TUSCARAWAS COUNTY — A cold case involving body parts found in suitcases in northern Ohio in 1998 has been resolved.
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On Feb. 1, 1998, a group of children found a suitcase in Dover Township, Tuscarawas County. The sheriff’s office said the suitcase had a male pelvis and part of a leg inside it, WOIO, a CBS affiliate in Cleveland, reported.
Five days later, on Feb. 6, a second suitcase containing a torso was found in Jefferson Township, which is also within Tuscarawas County.
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The sheriff asked detectives to look at the case again in 2023.
As WOIO reported, DNA work conducted identified a potential living family member of the victim. That person was later identified as Larry J. Drotleff, of Euclid, Ohio.
The sheriff’s office told WOIO on Friday that they had learned Larry Drotleff was previously caught collecting retirement and social security funds from his deceased father, Lawrence A. Drotleff
The son had told social security investigators that his father had moved away.
It was later confirmed through DNA testing that the body parts found in the suitcases did indeed belong to Lawrence A. Drotleff.
During a 2024 interview with investigators, Larry Drotleff said he was living with his father and found him dead when he returned home from work one day.
He then indicated that he cut up his father’s body with a manual hand saw and disposed of the body parts, WOIO reported. Some of the body parts were put into suitcases, and others were put in bags in a dumpster near where he worked.
The statute of limitations prevents Larry Drotleff from being charged with abuse of a corpse, WOIO reported. Still, investigators worked with the FBI to pursue federal charges, including stealing over $111,000 of social security benefits and stealing over $135,000 worth of pension funds from his father’s pension.
Sheriff Orvis L. Campbell said the case remained a priority for his office due to the “inexcusable” and “inhumane” treatment of a corpse.
“It remains difficult to comprehend that the greed of theft could cause someone to treat their father’s body in this manner,” Campbell said.
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