Amy Mihaljevic - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Kane · 08-18-2006, 12:47 PM

http://www.morningjournal.com/site/n...id=46371&rfi=6

Has anyone here ever heard of Amy Mihaljevic? She was the 10-year-old Ohio girl who went missing in October 1989, only to be found dead in a wheat field a few months later in February 1990. She had been stabbed to death.

The reason I am mentioning this case is because I came across the article at the link on top of this message, and the article briefly mentions that Amy's parents appeared on Unsolved Mysteries. However, I can't recall having seen this story on UM, although it could have been a segment that was never repeated on Lifetime.

In 2002, a man named Richard Holbert confessed to killing Amy. But that confession was disproven when it came to light that Holbert was institutionalized on the same day Amy disappeared. Amy's murder remains unsolved.

The stress and tragedy of losing a child to homicide took its toll on Amy's parents. They divorced shortly after her disappearance, and Amy's mother, Margaret McNulty, started consuming alcohol. She died of complications from chronic alcoholism in October 2001.

Dislimb · 08-24-2006, 08:23 PM

Wow, this brings back a LOT of memories. I am the exact same age as she would be today if she were still alive and I was living one town over (in Avon Lake) from where she lived in Bay Village. She used to take horseback riding lessons at the stables where my mother boarded her horses. I didn't really know Amy very well, but had seen her there on many occasions and vaguely remembering speaking to her briefly at least a few times. Mind you, this was damn near 17 years ago but I can remember that she always had a smile on her face.

The west side suburbs of Cleveland were seriously in a panic at the time of her disappearance. I even remember that my mother and stepfather at the time were part of the search party. That Halloween was a very timid one for all of us kids, as no children were allowed to trick-or-treat unsupervised that year. In fact, I even remember a detective coming to our house about a week or so after she went missing to question my mother. I guess they went and questioned everyone from the stables. I think the detective even asked me a few questions, but nothing serious. I'm going to call my mother when I'm done typing this and ask her if she remembers any details.

When the news hit that they had found her body, it was just as saddedning as when she went missing some three months earlier. I still remember the composite sketch of the suspected abductor to this day. His image is one that I will never forget. This is the main reason why to this day when I get a letter about a sex offender moving into my neighborhood (which is actually quite often now that I live in the city and not the suburbs) that I have to restrain myself from beating them to a bloody pulp.

RIP, dear Amy. I hope they find the bastard that murdered you one day.

Dislimb · 08-24-2006, 11:28 PM

Well, I just got off the phone with my mother about an hour ago and she vaguely remembers talking to a detective. Granted, she now lives in Florida (and has since around 1993) and didn't even recognize Amy's name when I mentioned it and didn't even remember the case at all until I went into further detail. I suppose during the five years or so that I lived down there myself, I probably forgot all about this case too. I do remember on the 10 year anniversary of her disappearance several years back, they had a special segment about her on the local news here in C-Town. I also remember driving past Holly Hill about 4-5 years ago and that reminded me of her too. Other than that though, I probably hadn't thought about this case at all until Kane made this thread. And to this I say, "Thank you!"

Even though it was (and still is) a tragic case, I'm glad that I remember living through some of it. Like I said, I hardly knew her at all, but this case did have an impact on my life. Especially given the location and age range at the time of the crime. Parents wouldn't let thier kids go anywhere! I was bummed out about this at the time, but as an adult I now understand why. If and when I ever have children of my own, I plan to educate them about keeping themselves as safe as they possibly can. We all hear horror stories about this sort of thing, but when you realize firsthand just how tragic and REAL these things are, you begin to appreciate them as a learning tool for parents as well as children. "Don't let this happen to you", so to speak.

I found this article on the case that is very informative and I encourage all of you to give it a read:

http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/200...s/feature.html

I even learned a few things I didn't know by reading that article. I think I am going to e-mail the author and thank him personally. Enjoy!

Kane, I would like to know if you have any thoughts or opinions on this case. I always appreciate your expertise when it comes to these certain things.

andreaturtle · 08-27-2006, 05:52 PM

That was an excellent article. Thanks for sharing, dislimb.
I used to spend summers in Avon Lake with my aunt and uncle, so this brings back a few memories for me, too.

I hope they find her abductor...she looks like such a sweet little girl.

