Murder of Krista Harrison

The murder of Krista Lea Harrison occurred on July 17, 1982, in Marshallville, Ohio.^[1] The case remained unsolved for two years, until Robert Anthony Buell was convicted of her murder in 1984.^[2] Harrison's case appeared on the fifth season American television show Forensic Files in an episode titled "Material Evidence."^[3]

Abduction and Murder

Police sketches of the suspect at the time of Krista Harrison's abduction.

Eleven-year-old Krista Harrison ^[4][5] (born May 28, 1971, Orrville, Ohio)^[6] had been picking up aluminum cans in the Marshallville park with one of her friends, one hundred yards from her home. It was reported by her friend, that a man between 25 and 35 with shoulder-length hair drove up to Harrison in his van and forced her into the vehicle and drove away. Harrison's companion described the abductor's van to have been a brown or dark red color that had round windows on the sides, near the rear.^[4][7] After she was kidnapped, volunteers searched for her body across Marshallville to no avail. It was initially believed that the man would demand ransom for Krista's return, yet no contact was made. It was not until six days later, that her body, which was in an advanced state of decomposition, was found in the weeds a few feet off the side of a little traveled road in Holmes County, Ohio. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted with a vibrator, and large plastic bag wrapped around her legs. Because of the condition of her remains, police were not able to identify the body until Harrison's father confirmed that the body was that of his daughter. A Budweiser towel, a wad of Harrison's hair, gloves, a plaid shirt and jeans were all found in the vicinity of the dump site.^[2][4][8] She was buried in the Maple Grove Cemetery in Marshallville.^[6] Examination of the remains indicated that the body was subjected to high temperatures, which was likely a consequence of her body remaining inside of the vehicle for a long period of time during summer weather.^[4]

Investigation

Fibers found on Tina Harmon's body, which were similar to those on Harrison's body

On Krista's body and the towel near the scene, a distinct number of nutmeg or orange-colored polyester fibers were found. After they were examined under a microscope, investigators concluded that they were of tri-lobal shape and were likely from some sort of carpet. Similar fibers were found on the body of Tina Harmon, a twelve-year-old girl who was raped and murdered eight months prior to Krista Harrison. However, a man had already been convicted on circumstantial evidence of her death, but was incarcerated when Krista was abducted. Authorities then began to consider that the two girls were victims of the same person, as both had been sexually violated, strangled, and killed in the same county. The two had the same sort of fibers on their remains indicating that they were murdered by the same person.^[4]

The bag found on Harrison's body was also unique, as it had distinct folding patterns and thickness that most likely occurred when it was manufactured. The bag was traced to a factory in Pioneer, Ohio. Such bags were used for packaging a type of car seat, which was black in color.^[4] These seats, sold through Sears, were only available for a brief amount of time through mailing. The box containing Krista's blood belonged to the same type of car seat. Sales records of the seats were subsequently examined from the store, to search for any Ohio-native that bought the product. Twenty-three in northern Ohio had purchased the type of car seat, but none owned a van that matched the one used during the abduction.^[4]

Capture and trial of Robert Buell

After Harrison's body was found, a $10,000 reward was placed for information about the abductor, which showed composite sketches of the perpetrator. None was arrested until two years later.^[4] In 1984, 44-year-old Robert Anthony Buell, employed by the state of Ohio, kidnapped a twenty-eight-year-old woman while she was working as a manager at an Ohio gas station in Damascus, Ohio.^[4] The woman's head was shaved, she was shocked with a severed electrical cord, beaten and was bound to Buell's bed and raped. She was able to escape, twelve hours later, fearing for her life, and ran to a nearby house and notified police after her attacker had left to go to work.^[2][4] Such a man had previously preyed on Ohio women, who were usually in their late twenties to forties.^[4]

Robert Anthony Buell in 2001

Police then compared the orange carpet fibers found on Harrison's body to the ones in Buell's van, which was the same color as the one seen in 1982. The rear-view windows were of a different shape, although it was later revealed that they had been replaced. It was later concluded that the fibers on Harrison's body and the carpet in the van were a likely match and records from Sears indicated that Buell had purchased the same type of car seat that was once contained in the bag and box used to conceal the body. Paint found on the jeans near the dump site matched that on the outside of Robert Anthony Buell's residence as well. The jeans themselves were identical to other pairs that he owned. Spray paint in his garage was also matched to some that was present on the box.^[4] A fingerprint on plastic concealing Harrison's body did not.^[11]

Buell pleaded no contest to the abduction and rape of the adult victim, yet he denied any involvement with Krista's murder. He was found guilty after being tried and sentenced to death in 1984; he was executed by lethal injection in 2002.^[2] He denied involvement and was never charged with the death of Tina Harmon, although dog hairs belonging to the remains of one found buried at his residence matched. In 2010, DNA compared from the crime scene of Tina's murder to Buell's matched, therefore indicating that he was involved in her rape and most likely, her murder.^[7][9][12] Another victim who was murdered in 1983, Debora Kaye Smith, 10, had wax on her body that was from the same kind of candles that Buell owned. Her body was found over a month after her death, abandoned at the side of the Tuscarawas River.^[13]

Former journalist for the Cleveland Scene magazine, James Renner, has written through several of his works that Buell's nephew, Ralph Ross Jr., may have played a role in the murders, if not have been fully responsible. He has also connected the cases to that of the unsolved murders of thirteen-year-old Barbara Barnes and ten-year-old Amy Mihaljevic. Similar fibers on the latter victim's body were found.^[5][13]

References

External links

• Presentation by James Renner on YouTube
• Forensic Files episode on the case on YouTube
• Krista Harrison at Find a Grave