Richard Tingler

Serial Killer

Richard Lee Tingler Jr.: Ohio Murderer and FBI Most Wanted Fugitive

Early Life and Criminal History

Richard Lee Tingler Jr. was an American murderer responsible for six confirmed killings in Ohio during 1968. His crimes occurred during two exceptionally violent robbery incidents in Cleveland and Columbus. Although Tingler is frequently described as a serial killer, the four Cleveland victims were killed together, followed approximately one month later by the double murder in Columbus. His pattern was therefore closely associated with armed robbery, witness elimination, and sudden bursts of extreme violence. Tingler was born in December 1940 and grew up in a troubled household. Accounts of his childhood describe frequent physical punishment and an unstable relationship with his mother. As a young man, he entered the United States Air Force, but his military service was disrupted by criminal behavior. In June 1959, while stationed in Alaska, Tingler went absent without leave with another serviceman and became involved in several burglaries in Anchorage. After pleading guilty to charges connected to four break-ins, Tingler received a federal prison sentence. He was released in February 1961, but his freedom was brief. Approximately six months later, authorities arrested him in Portsmouth, Ohio, on numerous breaking-and-entering charges. He was sentenced to a term of one to fifteen years in an Ohio prison. Tingler was paroled in August 1964, but additional burglaries resulted in his return to custody as a parole violator. He was released again in February 1968. Within seven months, his criminal conduct escalated from property offenses to multiple murders.

The Rockefeller Park Murders

During the early morning hours of September 16, 1968, four people were murdered in Cleveland, Ohio. Their bodies were discovered by early-morning visitors in Rockefeller Park. The victims had been arranged near one another and had each suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Investigators determined that two firearms had been used. The victims were identified as tavern proprietor Joseph Zoldman, part-time bartenders Raymond Homer and Ronald Mahone, and Martha Lancaster, a young woman who had been with the group. Investigators believed the four had been taken captive during or immediately after a robbery at Zoldman's tavern. They were apparently transported at gunpoint to Rockefeller Park, where they were shot to prevent them from identifying the robber. The manner in which the victims were killed indicated planning and deliberate witness elimination. Rather than flee after obtaining money, the killer removed the victims from the original crime scene and executed them in an isolated location. The positioning of the bodies and repeated shots suggested that the gunman intended to ensure that no one survived. ...

Confirmed Victims: (6)

Joseph Zoldman Age: (54), Date of Death: 1968-09-16

291. Richard Lee Tingler