Ethel May Durkin, a 90-year-old woman from Lakewood, Ohio, was murdered on January 4, 1984. She was a wealthy, childless widow who had hired Richard Eberling, a man with a history of suspicious behavior, to do some decorating for her. Over time, Eberling became her most trusted confidante, but his involvement in her life raised serious concerns.
Eberling had a troubling history with Durkin and her family.
Her sister, Myrtle Fray, was brutally murdered in 1962, strangled and beaten in her secured apartment building. Decades later, Eberling made statements that aligned with unpublished details from the police report, further implicating him in the crime. Another sister, Sarah Belle Farrow, died under suspicious circumstances in 1970, reportedly from injuries sustained in a fall down the basement stairs of Durkin's home. Eberling dismissed the incident as an accident due to her age but later made comments suggesting he could have pushed her down the stairs if he had wanted to kill her.
By 1970, Eberling had begun siphoning money from Durkin's bank accounts and enlisted Patricia Bogar to help forge documents granting him control over her finances. As Durkin's health declined, Eberling used these documents to make financial and medical decisions on her behalf. She suffered multiple serious injuries, including falls down flights of stairs, and was often kept in a sedated state under Eberling's control. Bogar, fearing Eberling might cheat her out of the promised money, documented her concerns in a notarized letter sent to her attorney for safekeeping.
Durkin eventually came under the care of Kathy Wagner, a health aide hired by Eberling. Wagner later testified that Eberling had confided in her about his violent tendencies, claiming that slitting a throat and watching someone die was exhilarating. He also admitted to killing Marilyn Sheppard and assaulting her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard, in the head with a steel pail.
Eberling was ultimately convicted of Durkin's murder and sentenced to life in prison, where he later died. His involvement in multiple suspicious deaths, including those of Durkin and her sisters, painted a grim picture of his manipulative and violent nature. The case remains a chilling example of how trust can be exploited for sinister purposes.
