WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — It may be something you only see in television shows, but the fact of the matter is, Fayette County has its very own “cold case.” The Sheriff of Fayette County will be announcing Monday afternoon new details in the 40-year-old case that rocked a small rural community.
The case, which is known locally as “Lampe Doe” stems from a murder in 1981.
On November 17, 1981, the body of a 16-to-20-something-year-old white male was discovered floating in Paint Creek near Lampe Road in North Western Fayette County, according to the Sheriff. The nude body was discovered in the creek by two hunters who were in the area. The case became known to locals as “Lampe Doe” because of the road where the body was found.
Investigative notes from the Sheriff say the male had suffered two small caliber bullet wounds that had entered his chest and passed through his body. The wounds were then carved open with a knife and the victim was stabbed over a dozen times, for what investigators believe may have been an attempt to conceal the fatal gunshot wounds.
A formal autopsy was conducted at the Hamilton County morgue in Cincinnati. It was determined that the male had green eyes, weighed 160 pounds, and was 65 inches tall. He had light brown curly hair which was 5 inches, the coroner reported at the time. The body was “very clean” when it was found, with no dirt under the fingernails and the hair appeared to have been washed clean.
The coroner who performed the autopsy gave a detailed analysis of the victim’s teeth.
“The teeth are in a good state of repair. The lower teeth are crooked with a lingual recession of the right lateral incisor and the left central incisor and distal deviation of the lower right cuspid tooth,” wrote the coroner.
It was reported by the coroner that Lampe Doe “had a tan line, that was indicative of a bikini being worn in Arizona, Mexico, or California.” While the autopsy was being performed, a scuba diving team searched Paint Creek for clues that might have identified the man; they found nothing. Several theories were floated by detectives, including that Lampe Doe might have been involved in the drug trade, was a drug mule, or was a prostitute, given the body’s proximity to the newly-constructed Interstate system and the cleanliness of the body, along with the attempts the killer went to conceal the bullet wounds.
A sketch artist was hired to render a drawing of the face of Lampe Doe, and a photo of his face from the autopsy was also released with hopes that someone would have information.
After waiting several months, then-Prosecuting Attorney James Kiger reportedly went to the Fayette County Commissioners and requested funds be allocated to provide burial for Lampe Doe. The Morrow Funeral Home in Washington Court House was called to handle the arrangements, records show.
After a burial plot was located in Section 08, Block 209 of the Washington Cemetery — what was known as “Potter’s Field” in 1981 — it became the final resting place for 12 indigent bodies, including Lampe Doe. He was placed into a wooden casket by Morrow and was lowered into the ground on March 16, 1982.
Only the minister, Reverend Harriette G. Zoller of Grace United Methodist Church, a cemetery worker, attorney Kiger, Sheriff’s Lieutenant William R. Crooks, and funeral directors David D. Morrow and Edwin Isenberger attended the solemn funeral service under a red felt tent.
Lampe Doe’s grave is not marked by any headstones or markings, but merely an empty space located between nearby graves. In 2012, the Guardian visited the cemetery with workers who “probed” the area and located the casket still in the ground, right where the historic record said it would be. Fayette County Sheriff Vernon P. Stanforth said at the time that the case remained open and was a “cold case,” but every couple of years a call is received from another law enforcement agency inquiring about Lampe Doe, but nothing had ever panned out. That is, until now.
Officials have not released what the “new developments” in the case are, however, the Sheriff is expected to be joined Monday by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and the Youngstown Police Department, who will be talking about a second cold case in a news conference that the Guardian will stream live.
