A fugitive killed in a shootout with authorities in Ohio last month was identified Monday as the suspect in the decades-old unsolved murder of an 18-year-old woman.
Mansfield police said in a news release that new DNA evidence has proven “beyond a reasonable doubt” that James Venest, 68, was the man responsible for the April 29, 1981, murder of Debra Miller, 18. It was announced that the evidence had been established.
Miller, a waitress, was fatally beaten with an oven grate in her apartment, according to the Associated Press.
Police said Vannest, who lived in the unit above Miller, was questioned at the time of the killing but was not considered a suspect.
The ministry reopened the case in 2021 and conducted an analysis using advanced DNA technology that linked genetic material found in “numerous” pieces of evidence to Vanest, the ministry said.
After interviewing Detective Mansfield that same year, investigators left believing Vannest was trying to justify the presence of DNA in the apartment to create an alibi, according to the release.
During an interview with the same investigator this year, Vannest said he believed detectives were trying to build a case against him, according to the release.
Vannest declined to comment further and requested an attorney, the department said.
A few weeks later, Benest sold his home in Canton, about 105 miles east of Mansfield, bought a pickup truck and moved to West Virginia, the department said. The department said Vannesto was stopped by state authorities, found to be in possession of two firearms, arrested and jailed on state charges, and later charged in connection with federal firearms crimes.
Vannest posted bail and returned to Ohio, but a gunfight broke out at a Canton-area hotel on Nov. 18 as local and federal authorities tried to indict him, according to the release.
The North Canton Police Department said Vannest, identified only as a fugitive in a Nov. 19 news release, barricaded himself in a hotel room and opened fire, striking a member of the department’s SWAT unit in the arm.
Vannesto was killed in the gunfight, the department said.
“This is a sad and tragic incident,” a news release from Mansfield said. “While the conclusion of this case will not bring Debra back or replace the past 43 years, we hope it brings some closure to her family.”
