OH OH - Michael Klitch, 12, Grandview Heights, 28 June 1971

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liz b. said:
I wouldn't totally rule out stranger danger. If someone pulled a gun on Michael, I think he would have gone quietly. I too wonder about the kids he met up with on his way to play tennis. Other than his family, were these kids the only ones to know his plans for that morning ?

Didn't a cleaning lady in one of the condos opposite the tennis court see Michael ? Was he playing using a wall ? Or did he actually plan to meet someone there that day ? maybe someone who had seen him playing in that location before ?
Click to expand...

I agree on the first paragraph. Contact those kids with whom he talked and see what they can remember. The conversation could say much. Yea, a cleaning lady across the street said she "saw a boy matching Mike's description playing tennis by himself that afternoon." Family members believe that she is credible and they know off of that information that Mike made it to the tennis court. From what I recall, by foot,it would be about a twenty-minute walk from Mike's house to the court.

He left home at about 2:10pm that day, talked to the kids at the church, which is like right accross the street from the Klitch's residence. It is estimated that he arrived at the court around 2:40pm. My own belief is that he had about 30-40 minutes of tennis playing time. I place the abduction around 3:15-3:20 PM. Joan Klitch went to pick Mike up at about 3:40pm allong with two of his siblings to take the swimming. She waited at the court for Mike. Only a tennis ball remained four feet from the gate. How long Joan waited for him to my knowldege was not made pubic. She took the other Klitch kids swimming. Than attended a school board meeting.

The family called police when Joan got home from the board meeting. No one saw Mike. A $5000 anonymous reward was offered for Mike's safe return by a "family friend" About two weeks later, Mike's body was found 25 miles away in an abandoned shack. Cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest made by a butcher knife. His clothes, tennis raquet, and glasses were found in a dumping bin. Was the knife ever recorded? I don't believe it was. There were two cans of charcoal lighter fluid near the shack. Mike's body had been badly scorched. LE searched known serial killer databases and inquired the railway train company as tracks ran from the woods surrounding the tennis court. Mike had told friends that "he once hopped a train." Could Mike have gone over to the wooded area to cool off and was snatched? We know his abductor and killer must of had a car..

Mike had Youth Baseball Game at 7 that night as I recall and never would have missed that. The tennis ball found near the gate was a special brand that Richard Klitch bought for him. Note that Mike did not take the ball with him. His parents said that he must of left in a hurry, because he would not leave his tennis equipment laying around. Mike had his racquet with him, it was found in the dumping bin with his clothes.

Satch
 
liz b. said:
I wouldn't totally rule out stranger danger. If someone pulled a gun on Michael, I think he would have gone quietly. I too wonder about the kids he met up with on his way to play tennis. Other than his family, were these kids the only ones to know his plans for that morning ?

Didn't a cleaning lady in one of the condos opposite the tennis court see Michael ? Was he playing using a wall ? Or did he actually plan to meet someone there that day ? maybe someone who had seen him playing in that location before ?
Click to expand...

Stranger danger is my second choice theory and I'll be the first to admit, even that can happen in a well-off area like the one Michael grew up in.

That dirt road by the tool shed where his remains were found - how frequently was that dirt road used by vehicles?

Was there any way tire tread marks could be gathered at the scene?

Or was it a foot trail only? What about footprints found outside that shed?
 
Satch said:
I agree on the first paragraph. Contact those kids with whom he talked and see what they can remember. The conversation could say much. Yea, a cleaning lady across the street said she "saw a boy matching Mike's description playing tennis by himself that afternoon." Family members believe that she is credible and they know off of that information that Mike made it to the tennis court. From what I recall, by foot,it would be about a twenty-minute walk from Mike's house to the court.

He left home at about 2:10pm that day, talked to the kids at the church, which is like right accross the street from the Klitch's residence. It is estimated that he arrived at the court around 2:40pm. My own belief is that he had about 30-40 minutes of tennis playing time. I place the abduction around 3:15-3:20 PM. Joan Klitch went to pick Mike up at about 3:40pm allong with two of his siblings to take the swimming. She waited at the court for Mike. Only a tennis ball remained four feet from the gate. How long Joan waited for him to my knowldege was not made pubic. She took the other Klitch kids swimming. Than attended a school board meeting.

