Authorities in eastern Ohio closed a sixty-year-old cold case on Saturday, four years after a hospitalized man, fearing death, confessed to witnessing the murder and identified the suspect, according to a statement from the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.
The victim, 43-year-old Daisy Evelyn Shelton of Dayton, was murdered and dismembered in 1964.
Police In Ohio Close Cold Case Murder After Witness Speaks Up From Hospital Bed 53 Years Later https://t.co/dOUfUQbpKN
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Her remains were discovered in various locations, the MCSO said. A fisherman found an arm of Shelton’s in a gravel pit near Tipp City in June 1964.
Four days later, another individual found a burlap bag containing Shelton’s torso in a channel of the old Miami Erie canal. Authorities later found Shelton’s head and one of her legs in the canal, the statement revealed.
“The investigation went cold until 2017 when a witness of the murder, who feared he was dying while in the hospital, made a confession to a nurse,” the MCSO’s statement revealed. “He survived and was interviewed by detectives.”
The witness confessed to observing the suspect fatally bludgeon Shelton with a hammer in a home, after which Shelton’s body was dismembered and scattered in water bodies in and around Tipp City, the MCSO said.
The suspect, who was interviewed multiple times by investigators, initially denied knowing Daisy Shelton despite living on the same street and working for the same employer.
The suspect reluctantly admitted to knowing Shelton in August 2017. The suspect also claimed that the witness had planted the suspect’s DNA on the box used to transport Shelton’s remains as a setup but admitted that Shelton was possibly killed in his home and the box was in his home, according to the statement.
The suspect also “admitted he looked guilty and could possibly be convicted in court,” the MCSO added.
The witness testified before a Grand Jury but died before the prosecution began. The suspect passed away in September 2022 at the age of 92. Neither individual was named in the MCSO’s statement.
“It’s very shocking that a human being can do that to another human being,” said Maria Walling, Shelton’s granddaughter, reflecting on the gruesome murder. “I mean, what kind of animal are they?”
The third suspect was implicated in the murder, according to the outlet. The MCSO emphasized that cold case murders pose significant challenges for investigators and underscored the importance of revisiting such cases to bring a sense of justice to the victim’s family.
The MCSO closed the case with the approval of the Miami County Prosecutor’s Office, offering a strange ending to the longtime murder case.
