Violence in the Valley - Abductions and Disappearances of the Mid-Ohio Valley

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Episode Transcript

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Now The Violence in the Valley podcastwith retired Parkersburg Chief of Police Bob Newell
and others, brought to you byInteresting Insurance three generations of insurance excellence.
The Middle High Valley is no strangerto abductions or disappearances in several cases the
murder of women. As the investigationinto the death of Judy Petty was underway,

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her case would not be the lastto remain unresolved in the area.
On March twenty second, two thousandand eight, just over a month after
Petty's body was discovered in the ashesof a barn on her family farm in
Waverley, a vicious murder occurred onSixteenth Street in the heart of Parkersburg.
Ruth Robinson lived alone in a relativelyquiet neighborhood near the city Park. She

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was attacked in her home by someonewielding a blunt weapon. A motive was
never established, although there were aperson's adventures identified. However, none was
ever charged, and the case hasremained unsolved for over fifteen years. Less
than a year later, on Februarynext, two thousand and nine, and
almost a year to the day afterJudy Petty was last seen alive, Kimberly

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sued Jones mysteriously disappeared from the parkinglot of her apartment complex, known at
the time as Pinewood Village in SouthParkersburg. Jones had gone to dinner with
her daughter along with the child's father, Jack Crone, and Crone's wife.
According to Jack, he dropped Kimberlyoff in from her apartment after dinner around

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eleven o'clock that night and returned home. He told investigators he did not actually
watch her go into the apartment beforedriving away. Five days later, Jones
was reported missing by her mother afterseveral tenths to contact her. The investigation
revealed that her purse and all otherpersonal property was still in her apartment.

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According to family members, Jones hadbeen diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was required
to take medication on a daily basis. Her medication had been left behind with
her other personal belongings, and noclothes were missing from the apartment. Kimberley
didn't known the vehicle, so thetheory that she may have disappeared voluntarily was
even more unlikely. She simply justdisappeared without a trace. New significant leads,

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motives, or suspects were ever developed. In the case and it remains
unsolved. Then, on October twentythird, twenty fourteen, the Inner Residence
Cindy Ball left the Time Out Baron Emerson Avenue and was never seen alive
again. Her car was found abandonedand parking lot of the sports bar,
and her persons left in sight thevehicle. The following day, a group

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of hunters found her body in WorkCounty, just off Sugar Camp Road near
the community of Monday, West Virginia. She had been shot execution style in
the back of they had with ashotgun. It appeared the murder occurred on
another location and her body was dumpedover an embankment. Over several years,
the West Virginia State Police announced thatthey had a main suspect along with other
persons of interest, and were awaitingthe laboratory results of the examination of evidence

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since the state least lab in Charleston. On one occasion, it was announced
that the case was going to bepresented to a grand jury seeking an indictment
of an unnamed suspect. However,no rests have ever been made and no
indictments have been returned in this case. The case remains open and under investigation.
Unsolved or unresolved cases often treats speculationof fuel conspiracy theories within the community.

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What many don't realize and what oftentimescannot be made public, is that
the police often know or have agood idea who is responsible for the crime,
but lack the proof needed to convincethe jury. Additionally, the justice
system moves a little slower than ithas in previous times. Former prosecuting attorney
Harry Ditzler tried cases during a particularlyviolent period of time in the valley.

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Yes, it's different than a lotof what we're dealing with today is there
are a lot of delays in theprocess which are not the fault of the
prosecuting turner of people here or anythinglike that. I'm not saying that,
but the well, for example,on the house burglaries and robberies related to

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the drug offenses that the legislature hadcreated a has put in a law that
said they have to release these peopleon bond, you know, basically if
they can for it, they haveto have them. Let them just sign
their name and get out. Andthen we have cases where they get arrested,
they get released in the same day, they did the same crime again

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and that makes it very difficult fora law enforcement to be effective and it's
very frustrating to the citizens that haveto put up with it. There is
also the hope over time that someoneor something will provide the break needed to
make an arrest. And the heinousexecution of a teenager during the robbery at
the BBF in nineteen sixty five,it took over forty years to make it

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a rest. Even though the suspectwas identified within days of the murder,
the forensic technology wasn't available then.Some colde cases simply lack the physical evidence
or motive that points to a suspect. Even professionals who investigate cold cases,
such as the unit from the AmericanMilitary University who recently looked into the Judy
Petty case, realize that some casesmay be impossible to solve and our selective

