Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Ohio Man Arrested After Grand Jury Indicts Him in 1985 Middletown Hotel Murder

Forensic reanalysis of items recovered in 1985 produced investigative leads that prosecutors used to present the case to a grand jury.

Overview

  • A Warren County grand jury returned indictments charging Randy Lane McAllister with aggravated murder and murder and he was arrested and booked into the Warren County Jail without bond, with an arraignment set for Tuesday.
  • The victim, John Christopher Warren, was found dead in his Holiday Inn room in October 1985 and several of his belongings, including a 1985 Oldsmobile, were taken from the scene.
  • Detectives reopened the file in 2019 and submitted items recovered decades earlier to a crime lab, which identified McAllister and a now-deceased accomplice as potential suspects.
  • Recovered property linked to the case was found across state lines, with items discarded behind a Cracker Barrel in Dalton, Georgia, and Warren’s car located in Redington Beach, Florida.
  • Local detectives and the prosecutor say years of follow-up work and persistent reinvestigation over the past five years led to the grand jury presentation and the revived criminal case that will now proceed through court.