A man has been indicted for his alleged role in the 1985 murder of John Christopher Warren, a traveling auto parts salesman found dead in an Ohio hotel room. Randy Lane McAllister, 62, of Columbus, was charged with aggravated murder and murder by a Warren County grand jury, authorities announced Monday.
Warren was discovered deceased on Oct. 18, 1985, the day after he checked into the now-closed Holiday Inn in Middletown, Ohio, for business meetings. Investigators at the time suspected the death was a robbery gone wrong, as several of Warren's belongings and his 1985 Oldsmobile were missing.
Days after the murder, some of Warren's recovered items were found behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Dalton, Georgia, and his car was later located in Redington Beach, Florida. Despite leads being pursued at the time, insufficient evidence prevented the case from moving forward.
The case remained unsolved for years until investigators reopened it in 2019. Analysis of several of Warren's belongings recovered from the various crime scenes led detectives to McAllister and a now-deceased accomplice, according to prosecutors.
Assistant Prosecutor Brian Goodyear described the murder as exceptionally violent, stating that Warren was beaten and strangled. Goodyear noted that McAllister has prior felony convictions, including felonious assault and aggravated robbery. Investigators have not yet disclosed the specific details of how Warren's belongings connected McAllister to the crime.