Larry M. Ralston

Serial Killer

Larry M. Ralston: The Ohio Serial Killer

Background

Larry M. Ralston was born on July 5, 1949, in Norwood, Ohio. He left Norwood High School at approximately 17 years old and entered the United States Army, where he completed his high school education. After returning to Ohio, he held several jobs, including positions connected to the Hamilton County morgue and Longview State Hospital. By the time of his arrest in 1977, however, the 28-year-old Ralston was unemployed and frequently stayed with his parents or friends. Between 1975 and 1977, girls and young women disappeared from communities in and around Cincinnati. Their remains were later recovered from isolated roads, wooded areas, creek beds and parkland in Hamilton, Clermont and Clinton counties. Several of the victims had hitchhiked or had been seen near roadways, giving their killer an opportunity to approach them without immediately attracting attention. Ralston eventually admitted that he picked up young women in his vehicle, drove them into secluded areas and strangled them. He described spending time with some victims while drinking wine or smoking marijuana before becoming violent when they resisted his sexual advances. His crimes remained unsolved until the investigation of the abduction and rape of three teenage girls led authorities to him in late 1977.

Victims

• Linda Kay Harmon, 17 September 3, 1975 Mount Washington and Felicity, Ohio: Linda disappeared on the morning of September 3, 1975, while waiting for transportation near Wolfangel Road and Beechmont Avenue in Cincinnati's Mount Washington neighborhood. It was supposed to be her first day at Withrow High School after her family moved from Finneytown. She never arrived at school and also missed a dental appointment later that day. On October 5, 1975, her scattered skeletal remains were discovered along Braun Road near Felicity in Clermont County. Portions of her remains had reportedly been carried from the wooded site by dogs. Ralston was convicted of her aggravated murder in August 1978.
• Nancy Lourie Grigsby, 23 May 1976 Withamsville, Ohio: Nancy disappeared on May 4, 1976, after visiting a friend's apartment and saying that she was going for a short walk. She was known to travel by hitchhiking, although people close to her had expressed concern about the danger. Her decomposed remains and clothing were found on November 16, 1976, in woods near Bucktown Road and Moore-Marathon Road in Clermont County. Ralston confessed that he strangled Nancy and left her body at the location where it was recovered. He was convicted in 1978, but an appellate court overturned the conviction because prosecutors had not independently established a medical cause of death. The charge was subsequently dismissed, although Ralston's detailed confession continued to connect him to her killing.
• Mary Ruth Hopkins, 21 June 29 or June 30, 1976 Anderson Township, Ohio: Mary, a resident of Cincinnati's East End, was last seen on June 29, 1976, after leaving her apartment and intending to travel toward the Mount Lookout area. Her nude body was discovered the following day in a secluded lovers' lane near Five Mile Road, north of Kellogg Avenue in Anderson Township. Her face was severely bruised, patches of hair had been pulled from her head and a tank top had been wrapped tightly around her neck. The evidence indicated that she had been strangled. Ralston pleaded guilty to her aggravated murder in 1984 and received an additional life sentence.
• Elaina Marie Bear, 15 January 15, 1977 Cincinnati and Clinton County, Ohio: Elaina and her friend Debbie Whitt spent the evening of January 15, 1977, visiting acquaintances and later attempted to hitchhike home. A man picked up the two teenagers and drove them through the Cincinnati area. Elaina was separated from her friend during the journey and never returned home. Her nude body was found on February 28, 1977, lying face-down in a creek bed near Katy's Lane outside Wilmington in Clinton County. Investigators determined that she had been strangled. Ralston's confession became central evidence at his 1978 trial, where a jury found him guilty of aggravated murder.
• Diane Sue McCrobie, 16 July 17, 1977 Springfield Township and East Fork Lake, Ohio: Diane disappeared on July 17, 1977, after leaving home for a date. She had known Ralston and reportedly had his name among her personal contacts. Her skeletal remains were discovered on October 22, 1977, concealed beneath brush in a wooded section of East Fork Lake State Park in Clermont County. The discovery of Ralston's name in connection with Diane helped investigators link him to the series of killings. He was convicted of her aggravated murder on July 6, 1978, and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Confirmed Victims: (5)

Lisa Harmon Age: (17), Date of Death: 1975-09-03

Larry Ralston - Wikipedia