Dislimb · 08-28-2006, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andreaturtle

That was an excellent article.

Well, I contacted the author (James Renner) and found out that he is in the process of writing a book about the case. He informed me that it should be out in October. I need to reply to his last message and if I hear anything else regarding this case or his book, I will post the info here.

Dislimb · 09-27-2006, 08:54 PM

I just got the following message from James Renner in my MySpace mailbox:

As many of you know, I've spent the last year researching the Amy Mihaljevic case. Interviewing friends, family, and suspects. I have written a book detailing my investigation into this tragic unsolved crime. It's called Amy: My Search for Her Killer. You can find it in bookstores in the Northeast Ohio area in Mid-October, but if you're currently living out-of-state, you can also order a copy on Amazon, here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1598510193

If you happen to be in the area, I'm giving a reading at the Bay Village Library (502 Cahoon Road, Bay Village, Ohio) on Saturday, October 21 at 2PM. I'd love to see you there. I'll answer any questions you may have. There's a lot of new information about Amy and Bay Village contained in these pages. I really think there are enough clues now to solve this crime. I just need to get the information out there. 10% of what I earn from sales of this book will be donated to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, in memory of Amy. For more info on Amy Mihaljevic, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Mihaljevic

Take care, -James Renner

Dislimb · 09-27-2006, 08:57 PM

This is what's written on the inside flap of the book:

"I fell in love with Amy Mihaljevic not long before her body was discovered lying facedown in an Ashland County wheat field. I fell for her the first time I saw that school photo TV stations flashed at the beginning of every newscast in the weeks following her kidnapping in the autumn of 1989--the photo with the side-saddle ponytail . . ." So begins this strange and compelling memoir, which delves into the investigation of one of Northeast Ohio's most frustrating unsolved crimes. On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from the comfortable Cleveland suburb of Bay Village on her way home from school. Thousands of volunteers, police officers, and FBI agents searched for the girl. Her picture was everywhere--anyone who watched the local TV news remembers the girl with the sideways ponytail. That image also became indelible in the mind of eleven-year-old James Renner. Even at that young age, he vowed to find this girl. Tragically, Amy's body was discovered a few months later. Her killer was never found. Fifteen years later, Renner, now a reporter for an alternative weekly magazine in Cleveland, picks up the leads himself and tries to solve the crime. Filled with mysterious riddles, incredible coincidences, and a cast of unusual but very real characters, his investigation quickly becomes a riveting journey in search of the truth.

theshark8777 · 09-27-2006, 09:16 PM

I remember well. She was about the same age as me, and it was all over the news here. It was sad when they finally found her.

theshark8777 · 10-24-2006, 06:51 PM

We are coming up on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance.

That guy who wrote the book was on WMJI a cleveland radio station talking about it today. You can download it here: http://www.wmji.com/cc-common/podcast.html

Dislimb · 10-26-2006, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theshark8777

We are coming up on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance.

That guy who wrote the book was on WMJI a cleveland radio station talking about it today. You can download it here: http://www.wmji.com/cc-common/podcast.html

That was a great listen. Thanks for posting that link! I'm going to go out and pick up the new book this weekend.

Dislimb · 12-25-2006, 04:29 PM

Well, here we are two months later and I finally got around to picking up the new book just the other day. I sat down to read a little bit of it before bed last night and I ended up reading it cover to cover. This is the best book I have read in quite some time. If you are interested in this case at all, or like true crime than you need to read this book now.

Street Novelist · 09-24-2015, 03:00 PM

Were they ever able to nail down a suspect?

wiseguy182 · 09-25-2015, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Street Novelist

Were they ever able to nail down a suspect?

Nobody has been arrested and convicted. It seems like they did have a good suspect, he was a schoolteacher, I can't remember if he was one of Amy's teachers or not, though I think he wasn't. They never had enough evidence though.

It seems like the main theory was that the perp, whoever it was, got Amy's contact info from a logbook in a museum that Amy and her classmates visited on a field trip. The man later called Amy at home and pretended to be a coworker of her mother's and asked her to meet him at a shopping place to help him pick out a gift for her mother's secret promotion.

