DNA links killer to 1981 murder of Ohio girl

WOOSTER, Ohio (AP) — Ohio authorities say DNA evidence has proved that a man executed for murdering an 11-year-old girl in 1982 also killed a 12-year-old girl nine months earlier.

The investigation in the death of Tina Harmon of Creston in northeast Ohio was reopened to resolve her family’s lingering questions about her killer.

Today, state Attorney General Richard Cordray and Wayne County officials announced that DNA tests show she was raped and killed in 1981 by former Akron city planner Robert Buell. He was executed in 2002 for the 1982 rape-murder of Krista Harrison of Marshallville.

Buell was implicated in Harmon’s slaying but was never prosecuted because he was under a death sentence for the other girl’s murder.