In June 1964, a fisherman discovered a severed human limb in a gravel pit in western Ohio. Four days later, another fisherman discovered a torso in a neighboring canal, inside a burlap bag. Eventually, the same stream revealed a human head and limb.
Authorities officially proclaimed the cold case closed 40 years after identifying the remains as those of 43-year-old Daisy Shelton of Dayton. The Miami County Sheriff’s Office revealed Friday that prosecutors had agreed to close the investigation after a critical witness came forward to identify a suspect who died in late 2022.
It took several decades to find the alleged killer, whom officials did not name. The case remained closed until 2017 after the discovery of Shelton’s bones in 1964. That’s when a witness—wwho has not been identified by investigators—ccame forward and claimed he witnessed someone kill Shelton with a hammer in a Dayton residence before dismembering her body, according to the sheriff’s office. The witness claims that the perpetrator subsequently discarded the body parts in bodies of water in and around Tipp City, a Dayton suburb.
“It was a very grisly murder, even by today’s standards,” Miami County Sheriff Chief Deputy Steve Lord said to CBS station WHIO-TV.
Deputies interviewed the named suspect several times in 2017. After first denying knowing Shelton, officials said he subsequently admitted that a box from his home “was used to carry the body parts of Shelton” and that “it was possible that Shelton was killed in his home.”
He claimed he was set up by an eyewitness to the incident, but agreed he “looked guilty and could possibly be convicted in court,” according to the sheriff’s office.
The witness to the murder testified before a grand jury but died before the case was prosecuted. Officials did not indicate if they believed the witness played a part in Shelton’s death.
The suspect died in September 2022, at the age of 92.
Shelton’s granddaughter Maria Walling told WHIO-TV that the sheriff’s office had just called to inform her that the case was finally ready for closure.
“It’s very, very shocking that a human being can do that to another human being,” Walling said in a statement.
Sheriff Lord stated that “cold case homicides are among the most difficult investigators confront” and that the Dayton Police Cold Case Squad supported his department.
“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,” he said.
However, Walling expressed her doubts about the justice system to WHIO-TV.
“To be honest, no,” she informed the broadcaster. “Nobody has that right. “No one has the authority to end someone’s life.”