The family called police when Joan got home from the board meeting. No one saw Mike. A $5000 anonymous reward was offered for Mike's safe return by a "family friend" About two weeks later, Mike's body was found 25 miles away in an abandoned shack. Cause of death was multiple stab wounds to the chest made by a butcher knife. His clothes, tennis raquet, and glasses were found in a dumping bin. Was the knife ever recorded? I don't believe it was. There were two cans of charcoal lighter fluid near the shack. Mike's body had been badly scorched. LE searched known serial killer databases and inquired the railway train company as tracks ran from the woods surrounding the tennis court. Mike had told friends that "he once hopped a train." Could Mike have gone over to the wooded area to cool off and was snatched? We know his abductor and killer must of had a car..

Mike had Youth Baseball Game at 7 that night as I recall and never would have missed that. The tennis ball found near the gate was a special brand that Richard Klitch bought for him. Note that Mike did not take the ball with him. His parents said that he must of left in a hurry, because he would not leave his tennis equipment laying around. Mike had his racquet with him, it was found in the dumping bin with his clothes.

Satch
Click to expand...

Above should say, "Was the knife ever recovered?" Not recorded.

Satch
 
MaryG12 said:
That dirt road by the tool shed where his remains were found - how frequently was that dirt road used by vehicles?

Was there any way tire tread marks could be gathered at the scene?

Or was it a foot trail only? What about footprints found outside that shed?
Click to expand...

After looking at the Columbus newspaper articles again, it appears that the road by the tool shed where the remains were found was totally different in 1971 than what it is today.

An article from the Columbus Dispatch in 1971 reported that the tool shed was located near the end of an old gravel driveway.

A black and white photo from a 1971 Columbus Dispatch newspaper article showed a gravel driveway with gravel on top of a dirt road.

And since the tool shed was in the area of an old abandoned quarry, it would make sense for gravel to be on top of a dirt road.

I believe when the old quarry was operational, gravel was used on top of the dirt road to prevent the heavy dump trucks from getting stuck.

Now as for tire thread marks and footprints at the scene, I honestly don’t know. But that is a very good question.

I honestly don’t know if there was a place for vehicles to turn around at the end of the old gravel driveway. Or if vehicles had to turn onto the grass to turn around when the old gravel driveway suddenly ended.

I don’t know how frequently the old gravel driveway was used by vehicles, but there was an illegal trash dump near the tool shed and abandoned quarry.

The gravel on the old gravel driveway near the Africa and Plumb roads intersection is long gone. But as you drive by there today, you can still see the faint trace of an old dirt road that is now fenced off.
 
liz b. said:
I too wonder about the kids he met up with on his way to play tennis.
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Satch said:
I agree on the first paragraph. Contact those kids with whom he talked and see what they can remember. The conversation could say much. Yea, a cleaning lady across the street said she "saw a boy matching Mike's description playing tennis by himself that afternoon." Family members believe that she is credible and they know off of that information that Mike made it to the tennis court.
Click to expand...


I agree that the kids who spoke with Mike at the church that day should be contacted again by investigators to see what they can remember.

The Columbus newspapers only reported that Mike stopped to talk with neighborhood kids in front of the church near his home after leaving his home.

Since the weather was hot and humid that afternoon, I wonder what had transpired with Mike and the neighborhood kids at the church.

Did Mike and the kids talk on the outside on the sidewalk in front of the church or on the church parking lot?

Was the church open and were there any indoor or outdoor activities going on at the church at the time that Mike and the kids were there?

Could Mike and the kids have gone inside the church to talk if it was open and air conditioned?

Were there anyone at the church that may have seen Mike and the kids talking?

Not only do you have to wonder if any of the kids had walked part of the way to the tennis court with Mike after leaving church, you also have to wonder if someone had followed Mike after leaving the church.

Now about the high rise apartment building that is across the street from the tennis courts where the maid had seen Mike playing tennis by himself.

When you’re at the tennis courts looking at the high rise apartment building directly across the street, you will see that the high rise apartment building sits on a hill at an obtuse angle.

Since the high rise apartment building is at an obtuse angle, I believe the maid would have to be on the upper floors on the southeast side of the high rise to have seen Mike playing at the tennis courts across the street.
 
nerosleuth said:
I agree that the kids who spoke with Mike at the church that day should be contacted again by investigators to see what they can remember.

The Columbus newspapers only reported that Mike stopped to talk with neighborhood kids in front of the church near his home after leaving his home.

Since the weather was hot and humid that afternoon, I wonder what had transpired with Mike and the neighborhood kids at the church.

Did Mike and the kids talk on the outside on the sidewalk in front of the church or on the church parking lot?

