The police chief maintained keeping that information secret was critical to the investigation, but the newspaper learned has from other sources that the autopsy says the girl was strangled.
 

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The Columbus Dispatch Tuesday September 28, 1982

Kelly Was Assaulted, Police Affidavit States

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Tuesday September 28, 1982, while Columbus police homicide detectives refused to comment on the details of Kelly Ann Prosser’s death, the newspaper article revealed details about the case from a West Virginia police affidavit.

A police affidavit was filed in Boone County, West Virginia by a West Virginia State Trooper requesting a warrant to search the car of the north side man who had been questioned extensively in Kelly’s death.

The police affidavit from West Virginia stated that Kelly Ann Prosser was severely beaten and sexually assaulted. Kelly was severely molested in such a same manner as the 11 year old girl who was molested in Whetstone Park a day before Kelly disappeared.

While the West Virginia police affidavit says that a blood covered raincoat was found in Madison County, it also said that an anonymous caller told Columbus police the north side man was seen carrying a garbage bag that appeared to be heavy from his home during the early morning hours on September 21, the morning after Kelly Ann Prosser was reported missing.

The attorney who found Kelly’s raincoat on a rural Madison County road told the newspaper reporter that he didn’t notice any stain on the raincoat until it was pointed out to him by police officers.

A Columbus police homicide sergeant also told the newspaper reporter that there appeared to be a couple of smears of blood on the sleeve of Kelly’s coat.
 

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Kelly Ann Prosser was an 8 year old third grade student at Indianola Alternative School in Columbus, Ohio. Kelly Ann Prosser had brown hair. The new school year had started a few weeks earlier for Kelly Ann Prosser.


milepost920-art-gp9jdepv-1kelly-prosser-jpg.jpg
Dukat.aspx



On the afternoon of Monday September 20, 1982, school was let out for the day. Kelly left the Indianola Alternative School for a walk of 15 blocks from the school to her home on West Tompkins Avenue in the North Side of Columbus.

Kelly was last seen at 3:30 p.m. walking westbound on East 16th Avenue near the corner of East 16th Avenue and North High Street by her third grade classmates.

Kelly also was last seen at the intersection of Lane Avenue and North High Street walking home that day.

On the day she disappeared, Kelly was wearing blue jeans, white and pink flower blouse, gray tennis shoes, and a light and dark blue reversible raincoat.

Kelly’s mother called Columbus Police before 6:00 p.m. to report her daughter missing when Kelly didn’t return home from school. Police interviewed Kelly’s friends and relatives but they had no clues to her whereabouts.

Columbus Police launched a search for Kelly after 6:00 p.m. that Monday evening due to concerns about the girl’s age and the fact that another incident had occurred on Friday September 17 in the North Side neighborhood in which a man attempted to abduct an 8 year old girl.

In the September 17 incident, a man attempted to abduct another 8 year old girl. The man was driving an older model red pickup truck with a camper on the back of the truck and let the girl escape when he was frightened by another motorist.

Two Columbus Police officers on patrol on North High Street saw an older man walking with a younger girl on North High Street between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue at about 9:00 p.m. that Monday evening.

The younger girl wore similar clothing and appeared to match the physical description of Kelly Ann Prosser. But the two Columbus Police officers did not stop to question them at that time on account that the girl appeared to know the older man that was with her.

Kelly Ann Prosser was still missing the next day on Tuesday September 21, 1982. A large organized search for Kelly by police and volunteers was launched in an area bounded by E. North Broadway, Indianola Avenue, E. 11th Avenue, and Olentangy River Road. Aided by a German shepherd police dog, searched vacant buildings, garbage cans, and trash dumpsters.

A police dog was able to track Kelly Ann Prosser’s scent from where she left elementary school on the day that she disappeared.

The police dog lost Kelly’s scent near North High Street and Maynard Avenue.

On that same day on Tuesday September 21, 1982, a motorist driving on A.W. Wilson Road about a mile west of U.S. Route 42 and five miles south of Plain City in rural Madison County spotted a light and dark blue reversible raincoat in the middle of the road.