Street Novelist · 12-31-2024, 03:08 PM

New DNA evidence recently found on Amy's clothing may someday lead to the discovery of her killer's identity. This was posted in October, but I just came across it. Apparently, they don't have enough DNA to create a profile.

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...evics-clothing

https://fox8.com/news/i-team/more-ha...c-case-i-team/

08-18-2006, 12:47 PM	#1
Kane Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Mar 07, 2001 Location: MA, United States Posts: 3,367	Amy Mihaljevic http://www.morningjournal.com/site/n...id=46371&rfi=6 Has anyone here ever heard of Amy Mihaljevic? She was the 10-year-old Ohio girl who went missing in October 1989, only to be found dead in a wheat field a few months later in February 1990. She had been stabbed to death. The reason I am mentioning this case is because I came across the article at the link on top of this message, and the article briefly mentions that Amy's parents appeared on Unsolved Mysteries. However, I can't recall having seen this story on UM, although it could have been a segment that was never repeated on Lifetime. In 2002, a man named Richard Holbert confessed to killing Amy. But that confession was disproven when it came to light that Holbert was institutionalized on the same day Amy disappeared. Amy's murder remains unsolved. The stress and tragedy of losing a child to homicide took its toll on Amy's parents. They divorced shortly after her disappearance, and Amy's mother, Margaret McNulty, started consuming alcohol. She died of complications from chronic alcoholism in October 2001.

08-24-2006, 11:28 PM	#3
Dislimb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 431	Well, I just got off the phone with my mother about an hour ago and she vaguely remembers talking to a detective. Granted, she now lives in Florida (and has since around 1993) and didn't even recognize Amy's name when I mentioned it and didn't even remember the case at all until I went into further detail. I suppose during the five years or so that I lived down there myself, I probably forgot all about this case too. I do remember on the 10 year anniversary of her disappearance several years back, they had a special segment about her on the local news here in C-Town. I also remember driving past Holly Hill about 4-5 years ago and that reminded me of her too. Other than that though, I probably hadn't thought about this case at all until Kane made this thread. And to this I say, "Thank you!" Even though it was (and still is) a tragic case, I'm glad that I remember living through some of it. Like I said, I hardly knew her at all, but this case did have an impact on my life. Especially given the location and age range at the time of the crime. Parents wouldn't let thier kids go anywhere! I was bummed out about this at the time, but as an adult I now understand why. If and when I ever have children of my own, I plan to educate them about keeping themselves as safe as they possibly can. We all hear horror stories about this sort of thing, but when you realize firsthand just how tragic and REAL these things are, you begin to appreciate them as a learning tool for parents as well as children. "Don't let this happen to you", so to speak. I found this article on the case that is very informative and I encourage all of you to give it a read: http://www.clevescene.com/Issues/200...s/feature.html I even learned a few things I didn't know by reading that article. I think I am going to e-mail the author and thank him personally. Enjoy! Kane, I would like to know if you have any thoughts or opinions on this case. I always appreciate your expertise when it comes to these certain things.
	Last edited by Dislimb; 08-25-2006 at 05:24 AM.

09-27-2006, 09:16 PM	#8
theshark8777 Hats for Bats Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 23, 2001 Location: northeast Ohio. Posts: 5,315	I remember well. She was about the same age as me, and it was all over the news here. It was sad when they finally found her.
	__________________ Who ate all the pecan Sandies??

08-24-2006, 08:23 PM	#2
Dislimb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 431	Wow, this brings back a LOT of memories. I am the exact same age as she would be today if she were still alive and I was living one town over (in Avon Lake) from where she lived in Bay Village. She used to take horseback riding lessons at the stables where my mother boarded her horses. I didn't really know Amy very well, but had seen her there on many occasions and vaguely remembering speaking to her briefly at least a few times. Mind you, this was damn near 17 years ago but I can remember that she always had a smile on her face. The west side suburbs of Cleveland were seriously in a panic at the time of her disappearance. I even remember that my mother and stepfather at the time were part of the search party. That Halloween was a very timid one for all of us kids, as no children were allowed to trick-or-treat unsupervised that year. In fact, I even remember a detective coming to our house about a week or so after she went missing to question my mother. I guess they went and questioned everyone from the stables. I think the detective even asked me a few questions, but nothing serious. I'm going to call my mother when I'm done typing this and ask her if she remembers any details. When the news hit that they had found her body, it was just as saddedning as when she went missing some three months earlier. I still remember the composite sketch of the suspected abductor to this day. His image is one that I will never forget. This is the main reason why to this day when I get a letter about a sex offender moving into my neighborhood (which is actually quite often now that I live in the city and not the suburbs) that I have to restrain myself from beating them to a bloody pulp. RIP, dear Amy. I hope they find the bastard that murdered you one day.

