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Edward Edwards was an Ohio serial killer who murdered at least five people from 1977 to 1996. His victims included two couples who were found dead in 1977 and 1980, as well as his foster son, Dannie Boy, who was murdered in 1996. Over the years, several conspiracy theories have suggested that he may be the Zodiac killer. Some others have also suggested that he may be completely innocent and could have been framed.
William Lavaco and Judith Straub were found dead in Silver Creek Park in Norton on August 8, 1977. They were 21 and 18 years old, respectively, at the time of death. The killer reportedly shot them at point-blank range with a 20-gauge shotgun, CNN reported. However, the case remained cold for the decades to come until Edwards was taken into custody concerning another case and admitted guilt in this case, too.
In August 1980, what later came to be known as the Sweetheart Murders took place. Tim Hack and Kelly Drew were found dead in a cornfield in Wisconsin. Both the victims were 19 and were reportedly there to attend a wedding reception at Concord House, a dance hall in Sullivan. They were last seen leaving the reception and were reported missing on August 10, 1980, as per a report by NBC News. Months later, the couple’s decomposing bodies were found only a little distance away from the reception hall.
Tim Hack was found to be stabbed and killed. Kelly Drew was sexually assaulted and strangled. Her bra, pants, and panties were found shredded on a road nearby. Edwards worked as a handyman in the building beside the wedding reception hall.
How did the Ohio serial killer get caught?
Investigators questioned the handymen in Edwards’s building, but no leads were found. According to Oxygen, the serial killer then packed up the family’s stuff and moved away from the area along with his family once the investigation around Kelly Drew and Tim Hack’s murders began to elaborate. He reportedly tended to move the family to a different place every time he committed a murder.
Edwards killed Dannie Boy, his foster son, when Boy was 25 years old in 1996. He reportedly told him he wanted him out of the army and claimed he would help him get out. When Boy believed him and followed him into the woods where he led him, Edwards shot him in the face and killed him. Cleveland.com reported that he also allegedly retrieved $250,000 of Boy’s insurance money after his death. More than a decade later, in 2008, the case of the Sweetheart Murders was reopened.
With strong suspicion that the killer might have been questioned but not found, investigators reviewed the existing files. Edwards’ profile included that he was arrested in 1962 following his involvement in an armed bank robbery. He then spent five years in prison. Considering his history with crime, the police became suspicious of his involvement in the Sweetheart Murders. When detectives asked Edwards’ coworkers about him, they reportedly told them that he was a short-tempered man who likely physically abused his family.
In July 2009, Edwards’ daughter, April Balascio, contacted authorities to reveal her suspicions about her father being a murderer. According to People Magazine, she also had doubts about him being involved in her mother’s hospitalization in 1982.
How did Edward Edwards die?
NBC News reported Edwards was arrested in 2009. He then admitted to the murders of the couples and was convicted of those four murders only. He was sentenced to life in prison. However, after he was also found guilty of the murder of Dannie Boy, the court sentenced him to death. He was supposed to be given the lethal injection on August 31, 2011. However, he died earlier that year of natural causes. He was 77 when he died and had been suffering from diabetes and other complications. He was in a wheelchair at that time.
According to The U.S Sun, his children, as well as many investigators and cold case experts, have suggested that Edwards might have been responsible for many more murders than those he was convicted of. Moreover, he told his family that the only reason they kept moving from place to place was because he had snitched on some criminals in jail and that they were after him.
He allegedly told his family that he had completely reformed after his imprisonment for the robbery and hadn’t engaged in crime since he met his wife. Edwards also wrote a book titled Metamorphosis of a Criminal, which explained how he allegedly rehabilitated himself. He reportedly went to churches, schools, and other community gatherings where he spoke about rehabilitation.
It Was Him: The Many Murders of Ed Edwards is a documentary that follows the crimes of the Ohio serial killer and the similarities to other serial killers such as the Zodiac Killer and the Black Dahlia. It additionally explores various theories surrounding his crimes.
