Oakland County Child Killer

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The Oakland County Child Killer was a serial killer responsible for the murders of four or more children in Oakland County, Michigan, United States in 1976 and 1977. The killer was also nicknamed The Babysitter, as all four victims had been recently bathed.

During a 13-month period, four children were abducted and murdered with their bodies left in various locations within the county. The children were each held from 4 to 19 days before being killed. Their deaths triggered a murder investigation that is still unsolved.

1 Victims
2 Investigation
3 Arrest
4 External links

[edit] Victims

Mark Stebbins, 12, of Ferndale, was last seen leaving an American Legion Hall on February 13, 1976. His body was found February 19, 1976, in a parking lot in Southfield (some reports claim Oak Park). He had been strangled and sexually assaulted with an object.
Jill Robinson, 12, of Royal Oak ran away from her home December 22, 1976. Her body was found December 26, 1976 along the side of Interstate 75 in Troy. She was killed by a single shotgun blast to the face. She was fully clothed and still wearing her backpack when she was found.
Kristine Mihelich, 10, was last seen January 2, 1977 at 3p.m. at a 7-Eleven store in Berkley. Her fully clothed body was found 18 days later on the side of a rural road in Franklin Village. She had been smothered.
Timothy King, 11, was last seen in a Birmingham parking lot March 16, 1977 at around 8:30 p.m. His body was found March 22, 1977 in a shallow ditch in Livonia. He had been suffocated and sexually assaulted with an object.

There were other abductions and murders around the Oakland County area within the same time period. These are not specifically tied to the four victims above due to variations in the cases.

The 1972 slaying of teenager Donna Serra in Ray Township.
Cynthia Cadieux, 16, was abducted and bludgeoned to death on January 15, 1976. Missing from Roseville she was discovered nude in Bloomfield Township the next day.
Sheila Shrock was raped and shot dead at her home in Birmingham on January 20, 1976.
Jane Allen, 13, was murdered by carbon monoxide poisoning after accepting a ride in Royal Oak and was found in Miamisburg, Ohio, on August 11, 1976.

[edit] Investigation

After the discovery of Kristine Mihelich's body, authorities quickly realized they were dealing with three cases and evidence that were very close in nature to each other. Reports were released publicly of the possibility a serial killer was operating in the Oakland County area.

Soon after Timmy King was abducted, a composite drawing of the suspected kidnapper and his vehicle was released to the public. A woman claimed she had seen a boy with a skateboard talking to a man in a parking lot of a local store which Timmy had told his parents he was going to ride his skateboard to. The vehicle was reportedly a blue AMC Gremlin with a white side stripe. King's body was found a few days later.

[edit] Arrest

Police in Parma Heights, Ohio, have arrested Ted Lamborgine, a retired auto worker who once lived in Detroit, in connection with the murders. He is believed to have been involved in a child porn ring in the 1970s.

Lamborgine may also be a "person of interest" in the unsolved abduction/murder of 10 year-old Amy Mihaljevic, which occured in Bay Village, Ohio, in 1989. Like the children from Oakland County, Amy was abducted in a business district, and seemed to go willingly with her kidnapper. Also like the children from Oakland County, Amy's body was discovered in a field just a few feet from a country road, as if it was placed there to be easily found.