Delaware County & I have been in contact. It's been a couple years but I'm sure I can talk to the detective again.
OH OH - Michael Klitch, 12, Grandview Heights, 28 June 1971
- Thread starter nerosleuth
- Start date
Ok I wondered that. I'm sure they checked the prescription.
I am torn between this above scenario and him choosing to take a shortcut home rather than wait for his Mom to pick him up.
1.) If the killer knew Mike and his activities this would be tragic "perfect" scenario to capture him. Just wait outside the gate. Oh how awful! It could also explain the one ball sitting there, And the theory that Mike's parents had that he got into a car with someone he knew, or someone who knew his Dad. The killer could have lured Mike away with "Something terrible happened to your Mom or Dad. They had to go to the hospital and sent me here to get you."
The beginning of the horror because Mike knows this person and trusts him. Gets into this person's car and meets a tragic fate. (I put this at a 50% possibility.)
2.) Mike takes a shortcut home through the woods, sees a neighbor whom he and his family know and trust and he invites Mike in for soda or lemonade or something, and an argument gradually begins that turns deadly. (I put this at a 40% possibility)
3.) Make #1 a stranger as the killer is possible, but I think least likely, (I put this at a 10% possibility.) Mike was apprehensive of strangers and knew stranger danger. Unless Mike was threatened with a weapon I only slightly believe this scenario.
Going with 1 or 2 as most likely.
Satch
nerosleuth
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I have sad news to report.
Joan Klitch, the mother of Michael Klitch, passed away on May 28, 2022.
Her obituary was in the Columbus Dispatch newspaper this morning.
Source:
Joan Klitch, the mother of Michael Klitch, passed away on May 28, 2022.
Her obituary was in the Columbus Dispatch newspaper this morning.
Source:
Obituaries in Columbus, OH | The Columbus Dispatch
Klitch, Joan Marie (Smith) 1934 - 2022 Joan Marie Smith was born April 9, 1934 in Bexley, Ohio to Helen and Bryan Smith. She spent most of her...
www.dispatch.com
Very sad,
Really said that neither of Mike's parents lived long enough to see justice for his abductor and killer. (Whom I still believe is either that businessman's name on those receipts. Or else that person in question knows Mike's killer.) The cops dropped the ball on this case by not focusing on that evidence.
Satch
Andreee
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Hi, just came here and read Michael's mom' obituary. Sad she left this world without knowing what happened to him. Did you get a chance to talk to the detective again. I'm thinking now might be an appropriate time to do that. Or perhaps another American WS'er can?
Ciriii57
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Hey everyone, some great ideas on here. After reading all your comments I have an few queries and ideas of my own that I would like to share.
The first is about the actual murder and wounds that Michael sufferred (sorry if anythng too gruesome below).
This statement about the angle of the wounds really got me thinking. (I am NOT any kind of expert so these are just ideas). The stab wounds came from all over the place (from below, above and the sides) and were widely spread...although still within one particular area (the left chest, the heart area). My immediate thought is that Michael was suspended or hanging, probably by his arms and everytime he was stabbed his body moved therefore affecting the angle of attack. I imagine that he was suspended by his arms as there was no mention of any wounds to other areas of his body so I don't think he was able to defend himself. I also noticed that there was never any mention of damage to the tennis racket consistent with it being used in defence or attack so I doubt that Michael was able to fight back. Also, and most importantly, if Michael's attacker was an adult I would think that the stab wounds would have all come from above as the killer would have been taller. So I have to conclude that Michael was somehow raised so that the chest area was level to the attacker. Since there was no mention of any evidence of hanging found at the crime scene, is it possible that Michael was held somewhere else first (perhaps in a cellar or shed-were there railway sheds in the area??) and then his body moved after.
The other option would be that Michael's attacker was his own height, which would suggest a child. But I find this unlikely since the body had to be transported with a vehicle.
The lack of a note- Someone mentioned this in an earlier post coz there has been confusion as to why he would've left a note if his mother knew where he was going so I just wanted to reiterate. When she said that he would always leave a note I understand Mrs Klitch to mean that he would've left a note if there had been a change of plan. No change of plan=no note. But I think this explains why Mrs Klitch didn't act worried when Michael wasn't where he was supposed to be. She probably expected that there would be a note at home. The very mention of these notes by Mrs Klitch leads me to believe that it was a common occurence for Michael to change his plans and let her know with a note.
The left behind tennis ball- I am just gonna play devil's advocate here and suggest that maybe this is a red herring of a clue. Is it possible that Michael hit this ball over the fence and left/was taken before he had chance to retrieve it. Then later some kind person walking by found it and threw it back in the tennis courts.
Otherwise I can't see any explanation why Michael or his abductor would meticulously gather up all his belongings and leave this.
The Temperature-I see that the temperature at that time, on the day he disappeared was 93F (33C). The average temperature for this time of year was 84F (28C), but it has gotten even hotter before. I personally don't think this is that hot, and judging by the averages it seems that Michael would probably be used to playing in these kinds of temperatures and even hotter during Juy and August. Where I live the average for this time of year would be 95F (35C) and people are still out playing sports etc. I also am not sure that he was overdressed, I believe he was wearing shorts and a tennis sweater; but a tennis sweater is not such a heavy garment it is a very lightweight knit, his may even have been short-sleeved. Back then there were rules about how you should be dressed to play tennis, especially professionally, so I don't think that Michael would have been suffering from heat exhaustion, I think it was normal for him. Below an image of a tennis sweater and links to the weather that day:
I do have a couple of questions about things that I may have missed in previous posts.