It wasn’t until later that Tuesday evening that Columbus Police was contacted by the motorist who found the raincoat and connected the raincoat to the disappearance of Kelly Ann Prosser.

The finding of the raincoat in rural Madison County increased fears for Kelly’s safety as Columbus Police believed she had been abducted after she left school on Monday afternoon.

On the morning of Wednesday September 22, 1982, a search for Kelly Ann Prosser was conducted in rural Madison County along A.W. Wilson Road in the area where her raincoat was found.

Columbus Police, Franklin County and Madison County sheriff deputies, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and police dogs from Upper Arlington joined in the search for Kelly.

The body of Kelly Ann Prosser was found later that afternoon by a state highway patrol trooper in a cornfield about a mile away from where her raincoat was found on A.W. Wilson Road.

The investigation revealed that Kelly had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.

No one has ever been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of Kelly Ann Prosser and the case remains unsolved to this day.

Sources:


http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/20/1982-abduction-slaying-never-solved.html
You can merge this case together with OH - Asenath Louise 'Seenie' Dukat, 8, Upper Arlington, Murdered in 1980...picture above next to Kelly.

I belive they were committed by the same person and that person may have lived in the upper Arlington area at the time.

You were wondering if they were connected yes?


The investigation revealed that Kelly had been beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled.
The investigation revealed that Asenath had been raped, strangled, and beaten

Kelly left the Indianola Alternative School for a walk of 15 blocks from the school to her home... Kelly was last seen at 3:30 p.m.
Asenath left Barrington Elementary School at 3:10 p.m. and began the 12 block walk home from school.

One occured when school ended for the summer.
And the other after school had started early in the fall.

Columbus Police, Franklin County and Madison County sheriff deputies, Ohio State Highway Patrol, and police dogs from Upper Arlington joined in the search for Kelly.


Three hours after Asenath was reported missing, her body was found in a drainage ditch near the corner of Riverside Drive and Waltham Road in Upper Arlington, less than one block from her home.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday October 10, 1982

Police Report Refusals Are Rare In Other Cities

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Sunday October 10, 1982, reporters who covered police for at least 25 years say the case of 8 year old Kelly Ann Prosser was the first time police would not tell the public the cause of death in a homicide investigation.

The article noted that Columbus police recently have asked the courts to seal search warrants and have also erected a wall in the detective division to further isolate officers from the press.

The article noted that police in New York City, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Akron said that they do not keep the cause of death secret. They could not recall a case where the information was withheld or one that was jeopardized because cause of death had been published.

While a Columbus police homicide squad supervisor confirmed that Kelly Ann Prosser had been strangled, he refused to say how she was strangled, claiming that the method of strangulation is critical to the investigation.

The homicide squad supervisor also maintained that keeping it a secret aided police in questioning suspects or eliminating those who falsely claim to be a killer. He also vowed to keep the matter secret as long as the corner from Madison County cooperated or until an arrest is made.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday October 13, 1982

FBI Finds No Fingerprints In Kelly Prosser Case

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Wednesday October 13, 1982, Columbus police announced that the FBI didn’t find any fingerprints that would help identify Kelly’s killer.

Police said clothing from Kelly’s body and clothing seized from the north side man suspected in her murder were sent to the FBI crime lab. Police were looking for Kelly’s fingerprints on the suspect’s clothing and the suspect’s fingerprints on Kelly’s clothing.

The FBI used a laser device to try to find fingerprints from both sets of clothes. Columbus police were told by the FBI that they found no prints were found on the articles of clothing that were seized during the investigation.

The tests on Kelly’s clothes were inconclusive and the FBI didn’t find anything of value. Police also said that there were no evidence to indicate whether the killer wore gloves.

Detectives wanted the man suspected of Kelly’s murder to take a polygraph test, but his defense attorney refused to agree to the polygraph test until the results of the FBI lab tests and other information from detectives were known first.

The defense attorney said he wanted to know the time of Kelly’s death in order to confirm his client’s whereabouts at the time of Kelly’s disappearance and murder.

