The residents of Marion, Ohio, were shocked after the old Ruth Predmore was found gruesomely murdered in her home. Additionally, while investigating the crime, police found that even though it appeared to be a wrong robbery, the perpetrator was well acquainted with Ruth’s routine.
Netflix’s ‘I Am a killer: Pyro Joe’ chronicles the horrific murder and highlights how the subsequent investigation focused on the perpetrator. Let’s explore the details concerning the crime and find out who Ruth’s killer is currently. Let’s get started.
How Did Ruth Predmore Die?
Ruth Predmore was 72 years old at the time of her death and was a lonely person in Marion, Ohio. Even though the show noted that she was quite fragile physically, Ruth was known to be a caring and compassionate person who could help others to the best of her ability and was very well-known within her local community. The people close to her stated that she enjoyed being with others and was fairly at ease with most of her friends. But, nobody knew that her kind of behavior would eventually lead to her sudden death.
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When Ruth was missing from the scene on February 1, 1987, her disappearance was discovered the next day when the person who was delivering her food received no reply from her 72-year-old. Police were immediately notified, and when the authorities entered the home, they were greeted by an eerie scene. In the house, police discovered the body of Ruth dead and shortly announced that she was dead. An autopsy later confirmed that she had been killed by a severe knife wound in her neck. The whole room was covered with blood splatters. Detectives also noticed footprints on the front of the house. Also, the authorities discovered an email in which the writer threatened Ruth with the death penalty if she did not supply”the “writer” with money.
Who Killed Ruth Predmore?
The first investigation into Ruth’s death was quite difficult because the police had no number of leads to investigate. In addition, there were no witnesses, and the people who knew about the victim didn’t know what motives motivated someone to hurt the victim in this brutal way. However, during their investigation, police discovered that Ruth was Treasurer for a nearby philanthropic group and also had a lot of cash lying around the home. As if this could be the reason for the murder, police started looking into the case from a robbery perspective but were soon returning to the same page.
Detectives also made their first breakthrough when they discovered Ruth’s purse near Joseph Murphy’s residence. Joseph was Ruth’s neighbor, and it was reported that Joseph was quite familiar with her 72-year-old. Therefore, police decided to raid the house and quickly discovered blood-stained jeans, a purse belonging to a woman, a few rolled-up coins, and a piece of paper similar to the one on which the threat note had been written. Police immediately went to the home of Joseph’s aunt in Caledonia and from there found a bloody shirt and tennis shoes.
Interestingly, the blood on the shirt, shoes, and jeans was similar to that of Ruth’s blood, which made the police investigate Joseph. But, the suspect continued insisting that he was innocent and insisted that his brother-in-law was the culprit of the murder. However, the authorities were not happy with the statement of Joseph and, after conducting another extensive search at his house, they discovered the murder weapon that had Ruth’s blood still present, and Joseph’s mother discovered Ruth’s ATM card in his possession. These two pieces of evidence convinced police officers that Joseph was involved, and they charged Joseph with murder.
Where Is Joseph Murphy Now?
In Court, Joseph was ultimately convicted of capital murder and sentenced to die in 1987. After that, he remained on Ohio’s death row and attempted to have his sentence quashed through many petitions and appeals. But none of his efforts were effective, and Joseph’s execution was set for October 18, 2011. However, just a few days before he was to be executed, the then-governor of Ohio, John Kasich, decided to give him the right of clemency.
John was later able to explain his reasoning and stated that he opted to reduce Joseph’s death sentence following consideration of the level of violence that he endured throughout his early years. The show said that, in addition to being physically and psychologically, their father of Joseph was known to put Joseph in a trunk and, in one instance, was accused of selling the boy to buy alcohol. However, his mother was abusive but did not, and even though Joseph was able to appears to have at times to spend a lot of time in foster care homes, the boy had to go through torture and stay in his parents’ home.
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The show also mentioned that Joseph was prone to burn animals due to this abuse, earning him the name Pyro Joe. But the governor at the time, John Kasich, believed that this method of torture made Joseph into a murderer of cold blood and, consequently, reduced his sentence of death to life imprisonment without parole. In the end, Joseph is serving his time in prison in the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield, Ohio.
