1985 HOMICIDE

1985 HOMICIDE

A trapper checking his traps Dec. 30, 1985, saw the body found floating in the Mahoning River near the West Avenue bridge.

Bennie Adams, 28, was a suspect, and his blood was drawn for testing. Tests then only showed blood type.

Adams was charged with receiving stolen property after Gina Gay Tenney’s ATM card was found in his possession. The charge was not prosecuted.

Memorial service held Jan. 14, 1986, at Youngstown State University for the 19-year-old student from Ashtabula.

Adams indicted in unrelated rape and kidnapping case in January 1986. Found guilty and sentenced to prison. Released in 2004.

Registered as a sex offender in Mahoning County.

In December 1987, dedication ceremony for a Gina Tenney memorial sculpture, made by a YSU senior, was held at the university.

There is an endowed scholarship in her memory at YSU. A metal plaque hangs on the outside wall of Bliss Hall near the Ford Auditorium entrance in memory of Tenney. It bears this inscription, “May her memory inspire us to achieve our fullest potential and glorify God through His gift of the fine arts.”

Source: Youngstown Police Department, Vindicator files and YSU