Cold case homicide of Dayton woman solved; suspect died at age 92

In June of 1964, a fisherman pulled a severed human arm from a gravel pit east of Tipp City on state Route 571. Four days later, another fisherman found a burlap bag in a channel of the old Miami Erie Canal that contained a dismembered human torso. Through extensive searches, a head and leg also were found in the canal.

The remains were identified as Shelton.

The investigation went cold until 2017 when a witness who feared he was dying in the hospital confessed to a nurse. The witness survived and was interviewed by detectives, the sheriff’s office reported.

The witness said he saw a man kill Shelton by striking her in the head with a hammer at a home on Springfield Street in Dayton, where she also was dismembered and her body discarded in bodies of water in and around Tipp City.

The person named as the suspect lived on the same street and worked at Delco with Shelton. He was cooperative with detectives and agreed to multiple interviews, deputies said.

During an interview in August 2017, he reluctantly admitted to knowing Shelton. In another interview, the suspect brought up the box used to take Shelton’s body parts and said he could explain why his DNA could possibly be present on the item.

He admitted that the box had been in his house on Springfield Street, that a box from his house was used to carry Shelton’s body parts and he admitted it was possible that Shelton was killed in his home, the sheriff’s office said.

“He admitted he looked guilty and could possibly be convicted in court,” the release stated.

The witness to the homicide gave testimony to a grand jury but died before the case was prosecuted. The suspect died in September 2022 at the age 92.

“Cold case homicides are among the most difficult investigators confront, but the Miami County Sheriff’s Office remains dedicated to pursuing all open cases,” the sheriff’s office said. “Revisiting cases is a crucial aspect of bringing a sense of justice to the victim’s family, even if it comes long after the crime occurred. Concluding cases even under these circumstances allows an investigation to be released for public interest and makes information available to the victim’s family.”