Mystery – Dr. No – Amateur Connoisseur

I’m not referring to a villain in a James Bond movie, I’m referring to the unknown killer who has murdered at least 9 women Ohio area. (He) has been active from 1981, and no known victims have been accredited to him since 2004. Here is what is known:

Dr. No chose prostitutes who worked in truck stops along Interstate 71. Three of his victims worked at a Union 76 truck stop between Akron and Youngstown. Because of where the victims were known to work, it was believed that the murderer was a truck driver. Most of the nine victims were found without underwear or shoes.

The killings began in 1981. The body of a young woman was found on April 24. It was determined that she had died from strangulation, and received a head injury beforehand. She would be identified as “Buckskin Girl” due to her poncho that she was wearing. Her real name would not be known until 2018. Her name was Marcia King, from Arkansas.
The next body found, one mile away from the Union 76 station was that of Marcia Matthews. She had died from traumatic brain injury, sustained from a beating with a blunt object.
July 1986, Shirley Dean Taylor’s body was discovered. She had been beaten and strangled. Again before she disappeared she was seen at the Union 76 station. She had gone to meet a regular client, “Dr. No” whose identity was never established.
In December 1986, April Barnett went missing from the Union 76. Found a few days later about 70 miles away. As with the other victims she was beaten and strangled. A few days later another victim was found, Jill Allen. She was found in Illinois. Even though she was found in another state, she was deemed a victim of Dr. No as well. She had been beaten and strangled, and her shoes, bra, and underwear were never found.
February 1987, Anne Marie Patterson went missing from the same Union 76. Her body was found 250 miles away near Cincinnati, 40 days later. A week prior to her disappearing she made an appointment with a client Dr. No, and she gave information about him and his car.
August 1987, A victim’s body was found. She was not identified until 2010, her name was Paula Beverly Davis. She may or may not have been the victim of Dr. No, but she had died from strangulation.
November 1987, Lamonica Cole was included in the victims for Dr. No, she was strangled. Her pimp informed police that she had left with a truck driver with a blue semi trailer with white stripes.
March 1988, Terri Roark was murdered and found on one of the bridges. She died from a traumatic brain injury due to a beating with a blunt object.
April 1990, Another body was found near a truck stop on I-70. She had similar cause of death, beating, brain injury. Originally she was unidentified. In 2017 Jane Doe became Patrice Anita Corley.

There were several suspects in the case, none of which has ever been formally charged in the case:

1991, Alvin Wilson was a trucker with 2 tractors. His hair samples matched those on some of the victims. A woman claimed that Alvin has picked her up in Akron, and attempted to strangle her after he had beaten her. Alvin was tested for involvement but the results are inconclusive.
1994, a trucker from Ohio, James Robert Cruz Jr, was convicted for a 1993 murder. He was considered a possible suspect as most of his victims clothing was missing. He has been tested, but no charges have been filed against him.
2019, Samuel Legg was arrested in Arizona. His DNA matched that of a suspect in murders in both Ohio and Illinois. He has been suspected in murders in other counties of Ohio, and that of his stepdaughter. There is not enough evidence to charge him as Dr. No.

Dr. No has remained a mystery, however many people believe that Samuel Legg is ultimately the killer. Sadly we may never fully know who the man is behind the moniker, but for his victims and their families, I hope they find peace.

Be careful, make good choices, stay safe