GUILTY OH - Dana Rosendale, 19, murdered, Northwood, 5 Sept 1982

Dana Rosendale, a brand new mother and Owens Community College student, was out with her best friend Roxy Pelow the night of she died. The two spent the better part of the night at South Side Roxy, a hot spot in the 70s and 80s for rock musicians and fans alike, located near Bryne and Hill. Investigators say the bouncer, Russell Adkins, opted to take Dana and Roxy home. Roxy was dropped off first in Michigan. Dana was dropped off second, but she never made it home.

It was then later that night that Northwood Police were notified about an unconscious 19-year-old Dana found lying in the right of way on the west side of Tracy Road in front of a residence located at 1916 Tracy Road. The police later learned that around 3:32 a.m. a male subject (Russell Adkins) had come to the door of a neighbor across the street and requested they call fire and rescue for a woman lying by Tracy Road. Russell stated he spotted her body as he drove up the street. He then later admitted Dana had been a passenger in his car, which she had fallen out of, according to Russell.

Click to expand...

The Lucas County Coroner ultimately ruled her death undetermined — because he didn't believe the teenager's injuries were consistent with the events of someone falling out of a vehicle...

More than three decades later and renewed persistence by Dana's daughter, the case has been re-opened. Police are turning their attention once again to the moments and mysteries of Saturday, September 5, 1982.

Both Russell Adkins and Roxy Pelow have been re-interviewed. However, police say they have remained uncooperative in the investigation.

Click to expand...

The trial for Russell Adkins, the man accused of killed Dana Rosendale in 1982, has been pushed back once again...

The trial will now start Jan. 19.

Click to expand...

Russell Adkins, 56, went on trial Tuesday in Wood County Common Pleas Court for murder in the Sept. 11, 1982, death of Dana Rosendale...

Deborah Risner, the victim’s sister, described for the jury how she found her fun-loving, younger sister unconscious at St. Charles Hospital, in intensive care, and unscathed expect for the right side of her head. “She had absolutely no injuries — no abrasions, no road burn,” Ms. Risner said. “She had nothing except the swollen side of her face, a swollen eye, and she had brain tissue coming out her ear from the blow”...

Defense attorney Neil McElroy said in his opening statement that much of the evidence collected at the time of the incident, including autopsy photos, Ms. Rosendale’s hospital records, and a pool cue found near the scene, were destroyed or lost over the years. Other potential evidence, such as the condition of Mr. Adkins’ car after the incident, was never collected, he said.

Click to expand...

Jurors in northwestern Ohio have failed to reach a verdict in the case of a man accused of killing a 19-year-old woman in 1982.

A hung jury was declared Wednesday in the trial of 56-year-old Russell Adkins, of Whitehouse. He was charged last year in Dana Rosendale’s slaying more than 33 years ago.

Click to expand...

This time around he will have the right to a speedy trial because he is being held in jail. That means the next trial will have to be within 90 days from the last.

Adkins will be back for another pretrial hearing on Feb. 23.

Click to expand...

On Tuesday, Russell Adkins went before a judge once again for another pre-trial hearing. He's accused of killing Dana Rosendale back in 1982.

After a mistrial back in January, both the prosecution and the defense in the case have started going over what things they'll bring to the table the second time around.

Before the last trial, the defense filed a motion to exhume Rosendale's body for a second time and that motion was denied. But Tuesday, both sides agreed that this time it's necessary moving forward.

Click to expand...

Russell Adkins was in court again Thursday afternoon for another pretrial hearing.

He's the man accused of the murder of Dana Rosendale in 1982. He's already been on trial once, which resulted in a hung jury.

An exhumation date for Dana Rosendale's body has been set, and both sides will have their experts examine their findings before going back to court in April for another pretrial.

Click to expand...

Attorneys confirmed the date for a second trial in the case of Russell Adkins Thursday.

Adkins, 57, Whitehouse, is accused in the 1982 murder of Dana Rosendale, who died in Northwood at the age of 19.

A new trial is scheduled to begin July 11.

Click to expand...

The retrial of Russell Adkins began on Monday with the selection of a jury.

Adkins is facing murder charges in the death of Dana Rosendale on Sept. 5, 1982.

Click to expand...

More witnesses were heard on the third day of Russell Adkins' retrial where prosecutors are trying to prove him guilty of the death of Dana Rosendale more than 30 years ago.

On Wednesday, everyone in the courtroom got a glimpse at what Rosendale's body looked like after being underground for decades - in images that ranged from the casket to the coroner's exam table.

Click to expand...

After four days of calling witnesses, the state called former Wood County Prosecutor Betty Montgomery to the stand who says she cold not prove without a reasonable doubt Russell Adkins was guilty of murder, attributing this to the lack of sufficient evidence as well as the cause of death - classified as undetermined, rather than a homicide.

"You can't just go to the court and say, 'Your honor, we wanna go look at the defendant's home', if you can't really establish why that home... that you have probable cause to believe that there's something in that home that is evidential-ly significant to the case you are investigating," Montgomery said.

Click to expand...

Just before 2 a.m., a jury found Russell Adkins guilty in the death of Dana Rosendale.

He was accused of killing Rosendale back in 1982.

A previous trial ended in a hung jury before prosecutor’s decided to retry Adkins.

The Adkins murder retrial wrapped up a week of testimony on Friday.

After closing arguments, the jury began deliberating.

Click to expand...

Nearly 34 years after a Toledo woman was found badly injured along the side of Tracy Road in Northwood and died a few days later, the man who drove her home that night was sentenced today to life in prison with parole eligibility after 15 years.

Russell Adkins, 57, formerly of Whitehouse, was found guilty of murder early Saturday morning by a jury in Wood County Common Pleas Court for causing the death of Dana Rosendale, 19.

Judge Reeve Kelsey imposed the mandatory sentence and gave Adkins credit for more than a year that he spent in the Wood County jail awaiting trial. His first trial in January ended in a mistrial after the jury was unable to unanimously agree either on his guilt or innocence.

Click to expand...