On September 20, 1982, the little girl in these photos, Kelly Ann Prosser, was abducted from the University District while walking home from Indianola Elementary School. Two days later, her battered and sexually abused body was found in a cornfield in Madison County.
Today, 38 years later, Columbus Division of Police announced they had finally brought closure to Kelly Ann's family, determining that the killer was Harold Warren Jarrell, who died in 1996. Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin, who worked on the case as a CPD patrolman, was in attendance for the announcement.
The entire press conference is available here, and we urge you to at least watch from the 15:00 minute mark, where Sgt Terry McConnell reads a statement from Kelly Ann's mom, Linda. It is beautiful and gracious. It also brings home how important this moment is to this family and to all the law enforcement officers who worked on this case.
As Linda says, "There are no words to express how deeply our gratitude extends to all of you. We would especially like to thank the many Columbus Division of Police homicide detectives who have worked countless hours on this case to hold this perpetrator accountable for her murder."
Thank you. 💙
