OH OH - Karen Michalski, 29, Lakewood, 7 March 1979

On the evening of March 7, 1979 she had gone to meet a friend at a convention in Cleveland. Later, she would join those same friends at a restaurant in Rocky River called Victoria Station. Afterward, she said she was heading to her home in Lorain.

It was nearing midnight. She headed east through Lakewood on Detroit instead of west towards her home. Off of Clifton she makes a right turn onto Beach and pulled into a driveway.

"The driver's side window glass was blown out -- it was apparent she was shot through the driver's window," said Capt. Gary Sprague.

Shot in the back of the head. The weapon, a shotgun. The news stunned her family.

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Her assailant fired a shotgun blast at Karen from close range, killing her. It is assumed the assailant was standing next to the car.

A witness saw a station wagon car parked behind Karen's car in the street on Beach Ave. facing south. This car left the area quickly, south on Beach Ave. after the shot was fired. It was determined that Karen did not know anyone living in the area where she stopped her car. It is not known why Karen drove east into Lakewood after leaving Rocky River, instead of west towards her home in Lorain, OH.

The investigation stalled after several months. Several persons of interest were interviewed, but no solid suspects were developed.

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Betty P said:

Bumping.

I thought there was an older thread on this case. Below is a link for the route Karen drove that night, from the Victoria Station Restaurant in Rocky River to Beach Ave. in Lakewood. Was she lost and wandered into a place where a man with a shotgun was waiting to kill someone? Or was she there to meet someone?

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Wayne Keith said:

The link seems to be gone, do you know where the Victoria Sta. Restaurant was located? Apparently they all went out of business within ten years of this incident. I lived in Lakewood just a few blocks away at the time this happened, on the next street over. Lakewood had a reputation back then as a "Law & Order" kind of city. Everybody knew "don't mess around in Lakewood" and there seemed to be a police car on every block. Everyone who lived around the area just knew they'd solve this crime quickly. Sadly, it slowly faded from the headlines and now here we are, 43 years later! I personally think it was a road rage thing, but, who can say? I'm 64yo now, and any of these old, unsolved crimes are fascinating, sad and tragic but a strange look into the evil side of human behavior, especially when I'm familiar with some of the details.

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