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as to the type of cases theyaccept. And so we just approached each
individual agency as we decide to takeon the case, and we travel to
the area before we ever go public, we meet with the detective or whoever's
in charge of the case, explainour methodology, how we're there to help
them. It's not a competition andfor the most part, you know,

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these agencies are really receptive, Likewe don't do missing persons cases. Maybe
someday we will, but we don'tfeel that we're equipped at this time to
tackle or try to help officially witha missing person's case. We just focus
on the unsolved homicide. But it'salso like we have to have something to
go on. So, like Ikind of explained, we go into each
case. We don't ask permission fromthe law enforcement agency to help them.

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We just meet with the family andthen amongst ourselves decide if this is a
case we feel that we can helpon. And I always look for cases
where the killer went took extra measureswith the victims. So if it's like
a drive by shooting, I can'tdo much with that. Sure, there's
not much my team can do,but most of the cases will. All

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the cases we've picked, the killerspent extra time with the victim, They
went above and beyond. There's usuallya level of overkill. And then actually
both cases we're working right now,Judy's being one and Arson was set after
the victim was killed. That's stuffwe can work with because I don't need
the case style to do my behavioralanalysis or to bring in the arson expert,

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or in our case in Washington,we have a knife expert because our
victim was stabbed twenty four times.Cases where the body is never found are
even more difficult to prosecute. Therehave only been just over five hundred trials
in the last one hundred and eightyyears in the United States where there was
no body found. The recent disappearanceof Gretchen Fleming will likely prove to be

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such a case. On December fourth, two twenty two, Gretchen left a
local bar with a man who thepolice rightfully considers to be a person of
interest. Although a local news outletand social media have released and named this
person, the police have not confirmedhis identity. Gretchen left the my Way
Lounge with this person, intending togo to another Baro Namerson Avenue. She

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disappeared without a trace in this relativelyshort period of time. The person of
interest returned her person following morning,placing himself as the last person to see
her alive. However, subsequent interviewsin searches of the man's car and residence
has so far not resulted in anyfurther legal action. Citizen groups have organized

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a couple's churches and wooded areas basedon speculation that the locations may have some
connection. The local news agency andsocial media have identified the name of this
person as a former police officer,leading even more unfounded rumors and speculation of
a cover up. However, itis not unusual for investigations remain open where
there are no witnesses, no physicalor forensic evidence, and no known motive

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until something new is discovered or someonecomes forward with new information. Several years
ago, there is a series ofyoung women found murderer just across the river
in Washington County, Ohio, whichtook over two decades to bring to a
conclusion. Eighteen year old Belpriy residentTerry Roach was reported missing in June of
nineteen ninety by her father. Afew days later, her badly beaten and
decomposing body was found in rural WashingtonCounty, mary At. A resident,

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Patsy Sparks, was last seen aliveleaving the Wheel Club in downtown Parkersborough on
April twenty second, nineteen ninety two. She was reported missing within days,
but there was no trade for whereaboutsShe had left with Randy Slider, who
became a suspect due to his previousarrest of rape, even though he had
been acquitted by a jury a coupleof years earlier. Two years later,

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her body was found in Noble Countyby a couple of hunters. It would
be nearly twenty five years before additionalinformation would support the arrest and conviction of
Randy Slider. Multiple victims came forwardidentifying Slider as a sexual predator. The
same person would become a suspect inthe Terry Roach murder. Ronda Manley was
found stabbed to death in the OakGrew Cemetery in Marietta in August of nineteen

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ninety two. It would be adecade before investigators would receive information leading to
the arrest of the murderer and aguilty play. Marietta resident Aubrey Davis was
serving time in a Tennessee prison whenhe confided in another inmate about the murder.
DNA found on the victim was enteredinto a database and matched Davis's DNA.

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He entered a plea of guilty toavoid trial. He began serving his
sentence in Ohio. He completed theoriginal twenty years sentence in Tennessee for kidnapping
and sexual assault. Sexual predators patientlywait until a vulnerable victim crosses their path
and needs a ride or offers aride. As in most of the cases
in the High Valley, this willlikely be true in the Gretchen Fleming case.

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