08-27-2006, 05:52 PM	#4
andreaturtle Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Aug 19, 2006 Location: SC Posts: 24	That was an excellent article. Thanks for sharing, dislimb. I used to spend summers in Avon Lake with my aunt and uncle, so this brings back a few memories for me, too. I hope they find her abductor...she looks like such a sweet little girl.

09-27-2006, 08:54 PM	#6
Dislimb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 431	I just got the following message from James Renner in my MySpace mailbox: As many of you know, I've spent the last year researching the Amy Mihaljevic case. Interviewing friends, family, and suspects. I have written a book detailing my investigation into this tragic unsolved crime. It's called Amy: My Search for Her Killer. You can find it in bookstores in the Northeast Ohio area in Mid-October, but if you're currently living out-of-state, you can also order a copy on Amazon, here: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1598510193 If you happen to be in the area, I'm giving a reading at the Bay Village Library (502 Cahoon Road, Bay Village, Ohio) on Saturday, October 21 at 2PM. I'd love to see you there. I'll answer any questions you may have. There's a lot of new information about Amy and Bay Village contained in these pages. I really think there are enough clues now to solve this crime. I just need to get the information out there. 10% of what I earn from sales of this book will be donated to the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center, in memory of Amy. For more info on Amy Mihaljevic, visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Mihaljevic Take care, -James Renner

09-27-2006, 08:57 PM	#7
Dislimb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 431	This is what's written on the inside flap of the book: "I fell in love with Amy Mihaljevic not long before her body was discovered lying facedown in an Ashland County wheat field. I fell for her the first time I saw that school photo TV stations flashed at the beginning of every newscast in the weeks following her kidnapping in the autumn of 1989--the photo with the side-saddle ponytail . . ." So begins this strange and compelling memoir, which delves into the investigation of one of Northeast Ohio's most frustrating unsolved crimes. On October 27, 1989, ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic disappeared from the comfortable Cleveland suburb of Bay Village on her way home from school. Thousands of volunteers, police officers, and FBI agents searched for the girl. Her picture was everywhere--anyone who watched the local TV news remembers the girl with the sideways ponytail. That image also became indelible in the mind of eleven-year-old James Renner. Even at that young age, he vowed to find this girl. Tragically, Amy's body was discovered a few months later. Her killer was never found. Fifteen years later, Renner, now a reporter for an alternative weekly magazine in Cleveland, picks up the leads himself and tries to solve the crime. Filled with mysterious riddles, incredible coincidences, and a cast of unusual but very real characters, his investigation quickly becomes a riveting journey in search of the truth.

10-24-2006, 06:51 PM	#9
theshark8777 Hats for Bats Forum Veteran Join Date: Jan 23, 2001 Location: northeast Ohio. Posts: 5,315	We are coming up on the 17th anniversary of her disappearance. That guy who wrote the book was on WMJI a cleveland radio station talking about it today. You can download it here: http://www.wmji.com/cc-common/podcast.html

12-25-2006, 04:29 PM	#11
Dislimb Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 23, 2006 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 431	Well, here we are two months later and I finally got around to picking up the new book just the other day. I sat down to read a little bit of it before bed last night and I ended up reading it cover to cover. This is the best book I have read in quite some time. If you are interested in this case at all, or like true crime than you need to read this book now.

09-24-2015, 03:00 PM	#12
Street Novelist Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 03, 2015 Location: Bay Area Posts: 77	Were they ever able to nail down a suspect?

12-31-2024, 03:08 PM	#14
Street Novelist Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 03, 2015 Location: Bay Area Posts: 77	New DNA evidence recently found on Amy's clothing may someday lead to the discovery of her killer's identity. This was posted in October, but I just came across it. Apparently, they don't have enough DNA to create a profile. https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/...evics-clothing https://fox8.com/news/i-team/more-ha...c-case-i-team/