New charges in a decades-old dismemberment case are giving the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office hope for other cold cases.
Investigators say Larry Drotleff of Euclid admitted he found his elderly father dead at home in 1998, dismembered the body, and dumped the remains in two suitcases in Tuscarawas County—then collected his father’s benefits.
Sheriff Orvis Campbell says modern DNA tools would have made a major difference back then.
“I think with this case here it never would have made it these many years with the technology we have now.”
Campbell says there are still other unsolved cases, including the search for the body of Ruth Loader of Port Washington—even after two people were convicted in her 1994 murder as part of a killing spree.
Another case involves a burned body found near Tusky Valley Schools, off SR 212, in 2008.
“I think many people think that a cold case is forgotten. I will tell you that we have another one and is still being worked on and has had recent activity and while I can’t get into specifics on that I just want people to know we do have people that really care.”
Drotleff—now 81—is scheduled to enter a plea June 1 in federal court. He’s charged with stealing more than $246,000 in Social Security and pension payments.
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