Ohio cold case reportedly solved as man is charged in 1985 hotel murder linked to Georgia Cracker Barrel clue

A man suspected of brutally killing a traveling auto parts salesman inside his Holiday Inn hotel room in Ohio more than four decades ago has been charged in the murder, years after the victim's items were found behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant in Georgia, authorities said Monday.

Randy Lane McAllister, a 62-year-old Columbus resident, was indicted by a Warren County grand jury for his alleged role in the Oct. 17, 1985, death of John Christopher Warren.

He was charged with aggravated murder and murder after investigators resurrected the cold case through forensic evidence.

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Warren was found dead the day after checking into the now-closed Holiday Inn in Middletown, Ohio, just outside Cincinnati, where he was in town for meetings. Detectives surmised the slaying had been a fatal robbery.

Investigators said a number of Warren's belongings were missing, including his 1985 Oldsmobile. Days later, those items were discovered behind a Cracker Barrel in Dalton, Georgia, while Warren's car was found in Redington Beach, Florida.

"Although detectives at the time followed up on a number of leads, there was not sufficient evidence to move forward on the case," the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

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The murder went unsolved for years until investigators reopened the case in 2019. Several of Warren's belongings recovered from the crime scenes were sent for analysis. That led detectives to McAllister and a now-deceased accomplice, prosecutors said.

"This is a case involving extreme violence," Assistant Prosecutor Brian Goodyear told a Warren County court judge during McAllister's first court appearance on Tuesday, Fox 19 Now reported. "The victim was beaten to death and strangled with a ligature. This was a very violent death."

McAllister, who has three prior violent felony convictions, including felonious assault and aggravated robbery, has been on the run for 40 years, Goodyear said.

The prosecutor's office has not disclosed how Warren's items were connected to McAllister.