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New DNA technology has cracked yet another cold case surrounding a man’s dismembered body parts being found inside two suitcases in Ohio nearly three decades ago, police said.
Larry Drotleff, 81, of Euclid, confessed to the 27-year-old dismemberment of his father, Lawrence A. Drotleff, who would have been 93 at the time his remains were found, Tuscarawas County Sheriff Orvis Campbell said in a news release.
The case began in February 1998, when authorities received a complaint regarding a suitcase found by a group of children on Winkler Hill Road in Dover Township containing unidentified male body parts – including a pelvis and part of one leg.
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One week later, a second suitcase containing a torso was found along Boltz Orchard Road in Jefferson Township, authorities said.
Despite the recovery of a body, authorities were unable to determine the identity of the victim or a potential suspect.
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“While DNA was collected from the remains in both suitcases, neither fingerprints from the suitcases themselves nor the DNA from the body parts ever led to the identification of the remains or a suspect,” Campbell said. “All leads were run out and leads that did come in over the years were investigated with no progress on identifying the victim or a suspect.”
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The case ultimately ran cold until investigators decided to take another look in February 2023, with DNA testing pointing to Larry Drotleff as a family member of the deceased, Lawrence A. Drotleff, police said.
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Authorities then learned Larry Drotleff had previously been caught collecting retirement and social security funds from his father, according to police. When questioned by social security investigators at the time of the alleged thefts, Larry Drotleff offered the explanation that his father had moved away.
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In January 2024, Larry Drotleff told investigators he was living with his father when he came home from work and found him deceased, according to authorities. He cooperated with the investigation by providing his own DNA for investigators to confirm his father’s identity.
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“Larry indicated that he then cut up his father’s body with a manual hand saw and disposed of some body parts in the suitcases and others by just putting them in bags in a dumpster near his workplace,” Campbell said.
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Although the statute of limitations has passed on abuse of a corpse charges, Larry Drotleff is facing two federal counts of stealing his father’s Social Security and pension funding, totalling over $250,000.
“While the case did not prove to be a murder, it should be noted that the inhumane treatment of the Corpse was conduct so inexcusable that this case remained a priority for the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office,” Campbell said. “It remains difficult to comprehend that the greed of theft could cause someone to treat their father’s body in this manner.”
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