Articles from the Hamilton Journal News

Solving the unsolvable: Frank Smith puts cold cases on ice

By Mary Lolli

Staff Writer

HAMILTON — The words “Never Forget ... Never Give Up” move in a continual loop across the screen of a computer monitor in Frank Smith’s office.

It’s a motto Smith adopted in 1999 when he accepted a daunting challenge to solve murder cases that had long before been classified as “unsolvable.”

It’s a motto that, when he becomes frustrated with seemingly futile leads, reminds Smith that the job isn’t about him — it’s about the families mourning the loss of a brutally murdered loved one and still waiting for justice and closure.

“Day in and day out, this job is about speaking for those who can no longer speak for themselves,” said Smith, a 30-year veteran of the Butler County Sheriff’s office and the lone detective assigned to its Cold Case Unit.

Sweet Success

Last week, Smith, along with his colleagues — Sheriff Richard K. Jones, County Prosecutor Robin Piper and assistant prosecutors Dan Eichel and Glen Rossi — celebrated the successful conviction of James E. Craft for the 1974 beating death of Princeton High School freshman Cynthia Beuerlein.

It was the fourth cold case Smith had solved since the unit was established and the fourth conviction.

“One of the most rewarding aspects of this job is knowing that we’ve done something that will finally give the families involved some closure,” Smith said. “It’s hard enough losing someone in such a brutal way. But it’s all the harder to deal with when you have no answers as to who killed them and why.”

Days after Craft’s conviction, Smith was still receiving notes and calls of gratitude from Beuerlein’s family and friends.

But as rewarding as it was to solve the Beuerlein case — and as Smith puts it, “keep the animal who killed her behind bars for life” — he need only open his office door for a stark reminder of other victims and the families crying for justice and closure.

Walls of reminders

Eight framed photographs stand mounted against an otherwise unadorned cinder block wall — all murder victims whose families still wait for answers.

Smith has dubbed the grouping “The Wall of Death.”

An adjacent wall displays the framed photographs of four murder victims and the three men convicted in their killings.

“That’s the Wall of Justice, May They Now Rest in Peace,” Smith said, noting that while the victims’ photos are labeled with their names, the photos of their killers are left nameless.

“We’re not going to do anything to give these animals recognition,” Smith said.

Smith credits organization, modern technology (including major advancements in DNA screening), cooperation with other law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor’s office with helping to bring cold cases to a successful close.

Answers for Gwinner

One of the high-profile cases Smith has been working is the 1997 murder of Alana “Laney” Gwinner, 23, of West Chester Township.

Gwinner disappeared as she was leaving the Gilmore Lanes Bowling Alley in Fairfield on Dec. 10, 1997.

Her body was found Jan. 11, 1998 floating in the Ohio River near Warsaw, Ky.

Her car has never been found.

In 2004, seven years after Gwinner’s murder, Fairfield police turned the single case file over to Smith.

Today, that file has grown to 11 four-inch thick binders of new interview notes, tips, leads and other investigative documents — all of which Smith says will lead to the capture and conviction of Gwinner’s killer.

“We’ve used sonar and searched 50 nautical miles of both the Ohio and Great Miami rivers looking for Miss Gwinner’s car,” Smith said. “When the weather breaks and the river levels drop, we plan to expand that search.”

Investigators have an as-yet-unnamed suspect in the murder. Likewise, Smith said there are identifiable suspects in all of the cold cases he’s currently investigating.

“The key is making certain that our evidence, no matter how old the murder, will stand up against the scrutiny of the court and will lead to a conviction,” Smith said.

“We will solve the mystery of Laney Gwinner’s death. We have made tremendous progress. We’ve cleared suspects and found new suspects.

“The one thing we will never do is give up on this case or any of the cases we’ve been given,” Smith said. “We go at these cases with a vengeance because for every day these killers remain free there’s another potential victim out there.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2192 or mlolli@coxohio.com.

Sheriff's office investigating more cold cases

By Mary Lolli

Staff Writer

HAMILTON — Butler County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Detective Frank Smith, who has a winning track record of solving old homicide cases, is currently working eight cases dating back as early as 1970 and as recently as 1998:

Georgiana Reiter

September 1970: Reiter, 22, of Hamilton, and a female friend were shot several times when they stopped at a roadside park along Ohio 128 in Ross Township. Reiter died from her injuries. The friend survived and told police an unidentified man wielding a shotgun came out of a wooded area next to the park and shot the two women.

Beverly Krause

July 1974: Krause, 29, Evansville, Ind., was found in the sludge pit at Champion Paper on Ohio 128 in Ross Township. She had been beaten to death in what investigators believe was a gangland-type killing tied to the Outlaws motorcycle gang of which her husband was a member.

Victoria Hincher

October 1976: Hincher, 24, of Cincinnati, was last seen walking in downtown Cincinnati. Her body was found along New London Road in Ross Township. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.

Eugene Sauer

October 1977: Sauer, 55, of Hamilton. A former Butler County Sheriff’s Office special deputy, Sauer was found shot to death in the driveway of Watson’s Gravel on Ohio 128 in Ross Township. Hundreds of dollars were found positioned or otherwise strewn about his body, leading investigators to believe Sauer was the target of a contract killing possibly in retaliation for work he had done as a special deputy or in his private real estate or action business.

Nancy Theobald

December 1977: Theobald, 21, of Cincinnati, a college student who was abducted as she left her part-time job at an Arby’s restaurant on McMillan Road. Theobald’s body was found four days later along Beckett Road in what is now West Chester Township in Butler County. She had been strangled. Investigators believe Theobald and Hincher may have been victims of separate serial killers.

Tammy King

November 1982: King, 26, of Cincinnati, was last seen walking to a bus stop in downtown Cincinnati. Her body was found along Dunwoody Road in Reily Township. She had been strangled and sexually assaulted.

Kermit “Sonny” Vencill

December 1985: Vencill, 53, of Middletown, was found shot to death at a semi-truck repair business he owned on Cincinnati-Dayton Road. Investigators found no evidence of robbery and believe the killing may have resulted from a business disagreement.

Alana “Laney” Gwinner

December 1997: Gwinner, 23, of West Chester Township, disappeared as she was leaving the Gilmore Lanes Bowling Alley in Fairfield. Her body was found in January 1998 floating in the Ohio River near Warsaw, Ky. She had been strangled.