Authorities in Ohio have solved a murder case from 1985 by revisiting old evidence, including items initially found behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Georgia. John Warren, a traveling salesman for an auto parts company, was discovered dead in his hotel room at a Holiday Inn in Middletown, Ohio, on October 17, 1985, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell. Middletown is located roughly 35 miles east of Cincinnati.
Warren’s 1985 Oldsmobile and several personal belongings were missing when his body was found. Shortly thereafter, police in Dalton, Georgia, recovered some of the missing items discarded behind a local Cracker Barrel. His car reappeared in Redington Beach, Florida. Despite pursuing numerous leads at the time, there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the case, Fornshell said.
The investigation remained dormant until 2019 when the case was reopened. Items from all three crime scenes were submitted for lab analysis. Results from this analysis led authorities to identify Randy McAllister, a Columbus, Ohio resident, as a potential suspect. Another potential accomplice had already died. Detectives worked alongside Fornshell’s office, examining the evidence and presenting it to a grand jury last month. The grand jury indicted McAllister on charges of murder and aggravated murder.
‘Cold case’ investigations are typically stalled due to insufficient evidence or diminishing leads over time,
Fornshell said. But over the past five years, Warren County Sheriff’s Office detectives have been diligent in pursuing this case to gather enough evidence for charges against McAllister. The grand jury agreed with our findings.
While authorities have not disclosed details about McAllister’s alleged motive, CBS affiliate WKRC reported that the motive was likely robbery, as per the indictment against McAllister.