Robert Anthony Buell
Robert Anthony Buell | |
---|---|
Born | Norwood, Ohio, U.S. | September 10, 1940
Died | September 24, 2002 | (aged 62)
Cause of death | Execution by lethal injection |
Other names | Bob Buell |
Criminal status | Executed |
Conviction(s) | Aggravated murder Kidnapping (x3) Rape (x3) Felonious sexual penetration (x3) Felonious assault (x2) |
Criminal penalty | Death sentence |
Details | |
Victims | 2–3 |
Span of crimes | 1981–1983 |
Country | United States |
State(s) | Ohio |
Date apprehended | 1984 |
Robert Anthony Buell (September 10, 1940 – September 25, 2002) was an American serial killer, child murderer, serial rapist, and former planning department worker from Akron, Ohio. He was convicted of the July 17, 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Lea Harrison.[1]
Buell was executed by lethal injection on September 25, 2002. His final meal was a single black unpitted olive.[1] In 2010, eight years after his death, he was found to have also killed Tina Marie Harmon.[2]
Murder cases
On July 17, 1982, Buell was reportedly seen abducting Krista Harrison in a park in Marshallville, Ohio. Harrison's body was found six days after her kidnapping. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled. Two other young girls have been thought to have also been victims of Buell: Tina Marie Harmon, age 12, murdered in 1981; and Debora Kaye Smith, age 10, murdered in 1983.[3]
Although strong evidence is present linking Buell to all three cases, Buell was only charged with the murder of Krista Harrison.[3] He has since been linked by DNA evidence to Tina Harmon's murder.[4] Buell was also a serial rapist. In 1984, Buell raped and tortured a woman who was able to escape and notify police, an event that ultimately led to his arrest.[5] He also raped another woman. Buell pleaded no contest to these crimes and received a 121-year sentence.
Buell was sentenced to death for Krista Harrison's murder on April 11, 1984. Eighteen years later, on September 24, 2002, he was executed by lethal injection, still denying involvement in the Harrison murder.
This case was presented as "Material Evidence" in Forensic Files, season 5, episode 8, made before Buell's execution.
See also
References
- ^ a b "Robert Anthony Buell #801". ClarkProsecutor.org. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
- ^ "ExecutedToday.com » 2002: Robert Anthony Buell". Retrieved September 24, 2019.
- ^ a b "Family of Tina Harmon, abducted and killed in 1981, wants police to reopen the case". IndeOnline.com.
- ^ "DNA proves Robert Buell killed 12-year-old Tina Harmon girl in 1981". IndeOnline.com.
- ^ "Robert Anthony Buell". ClarkProsecutor.org. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
- Media related to Robert Anthony Buell at Wikimedia Commons
- 1940 births
- 2002 deaths
- American people convicted of murder
- American rapists
- 20th-century American criminals
- 21st-century executions by Ohio
- 21st-century executions of American people
- American murderers of children
- People executed by Ohio by lethal injection
- Executed people from Ohio
- Executed American serial killers
- Male serial killers
- People convicted of murder by Ohio
- People from Akron, Ohio
- People from Norwood, Ohio
- Torture in the United States
- Ohio people stubs