True Crime On This Day December 29th

Last Updated on September 19, 2022 by Ben Oakley

December 29th

On December 29th in true crime, a strip club murder, cold case cop murder, kidnapping, mystery disappearance, unidentified body.

1978

In Auglaize County, Ohio, 33-year-old Roger L. Parent Jr. was shot and killed during a robbery at the P&S Carry Out store.

The robber managed to escape and has never been caught since. As of 2022, the murder remains unsolved and is an active cold case in the State of Ohio.

1979

At the Velvet Swing Club in Florida, strip club manager Joseph Nagy was shot dead during a robbery. Angel Nieves Diaz and two accomplices entered the club in the early hours and herded the patrons and employees into a restroom.

During the robbery, Nagy was shot dead with a silencer-equipped gun. The robbery and murder remained unsolved until 1983 when Diaz’s girlfriend told police that he was involved in the crime. Diaz and one other accomplice, Angel Toro, were charged with murder.

Toro cut a deal with prosecutors and was sentenced to life in prison. Diaz was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in Florida on December 13^th 2006.

The identity of the third accomplice remains a mystery.

1980

In Erie, Pennsylvania, 40-year-old police officer Robert Owen was shot dead at close range, behind a warehouse. His body was found in the early hours of the morning, just 75 feet away from his patrol car. He had been shot with his own gun.

Because of the way he was found, it appeared that he was trying to make it back to his car before he died of the single gunshot wound. His clothing also showed signs of a struggle which meant that he had attempted to fend off his attacker but was unsuccessful.

A dog-walker found the gun in the woods shortly after. Despite a large investigation, no suspect was ever found, and the murder remains unsolved.

1981

In Madrid, Spain, Dr. Julio Iglesias Puga was kidnapped from his home and held for ransom by Basque separatist organisation ETA. He was held captive for two weeks until his rescue by a police anti-terrorism unit.

Puga was the father of singer Julio Iglesias, whose son’s, Julio Jr. Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias went on to have successful singing careers of their own. Puga died of natural causes on 19^th December 2005.

1982

In Largo, Florida, 43-year-old Retha L. Hiers disappeared under suspicious circumstances. She had last been seen driving away from her residence in the vicinity of the 12900 block of Campbell Lane.

A few days later, her husband received a letter supposedly from Hiers claiming she had left him to be with Cleveland Hill Jr., a contractor and friend of the family. The letter stated she wanted all of her six children to remain with her husband.

Her husband approached Hill shortly afterwards but Hill claimed he had not seen Hiers since her disappearance. Her vehicle was found abandoned in Clearwater, Florida, in March 1983.

Heirs’ disappearance is linked to Margaret Dash who disappeared in 1974, and Donyelle Johnson, who vanished in 1989. All three had associations with Hill. No trace of them has ever been found. Hiers’ case remains unsolved.

1983

In Los Angeles, California, the body of an unidentified white man in his Thirties was discovered on the side of a road in the Angeles National Forest.

Investigators suspected he had been knocked down by a car and his body dumped beside the road. Despite having recognisable features, the man has never been identified.

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