Rose Winstel, an 81-year-old widow, was tragically murdered on October 20, 1966, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was the fifth victim in a series of brutal killings that had terrorized the city. The attacker, dubbed the "Cincinnati Strangler," had been targeting older women, subjecting them to violent assaults before ultimately strangling them. Mrs. Winstel was found in her three-room apartment, where she lived alone. She had been raped and strangled with a cord from a heating pad.
Investigators determined that she had been deceased for approximately 15 to 24 hours before her body was discovered. The crime scene bore striking similarities to previous murders attributed to the same perpetrator, reinforcing fears that the city was dealing with a serial killer.
The circumstances surrounding Mrs. Winstel’s murder were particularly alarming. Unlike previous victims, she had been attacked inside her home, and the assailant had forcibly entered by breaking a chain lock on the kitchen door. This marked a departure from the killer’s previous methods, which typically involved ambushing victims in their apartment buildings or outside. Despite the violent nature of the crime, authorities noted that nothing appeared to have been stolen from the residence. The discovery of her body was made by her nephew, Robert C. Winstel, who had grown concerned after failing to reach his aunt by telephone.
Law enforcement responded swiftly, taking a 23-year-old man into custody shortly after the crime was discovered. However, police stated that they had no concrete evidence linking him to the murder, and he was held overnight for questioning. The investigation into Mrs. Winstel’s death was part of a broader effort to apprehend the Cincinnati Strangler, whose reign of terror had left the city’s residents in a state of fear. Authorities had been working tirelessly, placing officers on unlimited overtime duty in an attempt to track down the elusive killer. The case was further complicated by the unsolved stabbing murders of a young suburban couple and their daughter, which had occurred less than a month prior.
The Cincinnati Strangler’s killing spree ultimately resulted in the deaths of seven women between December 1965 and December 1966. The victims were all beaten severely on the head and face with a blunt object before being strangled with whatever was available at the scene. Most of the victims were also sexually assaulted. The city was gripped by panic, with women fearing for their safety both inside and outside their homes. The police force was overwhelmed with reports from residents who believed they were being followed or had seen suspicious individuals in their neighborhoods.
The investigation into the Cincinnati Strangler eventually led to the arrest of Posteal Laskey Jr., who was charged with multiple counts of murder. His trial and subsequent conviction brought some measure of closure to the families of the victims, but the terror he inflicted on Cincinnati remained a dark chapter in the city’s history. Mrs. Winstel’s murder was one of the most harrowing cases in the series, highlighting the brutality of the killer and the desperate efforts of law enforcement to bring him to justice.