Firstly, does anyone please know if the charcoal lighter used to set the fire was charcoal lighter fluid or was it those charcoal brick things (briquettes?) that you use on a BBQ?
Secondly, I am not understanding the thing with the reciepts found with Michael's posessions so maybe someone can explain this more?
From what I am reading a man hired another older man to clean out his garage. The older man took the rubbish (reciepts etc) and dumped them in a known rubbish tip where Michael's possessions happened to have also been dumped; is that right? If so, I don't see how it related to Michael's case, unless we are saying that the older man abducted Michael on his way to the tip? Or..are we saying that Michael's possessions were in the posession of the man whose garage was cleaned? Still... I can't get how there is any connection tbh. If this person had killed Michael, what logic would there be in then scattering his business receipts around to be traced right back to him? I am not sure if I am missing something so please let me know?
As for who I think is responsible...I keep changing my mind. On the one hand I get the impression that this was someone local who knew Michael. On the other hand it also feels like a random sexual assault. And the disposal of the body and the clothes was so odd, I don't know what that means!....I have to reserve judgement for now.
Please let me know what you think guys and please correct any mistakes that I have made.
The first is about the actual murder and wounds that Michael sufferred (sorry if anythng too gruesome below).
BBM
This statement about the angle of the wounds really got me thinking. (I am NOT any kind of expert so these are just ideas). The stab wounds came from all over the place (from below, above and the sides) and were widely spread...although still within one particular area (the left chest, the heart area). My immediate thought is that Michael was suspended or hanging, probably by his arms and everytime he was stabbed his body moved therefore affecting the angle of attack. I imagine that he was suspended by his arms as there was no mention of any wounds to other areas of his body so I don't think he was able to defend himself. I also noticed that there was never any mention of damage to the tennis racket consistent with it being used in defence or attack so I doubt that Michael was able to fight back. Also, and most importantly, if Michael's attacker was an adult I would think that the stab wounds would have all come from above as the killer would have been taller. So I have to conclude that Michael was somehow raised so that the chest area was level to the attacker. Since there was no mention of any evidence of hanging found at the crime scene, is it possible that Michael was held somewhere else first (perhaps in a cellar or shed-were there railway sheds in the area??) and then his body moved after.
The other option would be that Michael's attacker was his own height, which would suggest a child. But I find this unlikely since the body had to be transported with a vehicle.
The lack of a note- Someone mentioned this in an earlier post coz there has been confusion as to why he would've left a note if his mother knew where he was going so I just wanted to reiterate. When she said that he would always leave a note I understand Mrs Klitch to mean that he would've left a note if there had been a change of plan. No change of plan=no note. But I think this explains why Mrs Klitch didn't act worried when Michael wasn't where he was supposed to be. She probably expected that there would be a note at home. The very mention of these notes by Mrs Klitch leads me to believe that it was a common occurence for Michael to change his plans and let her know with a note.
The left behind tennis ball- I am just gonna play devil's advocate here and suggest that maybe this is a red herring of a clue. Is it possible that Michael hit this ball over the fence and left/was taken before he had chance to retrieve it. Then later some kind person walking by found it and threw it back in the tennis courts.
Otherwise I can't see any explanation why Michael or his abductor would meticulously gather up all his belongings and leave this.
The Temperature-I see that the temperature at that time, on the day he disappeared was 93F (33C). The average temperature for this time of year was 84F (28C), but it has gotten even hotter before. I personally don't think this is that hot, and judging by the averages it seems that Michael would probably be used to playing in these kinds of temperatures and even hotter during Juy and August. Where I live the average for this time of year would be 95F (35C) and people are still out playing sports etc. I also am not sure that he was overdressed, I believe he was wearing shorts and a tennis sweater; but a tennis sweater is not such a heavy garment it is a very lightweight knit, his may even have been short-sleeved. Back then there were rules about how you should be dressed to play tennis, especially professionally, so I don't think that Michael would have been suffering from heat exhaustion, I think it was normal for him. Below an image of a tennis sweater and links to the weather that day:
I do have a couple of questions about things that I may have missed in previous posts.
Firstly, does anyone please know if the charcoal lighter used to set the fire was charcoal lighter fluid or was it those charcoal brick things (briquettes?) that you use on a BBQ?
Secondly, I am not understanding the thing with the reciepts found with Michael's posessions so maybe someone can explain this more?
From what I am reading a man hired another older man to clean out his garage. The older man took the rubbish (reciepts etc) and dumped them in a known rubbish tip where Michael's possessions happened to have also been dumped; is that right? If so, I don't see how it related to Michael's case, unless we are saying that the older man abducted Michael on his way to the tip? Or..are we saying that Michael's possessions were in the posession of the man whose garage was cleaned? Still... I can't get how there is any connection tbh. If this person had killed Michael, what logic would there be in then scattering his business receipts around to be traced right back to him? I am not sure if I am missing something so please let me know?
As for who I think is responsible...I keep changing my mind. On the one hand I get the impression that this was someone local who knew Michael. On the other hand it also feels like a random sexual assault. And the disposal of the body and the clothes was so odd, I don't know what that means!....I have to reserve judgement for now.
Please let me know what you think guys and please correct any mistakes that I have made.