A homicide squad supervisor vowed that police will not release any information concerning the time of Kelly’s death or the item that was used by the killer to strangle Kelly Ann Prosser.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday October 10, 1982

Police Report Refusals Are Rare In Other Cities

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Sunday October 10, 1982, reporters who covered police for at least 25 years say the case of 8 year old Kelly Ann Prosser was the first time police would not tell the public the cause of death in a homicide investigation.

The article noted that Columbus police recently have asked the courts to seal search warrants and have also erected a wall in the detective division to further isolate officers from the press.

The article noted that police in New York City, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Akron said that they do not keep the cause of death secret. They could not recall a case where the information was withheld or one that was jeopardized because cause of death had been published.

While a Columbus police homicide squad supervisor confirmed that Kelly Ann Prosser had been strangled, he refused to say how she was strangled, claiming that the method of strangulation is critical to the investigation.

The homicide squad supervisor also maintained that keeping it a secret aided police in questioning suspects or eliminating those who falsely claim to be a killer. He also vowed to keep the matter secret as long as the corner from Madison County cooperated or until an arrest is made.

She was strangled with one of those things you put around there neck, and the turn the handle to cause strangulation. I forgot what they call that. I believe they both were strangled the same way, but I am not sure if it has been reported what or how the other girl was strangled...A tunique something like that. But I am just guessing.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday October 20, 1982

Man Gets Lower Bond

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Wednesday October 20, 1982, the north side man being held in the county jail under a 100 grand bond in September 19 molestation incident at Whetstone Park had his bond reduced.

His bond was reduced to a combination bond of $10,000 appearance bond and a $25,000 recognizance bond. He would need to post $1,000 cash and sign the recognizance bond to be released from the county jail.

The judge was told by an assistant Franklin County prosecutor that the latest information police had in the Kelly Ann Prosser murder investigation indicates no charges will be filed against the north side man in the murder case.

The defense attorney said that his client is no longer a suspect in the abduction and strangulation of Kelly Ann Prosser.


The Columbus Dispatch Thursday October 21, 1982

Man’s Lawyer Says Threats Made

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Thursday October 21, 1982, the defense attorney for the north side man said that his client went into seclusion when a threat was made on his life after he was released from the county jail.

A woman called the Franklin County prosecutor’s office before the north side man was released from jail, saying that the north side man would be killed if he left jail.

An assistant Franklin County prosecutor said that the north side man no longer appears to be a suspect in the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser.

The defense attorney maintained that his client isn’t guilty in the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser on account that his client was out of town when the abduction and murder occurred.

The defense attorney also said that this was unique in that someone was accused through suspicion rather than being charged.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Friday October 22, 1982

Cause Of Death Listed

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Friday October 22, 1982, the Madison County coroner released a final autopsy report on the death of Kelly Ann Prosser.

The autopsy report said that Kelly Ann Prosser was strangled, and the cause of death was attributed to a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Marks around the girl’s neck indicated a rope or a piece of clothing was used to strangle her. Superficial bumps and bruises were found on Kelly’s head and hands.

The autopsy report also said that Kelly Ann Prosser was sexually assaulted but not raped.

The coroner did not release the exact time of Kelly’s death.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Thursday November 11, 1982

Police Stymied In Kelly’s Slaying

In a Columbus Dispatch newspaper article published on Thursday November 11, 1982, Columbus police admitted that they are stymied in their search for the killer of 8 year old Kelly Ann Prosser.

A sergeant on the homicide squad believed that a confession will be the only way that the Kelly Ann Prosser murder case will ever be solved. But he added that this not a type of crime that a killer would brag about.

A homicide squad supervisor also said that the Prosser case doesn’t look too promising at the moment, even though only two homicide detectives are investigating the case part time.
 
The Columbus Dispatch Sunday January 15, 1984

Suspicion Of Murder

In a Columbus Dispatch Sunday Magazine newspaper article published on Sunday January 15, 1984, the article examined the events surrounding the Kelly Ann Prosser murder case.

Columbus police admitted that 16 months after the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser, they still didn’t know who killed Kelly.

Columbus police said that they are convinced that the north side man who was arrested on an unrelated molestation charge was not Kelly’s killer and is no longer a suspect in the murder.

