The killing of an 18-year-old Ohio woman was solved with DNA technology after 43 years

[January 02, 2025]  By JULIE CARR SMYTH

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A man who was shot dead last month as authorities attempted to serve him an indictment on federal gun charges has been identified as the killer of an 18-year-old Ohio woman in a case that had gone unsolved for 43 years, police announced Monday.

Mansfield Police Chief Jason Bammann said the cold case of Debra Lee Miller, a local waitress beaten to death with an oven grate in her apartment on April 29, 1981, was reopened in 2021 to account for advances in DNA technology and forensic investigative techniques.

“They examined the case as if it had happened yesterday, through an entirely new lens,” Bammann said at a news conference. “Their findings were staggering.”

The chief said a “firm DNA profile” of James Vanest, at the time Miller's 26-year-old upstairs neighbor, emerged from evidence left from the room. Vanest had been questioned but never identified as a suspect during the initial investigation, which became mired in allegations of potential police misconduct.

Miller was one of several people from the Mansfield area whose suspicious deaths in the 1980s were examined for possible links to Mansfield police officers.

A special investigation ordered by the mayor concluded in 1989 that there was no evidence linking any officers with the deaths, but the report raised questions about sexual involvement between police officers and homicide victim Miller and about the way police investigated some homicides. The report noted that Miller wrote in her diary that she was sexually involved with several Mansfield police officers.

The local police chief retired in January 1990, after subsequent complaints arose over alleged irregularities in the investigation of the death of the ex-wife of a Mansfield patrolman.

Miller's case was reopened several times during the ensuing years. This time, Richland County Prosecutor Jodie Schumacher said the DNA evidence against Vanest was strong enough that her office was preparing a case against him for the killing to take to a grand jury.

But the case was never able to be presented.

This image provided by the Mansfield Police Department shows Debra Lee Miller, a local waitress who was beaten to death on April 29, 1981 in Mansfield, Ohio,(Mansfield Police Department via AP)

Police had found Vanest living in Canton, about 100 miles (160.93 kilometers) east of Mansfield, in November 2021 and re-interviewed him about Miller's killing. He had admitted to lying to investigators during his first interview in 1981 and investigators sensed this time that he was trying to create an alibi to account for his DNA being present in Miller's apartment, Bammann said.

Mansfield Police Detective Terry Butler sought a second interview in spring 2024, but Vanest refused to speak and requested an attorney. Authorities said he subsequently sold his house in Canton, bought a pickup truck and trailer and fled to West Virginia. He left several firearms at his Canton home and was stopped in West Virginia with two more. He was arrested on state charges and released on bond.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives took over his case and later indicted him on the federal gun charges. On Nov. 18, U.S. Marshals and Canton-area SWAT officers attempted to serve Vanest with that indictment at a North Canton motel where he was holed up.

“It is our understanding that when confronted by Marshals and the Canton Regional SWAT team, Mr. Vanest pointed a gun at them and barricaded himself inside the hotel,” Bammann said. “After a short shootout, one Canton SWAT member was shot in the arm, and Mr. Vanest was fatally shot.”

The chief said the department considers the case closed and hopes identifying Miller's killer will bring her family some closure.

Butler said his great-uncle was one of the first officers on the scene of Miller's killing in 1981. He said he feels fortunate to get the chance to solve a homicide that happened when he was just 10 years old. People should know, he said, “we don't give up, we keep digging.”

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