DNA evidence matches an alleged serial killer with the 1978 murder of UC student

An alleged serial killer is found to be the man responsible for the murder of a 19-year-old college student in 1978, according to our news partners at WCPO.

Hamilton County Prosecutor, Joe Deters, held a press conference at 1 p.m. Thursday to discuss the new findings in this case, WCPO reported.

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Around 44 years later, DNA evidence found that Ralph Howell is the man responsible of the rape and murder of Cheryl Thompson, who was a student at University of Cincinnati at the time, WCPO reported.

“There is no doubt in our mind that Ralph Howell was a serial killer,” Deters said in the press conference according to WCPO. “Hopefully the Thompson family has some closure today.”

Howell was killed in a car crash in 1985, WCPO reported.

On March 28, 1978, Thompson’s family reported her missing after she did not come home from an Oakley disco, WCPO said. On April 8th, she was found on the banks of the Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio.

The case went cold due to forensic limitations during that time, until 2022 when DNA was taken from the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office and sent to a genealogy company in hopes of finding a suspect, according to WCPO.

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Investigators found Howell had a previous abduction charge from an incident in 1983, WCPO reported. He was arrested after offering a woman a ride home and then proceeding to strangle and rape her.

Deters stated in the press conference that the woman was able to fight him off and escape, WCPO reported. Howell’s family was asked to submit DNA samples which ultimately determined the murderer was a close relative to the Howell’s.

Investigators then exhumed Howell’s body and took DNA from his jaw bone, which then matched the DNA of Cheryl Thompson, WCPO said.

Deters posthumously indicted Howell with one count of rape and one count of aggravated murder, WCPO reported.

“Law enforcement never forgot about her, her family and what she had to endure,” Deters said.

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Howell is believed to be responsible for three other murders of woman who were raped and strangled, WCPO reported. The victims are Charmaine Stolla, Nancy Ann theobald, and Victoria Hincher. DNA samples from those women are not available.

Anyone with additional information related to Ralph Howell or these other unsolved murders is asked to contact the BCI at 855-224-6446.

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