The article said that while the north side man was never charged with Kelly’s murder, he was in prison because of it.

The article explained that jurors convicted the north side man on the molestation charge despite a judge’s orders that they weren’t supposed to discuss his ties to the Prosser case during jury deliberations.

The fact that the north side man’s name was all over the local news media everyday for several weeks and associated with the Kelly Ann Prosser case had influenced the jury.

The article noted that no one else had witnessed the girl’s molestation and no physical evidence were presented during his trial. The jury deliberated for two hours before he was convicted solely on the girl’s testimony.

The article also noted that during the north side man’s sentencing hearing, an incriminating pre-sentence investigation revealed that in 1977, he had been charged with buying alcohol for four teenage girls. He was acquitted on the alcohol charge.

When the judge asked about the 1977 incident, the north side man told the judge at his sentencing hearing that the 1977 charges amounted to nothing.

His explanation infuriated the judge, and the north side man was given a maximum sentence of 3 to 10 years in prison and a fine of five thousand dollars on the molestation conviction.

The north side man’s defense attorney pointed the following facts that Columbus police didn’t release to the public about the Kelly Ann Prosser murder case.

The two Columbus police officers who identified the north side man as the older man they saw walking along North High Street with a girl that matched Kelly’s description on the evening of Monday September 20, 1982, later turned out to be mistaken.

A man who read the account in the newspaper came to police headquarters and identified himself and the girl with whom he had been seen. It was the man’s granddaughter. Although police acknowledged this fact to be true, it wasn’t made public at the time it occurred.

A police tracking dog from Upper Arlington police had tracked Kelly’s scent to the front porch of the north side man’s home, but the tracking dog didn’t find any trace of Kelly when it later searched inside the north side man’s home and car.

The dog’s handler, who was an Upper Arlington police officer, explained that when the dog picked up Kelly’s scent on the front porch, it meant that her scent was on that porch anytime during the previous two weeks. He also explained that Columbus police had known all along that Kelly had never been inside the house or car.

The defense attorney’s private investigator located a north side woman who claimed she saw Kelly Ann Prosser get into a red pickup truck on the day of her disappearance at the intersection of Maynard Avenue and North High Street.

The intersection of Maynard Avenue and North High Street was the location where a police tracking dog lost Kelly’s scent.

During a taped conservation with the defense attorney, the woman said Kelly was acting as if she knew the man driving the truck, but didn’t realize that Kelly was being abducted until the next day when she saw Kelly’s picture on the news.

The woman told the defense attorney that she didn’t contact police about what she saw on the day of Kelly’s disappearance on account that the red pickup truck looked right at her and she was afraid that the killer would later come back to get her.

The defense attorney contacted police about the female eyewitness who saw Kelly entering a red pickup truck.

Police acknowledged that they didn’t reveal the existence of this eyewitness to the public, but now say that the man seen coaxing Kelly into his red pickup truck did not match the description of the north side man who had been a murder suspect in the Kelly Ann Prosser case.

Police confirmed that a few days before Kelly’s disappearance, a man in a red pickup truck had abducted another 8 year old girl on the north side of Columbus on Friday September 17, 1982. The girl was released unharmed after motorists started chasing the truck. Police did not say where that abduction incident happened at on the north side.

Telephone records support the north side man’s claim he was in West Virginia. He made a collect telephone call to from Mineral Wells, West Virginia to his home by 7:41 p.m. on the evening of Kelly’s disappearance. He also made two other calls from Charleston, West Virginia that night.

Police were never able to substantiate an anonymous claim that the north side man was seen during the early morning hour of Tuesday September 21, 1982, of carrying a garbage bag outside his home as if he was carrying a body.

Of all the tests that were conducted in the case, no physical evidence could be found linking the north side man to the murder of Kelly Ann Prosser.

Police still refused to release the time of Kelly’s death, but the defense attorney asserted that it would eliminate any suspicion of his client’s involvement in Kelly’s murder if it were released.

