Joseph Annick, a 56-year-old man, was tragically murdered on December 4, 1978, in his garage on the East Side of Columbus, Ohio. He was shot five times in the chest and stomach with a. 22-caliber weapon while working in his garage. The murder was part of a larger crime spree carried out by the infamous ".22-Caliber Killers," brothers Gary and Thaddeus Lewingdon. The Lewingdon brothers terrorized Central Ohio between 1977 and 1978, committing a series of ten murders across multiple counties.
Their motive was primarily robbery, and their method involved shooting victims multiple times with. 22-caliber pistols.
Annick's murder was the final killing in the Lewingdons' spree. The case took a significant turn five days later when 17-year-old Cheryl Young, a clerk at a Columbus discount store, noticed that a customer was attempting to use a stolen credit card. The card had belonged to Annick and was flagged as stolen. The customer, Gary Lewingdon, was detained in the store parking lot, leading to his arrest. During interrogation, Lewingdon confessed to his involvement in the ten murders and implicated his brother, Thaddeus, in all but the last one.
Investigators quickly secured an arrest warrant for Thaddeus Lewingdon, who was found living in Glenford, Ohio. Thaddeus, a divorcee with three children, had a background in electronics and was employed as a maintenance worker at Columbus Steel Drum. He had previously been investigated for potential ties to an organized crime syndicate operating out of Chicago. Both brothers had criminal records for petty offenses, including theft and illegal possession of weapons.
The Lewingdon brothers were sentenced to life in prison for their crimes. Thaddeus Lewingdon died of lung cancer in 1989, while Gary Lewingdon passed away from heart failure in 2004. Their reign of terror left a lasting impact on the communities they targeted, and their capture brought an end to one of Ohio's most notorious serial murder cases.