Was the church open and were there any indoor or outdoor activities going on at the church at the time that Mike and the kids were there?

Could Mike and the kids have gone inside the church to talk if it was open and air conditioned?

Were there anyone at the church that may have seen Mike and the kids talking?

Not only do you have to wonder if any of the kids had walked part of the way to the tennis court with Mike after leaving church, you also have to wonder if someone had followed Mike after leaving the church.

Now about the high rise apartment building that is across the street from the tennis courts where the maid had seen Mike playing tennis by himself.

When you’re at the tennis courts looking at the high rise apartment building directly across the street, you will see that the high rise apartment building sits on a hill at an obtuse angle.

Since the high rise apartment building is at an obtuse angle, I believe the maid would have to be on the upper floors on the southeast side of the high rise to have seen Mike playing at the tennis courts across the street.
Click to expand...

Do we know if Michael had a tennis coach ? If so, did his coach know where he practiced ? Excluding a coach, the only people who knew he was going to practice that day were his family and the kids he stopped to talk to ?
 
liz b. said:
Do we know if Michael had a tennis coach ? If so, did his coach know where he practiced ? Excluding a coach, the only people who knew he was going to practice that day were his family and the kids he stopped to talk to ?
Click to expand...

I would assume that since Mike's Dad was a coach that he would be Mike's coach. BTW, I have 60% that Mike was abducted and murdered by someone he knew and 40% stranger-danger, with the likelihood of using a weapon as a threat if Mike did not comply.

Satch
 
After reading this thread, I have some questions/theories

Who was he set to play against in the next tennis tournament? Did that person go on to excel in Tennis and make a name for themselves?

Also, with the stab wounds to the stomach, it is almost like someone near the same height or slightly taller than Michael. Standing there and thrusting the knife in his stomach as they are "fighting/struggling". If it was someone taller, then the stab wounds would have been more in the upper portion and downward.

Just my own thoughts.
 
4SAM said:
After reading this thread, I have some questions/theories

Who was he set to play against in the next tennis tournament? Did that person go on to excel in Tennis and make a name for themselves?

Also, with the stab wounds to the stomach, it is almost like someone near the same height or slightly taller than Michael. Standing there and thrusting the knife in his stomach as they are "fighting/struggling". If it was someone taller, then the stab wounds would have been more in the upper portion and downward.

Just my own thoughts.
Click to expand...

I read somewhere that the stab wounds were jagged and one writer said "amateurish." Probably meaning that this was not some serial killer who knew what he was doing, or Mike fought back in a big way. Please if anyone has answers to the questions above, or knows someone who might,. please post and let us know, The Ohio General has information about submitting tips in the Klitch case online. I don't want to post the direct links, but they are asking for help, and that is a good thing. All great questions!

Satch
 
My thoughts on this...

I find it unlikely that Mike was killed by someone he knew. For someone to do something horrific like that to Mike... It requires a special type of evil and brutality and not necessarily someone who had a grudge on him or his family. I think the perfect combination of things... him being at the tennis court alone, nobody else being near.. created the right conditions of being abducted by a predator. No matter how smart he was, he was still a child and had that predator used right tactics to lure him, he could be easily subdued and taken away. I still think that someone from the area that had a history of child exploitation and murder may be responsible but due to lack of evidence there hasn't been a convinction.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for linking my blog. I didn't expect that it would be linked here. The picture I'd gottrn from one of the old newspaper articles.
 
Brainy said:
My thoughts on this...

I find it unlikely that Mike was killed by someone he knew. For someone to do something horrific like that to Mike... It requires a special type of evil and brutality and not necessarily someone who had a grudge on him or his family. I think the perfect combination of things... him being at the tennis court alone, nobody else being near.. created the right conditions of being abducted by a predator. No matter how smart he was, he was still a child and had that predator used right tactics to lure him, he could be easily subdued and taken away. I still think that someone from the area that had a history of child exploitation and murder may be responsible but due to lack of evidence there hasn't been a convinction.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Brainy,

Your thoughts put a new perspective on the case for me. Focusing on the intensity and savagery of the crime, this could have gone far beyond a local resident angry with Mike or the Klitch family. Do you think Mike was forced to go with a stranger branding a weapon, or was he conned and manipulated by a stranger? This sad case has intrigued me for a very long time.

Satch
 
CountEveryMoment said:
Thanks for linking my blog. I didn't expect that it would be linked here. The picture I'd gottrn from one of the old newspaper articles.
Click to expand...