The defense attorney believed that Kelly Ann Prosser was murdered sometime between September 20 when she was walking home after school to the time her raincoat was found on a rural Madison County road on the morning of September 21.


From the article, here is a timeline of events in the Kelly Ann Prosser case.

Friday September 17, 1982

A man in a red pickup truck abducted an 8 year old girl on the north side of Columbus. The girl was released unharmed after motorists started chasing the truck.

Sunday September 19, 1982

On the afternoon of September 19, 1982, the north side man drove his five grandchildren and their 11 year old friend in his car to the Whetstone Park of Roses on North High Street on the north side of Columbus.

The north side man’s grandchildren and their 11 year old friend had spent the weekend at his home.

The north side man denied he had molested the 11 year old girl, and claimed that the girl was never alone with him in the car at any time while they were at the park.

Monday September 20, 1982

The 11 year old girl’s mother contacted Columbus police that morning after discovering signs that her daughter had been sexually molested.

The north side man said that he was at work on the west side of Columbus at his automobile garage job on that day from morning until that afternoon.

Columbus police detectives went to the north side man’s home during that day to question him about the molestation incident, but no one answered the door at his home. Detectives left a business card on the door.

The north side man’s supervisor did confirm that he left his job at 3:25 p.m. that day after getting a phone call at work. The north side man told his supervisor that he had to go to West Virginia to settle a property dispute with his relatives.

The north side man said that returned home from work, took a bath, and left for West Virginia about 5:00 p.m. that day.

His wife said that she was with him from the time he returned home from work until he dropped her off at the J.C. Penny Catalog Distribution Center on Scarborough Boulevard and I-70 on the far east side of Columbus and watched her husband drive east on I-70 going to West Virginia.

The north side man made a collect telephone call to his home about 7:41 p.m. that evening from Mineral Wells, West Virginia. He also made calls from Charleston, West Virginia later that evening.

But detectives believe the north side man fled to West Virginia after learning that they wanted to question him about the molestation incident.

At 3:30 p.m., the school dismissal bell rang for the day at Indianola Alternative School. Kelly bid her classmates goodbye and started the 15 block walk home from her school on 16th Avenue to her home on West Tompkins Avenue.

Police believe that somewhere on North High Street, between East 16th Avenue and Maynard Avenue, Kelly Ann Prosser was abducted, never to be seen alive again.

At around 6:00 p.m. that evening, Kelly’s mother contacts Columbus police to report her daughter missing after she didn’t return home from school.

Tuesday September 21, 1982

When Kelly had not returned home the next morning, police launched a search for Kelly and detectives from the juvenile squad became involved.

Juvenile squad detectives learned of the molestation incident with the 11 year old girl that happened on the other day in the same general area.

A police tracking dog followed Kelly’s scent from the elementary school to where it lost Kelly’s scent at the intersection of Maynard Avenue and North High Street.

The police tracking dog was also taken to the vicinity nearby the north side man’s home, where it picked up Kelly’s scent on the front porch of his home.

Two Columbus police officers told juvenile squad detectives about the older looking man they had seen walking had-in-hand with a girl matching Kelly’s description near 11th Avenue and North High Street the previous evening.

When the two police officers were shown a group of five mug shots, they both picked out the north side man as the man they had seen the previous evening.

And when detectives returned back to the north side man’s home that day, they were told that the north side man had left town for West Virginia.

That was all the evidence police needed to issue an all points bulletin for that the north side man was wanted for questioning in connection with Kelly’s disappearance.

Police were later contacted that evening by the motorist who had found Kelly’s raincoat on a Madison County road.

The north side man learns that the police were looking for him after his wife calls him in West Virginia.

Wednesday September 22, 1982

Police launched a search that morning for Kelly in the area where her raincoat was found by a motorist in Madison County.

The body of Kelly Ann Prosser is found in a cornfield by a state highway patrol trooper involved in the search for Kelly.

The north side man returns to Columbus that night and contacts his defense attorney. The defense attorney meets him at the north side man’s home.

The north side man was arrested at his home after the defense attorney contacts the police.

The north side man is taken to police headquarters where he is questioned about Kelly’s death and is held on the molestation charge.
 

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