Talk:Murder of Amy Mihaljevic

Full article with references
On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was kidnapped from the Bay Square Shopping Center in Bay Village, Ohio. The abductor had contacted Mihaljevic by telephone and arranged to meet her on the pretext of buying a gift for her mother, who had recently been promoted. On February 8, 1990, the girl's body was found in a field off of County Road 1181, Ruggles Township in rural Ashland County, Ohio.

Evidence found at the scene of the crime suggests that Mihaljevic's body had not been in the field for very long, perhaps no longer than a few hours before being discovered by a morning jogger. Though she had been dead for months, her body had been previously stored someplace relatively cool, as the rate of decomposition was slow. Based on findings by the Cuyahoga County coroner, Mihaljevic's last meal was some sort of soy substance, possibly fake chicken product or Chinese take-out. Other evidence includes the presence of yellow/gold colored fibers on her body. It appears her killer also took several souvenirs including the girl's horse-riding boots, her denim backpack, a binder with "Buick, Best in Class" written on the front clasp, and turquoise earrings in the shape of horse heads.

The Bay Village Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted an extensive investigation into her disappearance and murder. The case generated thousands of leads. Dozens of suspects were asked to take lie-detector tests. But no one has ever been charged with the crime. Law enforcement continues to aggressively investigate this crime and is seeking any information that may lead to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the killer.

In 2005, Cleveland journalist James Renner re-examined this cold case in an article for Cleveland Scene. He requested that anyone with information related to this case contact him or the authorities at Assisting Missing Youth (AMY).

In October, 2006, publisher Gray & Co. released a book about Renner's investigation into the murder called Amy: My Search for Her Killer (ISBN 9781598510195). More comprehensive than the article for Cleveland Scene, the book revealed new suspects and clues which the police and FBI had kept secret for 17 years.

In November, 2006, it was revealed that several other young girls received phone calls in the weeks before Mihaljevic's abduction from a man who said he worked with their mothers and wanted to take them shopping for a present. In 1989, these other girls lived in North Olmsted, a suburb near Bay Village. Some had unlisted phone numbers. Police are taking a careful look at how these girls and Mihaljevic are connected.

In December, 2006, Bay Village police collected DNA samples from several potential suspects in the case.

In June, 2007, James Renner donated his files on the case to Kent State University's Special Collections library. It is the largest private collection of material on the Mihaljevic case. The files are accessible to law enforcement officials, Kent State University journalism students, and other writers on a case-by-case basis.

List of suspects
This "list os suspects" is so completely bogus. Not only is it not a list, but there is NO ATTRIBUTION for it. ALSO, Dean Runkle has NOT been named as a suspect. Renner, your stuff is interesting, but ad hominem attacks are wrong and do a disservice to the investigation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ClevelandBill (talk • contribs) 20:19, 13 March 2014 (UTC)

Such a list does not belong here. Please stop reinserting it. -- Jonel (Speak to me) 17:52, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * He's blocked to give him a chance to read our policies. --Golbez 17:56, 26 July 2007 (UTC)
 * Yup, I noticed that when I went to leave a note at his talk page after my above comment. Looks like Tony and you have that end covered. -- Jonel (Speak to me) 17:59, 26 July 2007 (UTC)

Dean Runkle76.188.146.38 (talk) 08:53, 25 January 2009 (UTC)Me

Dean Runkle76.188.146.38 (talk) 08:54, 25 January 2009 (UTC) James Renner states that Ralph Ross Jr. may have done it...

Unsolved case
I Don't know if this is very important, but Amy turns 31 today...Her case has been unsolved for 20 years...I feel so bad for her and her family and friends...--Boy of The Waters (talk) 16:58, 11 December 2009 (UTC)

re: my edit removing BLP section where the only source is James Renner
Please see the James Renner talk page about his credibility and blogspot.com reliability. 12.180.133.18 (talk) 17:10, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Self promotion by Renner
I don’t think it is acceptable or appropriate for this article (in regards to the section on Dean Runkle). I think it should be changed but it has been reverted back in the past. What does the community think? Basilosauridae (talk) 15:19, 19 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I wouldn't say it's self-promotion. From what I've seen, he's just passionate about the subject.--  Gourami Watcher Talk 03:15, 20 February 2018 (UTC)
 * What would you call putting a picture of yourself in an article about a murdered child? If not self promotion, definitely inappropriate and misguided at the very least. Regardless, I have deleted the section on Dean Runkle today because it wasn't supported by acceptable citations. I would support it being reinstated if sources other than Renner's personal blog can be found. Basilosauridae (talk) 17:03, 20 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I have found more appropriate citations (yes, from Renner, but published), and will be putting the section back up.Basilosauridae (talk) 17:55, 20 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I don't believe Renner himself added the image. I checked and it seems Gourami Watcher added it. Melonkelon (talk) 21:55, 20 February 2018 (UTC)
 * I am the person who added the image. Other articles have had images of a subject described in an a section of the page. --  Gourami Watcher Talk 22:11, 20 February 2018 (UTC)


 * I think this speculation about a living person who has not been formally charged in the investigation is unacceptable and a violation of WP:BLP. The whole section about Dean Runkle must be removed. I will take this to WP:BLPN. Dr.   K.  22:34, 20 February 2018 (UTC)


 * I have removed the section as a blatant violation of BLP, in particular WP:BLPCRIME. No source is automatically reliable for everything they print. An op/ed piece from a newspaper is not a reliable source even if the actual news articles they print are reliable. This is clearly not a neutral source, but rather the former. Even if it was a genuine news story, it still violates BLP without a conviction in the courts. I have removed it per this and WP:BLPREMOVE until better sources and a conviction is upheld. Zaereth (talk) 01:33, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Excellent analysis Zaereth. Thank you again. Dr.   K.  02:19, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * Hi all, thank you for your help and feedback. I am a little new to Wikipedia; are there places that I could go to to request advice on things like this from more seasoned wikipedians? Thanks! Basilosauridae (talk) 20:21, 21 February 2018 (UTC)
 * You followed the right steps, Basilosauridae, by opening a discussion on this talkpage and alerting the editors who watch this article. The only additional step you could possibly add is to post a note at WP:BLPN, as I did. For more urgent cases, such as BLP violations followed by rapid edit-warring, you can file a report at WP:ANI. Dr.   K.  21:11, 21 February 2018 (UTC)

Discussion at BLPN
Please see the discussion at BLPN. Dr.  K.  22:43, 20 February 2018 (UTC)

See also section
The “See Also” section is one link to the article "List of people who disappeared mysteriously". This article is not about someone who 'disappeared mysteriously' as her ultimate whereabouts and the circumstances of her abduction are, in fact, known.

I would like to remove the link replace with one to an article about unsolved murders. Matuko (talk) 17:22, 27 October 2018 (UTC)


 * Amy Mihaljevic was, in fact, a "person who disappeared mysteriously" ... at least briefly ... for the period of three months between her disappearance (murder) and the discovery of her body. So, the Wikipedia link is not all that tenuous.  I can see why it was added.  I don't think it's inappropriate.  Thanks.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 01:47, 12 February 2021 (UTC)


 * At this point, that link is no longer included in the "See also" section. That's also fine, as I see it.   Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 01:51, 12 February 2021 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 00:09, 21 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Amysuspect.gif