Welcome Count!

What's your theory on Mike Klitch's abduction and murder?

Satch
 
I honestly am not sure what to think about with this case. It could be a friendly stranger or someone he knew. I think the may have lured him away and he thought he would be back real quick, but it's kind of difficult to say why someone would do it. He was still a kid and even if he did make some enemy's more than likely they would be people around his age, and no one could think a kid could do it. If they were adults it probably would had been noticeable to others. As it is unusual for an adult to have some sort of strict hate for a child. I would say there was some sort of other motivation.

It could be possible that this was a thrill kill similar to the Alyssa Bustamante case where she killed Elizabeth Olten to see what it was like. Or it could be sexually motivated, but I'm honestly unsure what to think with this case.
 
Satch said:
Brainy,

Your thoughts put a new perspective on the case for me. Focusing on the intensity and savagery of the crime, this could have gone far beyond a local resident angry with Mike or the Klitch family. Do you think Mike was forced to go with a stranger branding a weapon, or was he conned and manipulated by a stranger? This sad case has intrigued me for a very long time.

Satch
Click to expand...

Satch,

I think it might have been a friendly encounter at first (considering how fast Mike was gone), and then it turned violent.
 
Brainy said:
Satch,

I think it might have been a friendly encounter at first (considering how fast Mike was gone), and then it turned violent.
Click to expand...

That's what I am also thinking,

The cleaning lady across the street claimed that she saw a boy matching Mike's description playing tennis by himself that afternoon. I keep coming back to the thought that unless the court had a practice ricochet wall, it would be impossible to play tennis alone. Tennis is either a two-player game or a doubles game.

Reddit has an article about Mike here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Unresolved...d0/murder_of_12_year_old_micheal_dean_klitch/

One user commentated that Mike could have gained false trust of someone who wanted to play tennis with him that he likely knew. I think it was either that, or the killer conned him that something bad happened to his family. Both of these instances would not indicate evidence of violence on the court. A hurried situation or state of shock I think could explain why Mike left his tennis ball on the court.

I still think most likely that this was an act of revenge by Mike's killer, for something that the killer thought was a past injustice done to him or the killer's family. He likely knew the Klitch family and Mike's routine. Find the kids who Mike met up with for a few minutes at the church near his house, might provide some valuable information. If there would be a way that we could contact them, they might be able to remember the conversation. WS policy says that we cannot contact Mike's family directly, which for this case is unfortunate, because I think we could learn so much. But, emotional pain in a case like that could last a lifetime, and we can't open up a Pandora's Box out of respect to their privacy.

Maybe there are family members that would love to know about this forum and that Mike is remembered to this day. I still wish we could get someone here, a family member, IF and only if they would be willing to talk. It would be interesting to hear a WS staffer comment on this case regarding the above. I would love more than anything in the world to find out the events leading up to Mike's abduction and murder just to get some closure. What really happened here leading to Mike's murder, and why? Just as importantly, if Mike had not gone out to practice Tennis that day, June 28, 1971, could his life have been saved?

I would estimate that the killer if alive today would be 65-85 years old. Hopefully he has passed away so that he can't hurt any more kids!

Satch
 
Some small updates:

Here is a quality picture of the Tennis Court, known today as the Urlin Tennis Court where Mike was abducted back in 1971:

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?hl=en&pb=!1s0x88388fb31a0b4d9f:0x8cf6a911c428b76e!2m22!2m2!1i80!2i80!3m1!2i20!16m16!1b1!2m2!1m1!1e1!2m2!1m1!1e3!2m2!1m1!1e5!2m2!1m1!1e4!2m2!1m1!1e6!3m1!7e115!4s//geo0.ggpht.com/cbk?panoid=KaWfmdkLHh_tkZQvhOBw7A&output=thumbnail&cb_client=search.LOCAL_UNIVERSAL.gps&thumb=2&w=520&h=175&yaw=183.79155&pitch=0&thumbfov=100!5sUrlin+Tennis+Court+-+Google+Search&imagekey=!1e2!2sKaWfmdkLHh_tkZQvhOBw7A

The Summit Chase Apartments are now, and maybe back than, are condo units across the street.

Google Maps: Report Inappropriate Image

A Google Map showing the distance relationship between the Condo Complex and the tennis courts:

Google Maps

Mike's parents are now approaching their Mid 80's, and have relocated from Ohio to Texas, where they have many family members living there.

Satch
 
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