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Killing of Tina Harmon

SOLVED1981Creston, Wayne County, Ohio4 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

Tina Marie Harmon was a 12-year-old sixth-grader from Creston, a village in Wayne County, Ohio. On October 29, 1981, her father's girlfriend dropped her at a local convenience store, where friends last saw her outside eating a snack she had just bought. She did not come home. About five days later, on November 3, 1981, her body was found on an oil-well access road in Bethlehem Township, in Stark County, roughly 40 miles away. She had been raped and strangled. Investigators recovered dog hairs and distinctively colored carpet fibers from her clothing, evidence that would remain central to the case for decades.

In 1982, Wayne County authorities charged two local men, Ernest Holbrook Jr. and Herman Ray Rucker, and both were convicted of rape and murder, largely on witness testimony rather than physical evidence. The case against them unraveled after 11-year-old Krista Harrison was abducted and killed in 1982 and found with carpet fibers matching those recovered from Harmon. Rucker was acquitted at a 1983 retrial, and the charges against Holbrook were dropped in 1984; their convictions were vacated. Curtis Maynard, a witness whose account had helped convict the two men, was later convicted of perjury after recanting, sentenced to six to 20 years, and paroled after 13 months.

Attention turned to Robert Anthony Buell, a former Akron city employee. In 1984 he was convicted of the 1982 murder of Krista Harrison. Carpet matching the fibers found on both girls was recovered in connection with Buell, a dog whose hairs matched those on Harmon was found buried on his property, and other physical evidence tied him to the Harrison abduction. Buell was never tried for Harmon's death because he was already under a sentence of death; he was executed in 2002.

The Harmon investigation was reopened in 2009. In 2010, DNA recovered from Harmon's clothing was matched to Buell. On March 11, 2010, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Wayne County officials announced that DNA testing had identified Buell as the man who raped and killed her, formally resolving the case nearly three decades after the crime. Because Buell had already been executed, he was never prosecuted for Harmon's murder, and the resolution rested on the posthumous forensic match rather than a trial.

The case is frequently discussed alongside other Ohio child killings of the era, and journalists have examined the earlier wrongful convictions and the handling of physical evidence. Its central threads — convictions built on contested testimony without physical corroboration, and the role that preserved forensic evidence and later DNA testing can play in correcting the record — have kept it a reference point in accounts of wrongful conviction and cold-case resolution.

Key facts

Victims
Tina Marie Harmon
Date
1981
Location
Creston, Wayne County, Ohio
Case status
solved

Case timeline

  1. 1969-06-09

    Tina Marie Harmon is born in Creston, Ohio.

  2. 1981-10-29

    Harmon, 12, is abducted after being dropped at a convenience store; she is raped and strangled.

  3. 1981-11-03

    Her body is found on an oil-well access road in Bethlehem Township, Stark County, Ohio.

  4. 1982

    Ernest Holbrook Jr. and Herman Ray Rucker are convicted of the rape and murder.

  5. 1983

    Rucker is acquitted at a retrial as evidence points to Robert Buell.

  6. 1984

    Charges against Holbrook are dropped; Buell is convicted of the 1982 murder of Krista Harrison.

  7. 2002

    Buell is executed for the murder of Krista Harrison.

  8. 2009

    The Harmon investigation is reopened.

  9. 2010-03-11

    Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray and Wayne County officials announce DNA matched Buell to Harmon's rape and killing.

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People

  • Curtis Maynard

    CONVICTED

    Convicted of perjury after recanting the testimony that helped convict Holbrook and Rucker; sentenced to six to 20 years and paroled after 13 months.

  • Ernest Holbrook Jr.

    EXONERATED

    Wrongfully convicted with Rucker in 1982; conviction vacated and charges dropped in 1984 after evidence pointed to Buell.

  • Robert Anthony Buell

    CONVICTED

    Former Akron city employee convicted in 1984 of the 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Harrison and executed in 2002; identified by the Ohio Attorney General in 2010 through DNA as Harmon's killer, though never tried for her death.

  • Tina Marie Harmon

    VICTIM

    12-year-old girl from Creston, Ohio, abducted, raped, and strangled in October 1981.

  • Herman Ray Rucker

    EXONERATED

    Wrongfully convicted with Holbrook in 1982; acquitted at a 1983 retrial after evidence pointed to Buell.

  • Richard Cordray

    LAW ENFORCEMENT

    Ohio Attorney General who, with Wayne County officials, announced on March 11, 2010 that DNA had matched Buell to Harmon's rape and murder.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Creston, Wayne County, Ohio

40.9767, -81.9000

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
A 12-year-old Ohio girl was abducted and killed in 1981; two men were wrongfully convicted before DNA identified the actual perpetrator in 2010.
Where did the killing happen?
Creston, Wayne County, Ohio.
Who was convicted?
Curtis Maynard (Convicted of perjury after recanting the testimony that helped convict Holbrook and Rucker; sentenced to six to 20 years and paroled after 13 months.) and Robert Anthony Buell (Former Akron city employee convicted in 1984 of the 1982 murder of 11-year-old Krista Harrison and executed in 2002; identified by the Ohio Attorney General in 2010 through DNA as Harmon's killer, though never tried for her death.).
What is the current status of the case?
Status: solved. Last verified July 2026.
More cases in Ohio

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDICMurder of Tina HarmonWikipedia · 2026-07-06
  2. PRESSDNA links killer to 1981 murder of Ohio girlThe Vindicator (Associated Press) · 2026-07-06
  3. PRESSGhosts of Wayne County: Doubts Haunt an Old Murder and the Execution That FollowedCleveland Scene · 2026-07-06
  4. ENCYCLOPEDICCreston, OhioWikipedia · 2026-07-06

Record history

First published
JUL 07, 2026
Last verified against sources
JUL 07, 2026