Author: justice4rachael

The News Coverage

This is what we’ve learned from the WAKR (Akron’s now defunct station) news coverage:

1. There was a payphone at Dan St. and Glenwood Ave.

2. Rachael was last seen at the intersection.  The Reporter filmed the gas station across the street from the Three Corners Deli.

3. Rachael stated she was going to meet someone she knew in the area. Do you know who that was? Please contact us at rj546791@gmail.com

4. There were fibers found on Rachael’s body. Did these belong to her killer? Or were they part of her metallic fiber sweater.

5. Her body was found sometime around 8am. They believe she was kidnapped sometime between 2:30 and and 3am. It is believed she was had been in the street for over an hour. This means her murder occurred in the short time frame of approximately 3 hrs.

6. Police believe she was murdered in another location. Did you know someone who owned a garage, abandoned rental, or home in the area where they believed some suspicious activity would have taken place? There would have been a lot of blood and possibly a secondary fire to burn evidence.

7. Rachael was beaten so badly she may have passed from those injuries alone. The news broadcast stated her internal organs had been separated due to the injuries. This would indicate to us a large man, multiple men, or tools were involved.

**Very special thanks to Mark Bloom, and the University of Akron Archival Services for locating this coverage for us to view and record.**

Apologies for the quality. I filmed with my cellphone. Archival Services mentioned they can make better copies upon request.

 

 

More news segments can be located here.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Glos4HKVrTSxJxgy6anng?view_as=subscriber

The Route…

According to the driver of the car that night (Rachael’s friend) the they took many twists and turns. We hope this detail might jog someone’s memory. The plan was to drop Rachael off at her apartment on Southeast Ave. in Tallmadge, Ohio. Unfortunately, they noticed the car had a flat tire and made the decision to head to the friend’s house in the North Hill area.

The route is as follows:

  1. 1254 E. Tallmadge Ave – The El Cid Lounge . They two woman departed from the club around 2:00 or 2:30 am. Maybe earlier.
  2. They headed eastbound on Tallmadge Ave. and made a right turn onto Brittain Rd.
  3. It was on Brittain Rd near the railroad tracks/Dreamer’s Nightclub they discovered the tire was going flat. They continue up the Brittain Rd hill.
  4. Instead of making a left onto Eastwood to head toward Rachael’s apartment they made the decision to turn on right on Eastwood toward the friend’s house in the North Hill area.
  5. They turned left onto Hazel St. at the point.
  6. Then a right onto Arlington Rd.
  7. They turned left onto North St. and followed it under the Rt 8 bridge until they reached the stop sign in the Elizabeth Park area.
  8. They turned around before Howard St. and went back down North toward Dan St.
  9. Left onto Dan St.
  10. At the top of the hill they turned into the Dairy Mart/Lawson’s parking lot next to/behind the dumpster.

The friend driving stated a car pulled in behind them at the convenience store. Rachael got out of of her friend’s car because she was fearful the car would catch on fire after they drove on the flat for so long. There are reports of a domestic dispute between either Rachael & her friend, or Rachael and the driver of the car, but no on can say with certainty if she got in the vehicle. The friend pulled out and headed toward her house in the North Hill area. She did not know if Rachael got into that individual’s car, took off on foot, or went and made a phone call (there was a pay phone located at the corner of Dan St. and Glenwood Ave in 1991).

Please take a look at the attachment showing different makes and models of Honda’s from the 1980’s. The car that pulled in was described as a very rusty, grey, possibly tinted windows, 2-dr Honda Accord or similar.

Honda’sMap of roads

The Public’s Help is Needed!

Rachael Johnson was kidnapped and brutally murdered on the northside of Akron 3/30/1991. She disappeared from the Glenwood Ave/Fouse/Dan St intersection of North Hill after a night out with her friend. Her body was found the next morning on the 700 block on Weller Ave. She was a mother, daughter, friend, and loved by many. Her story was not accurately told by the media and we are seeking further information.

We are asking for any leads you might be able to provide to assist in the identification and arrest of the killer(s). There is dna in this case, which may help resolve this. Ms. Johnson wore a skirt, metallic thread sweater, plaid or herringbone style blazer, black hose or tights, and athletic shoes (or boots) that evening. She had a double cross earring in and one was missing when they found her body early Saturday morning. She also wore a gold, or costume jewelry necklace and had a keychain on her person when her body was located.

If you were at the El Cid Lounge, Friday 03/29/1991–2 days before Easter Sunday, for work, there to see The Eclipse Band play, or a patron of the bar please reach out! Were you interviewed by detectives during the investigation and have a new lead, or something that stood out maybe law enforcement did not pursue at that time? Did you attend high school with the victim and have any stories that might relate? Did you witness the victim and her friend with the flat tire driving that night? Did someone slash your tire, attempt to abduct you, or stalk you around this timeframe you never reported? Did you attend high school, work, or college with a suspect (or someone you might have suspected) and have information about that individual? Did a male commit suicide, or die shortly after 03/30/1991 and you believe he might have been involved? Did you live in the area and find any blood on your property, or women’s clothing? You can help resolve this. Please email rj546791@gmail.com with tips.

You can email any leads to rj546791@gmail.com if you prefer to remain anonymous, or don’t wish to share your information with the police at this time. We understand information you have could be considered rumor, hearsay, or unsubstantiated. Maybe you have a criminal career yourself and do not wish to be involved with the police.

We are a small group of local websleuths and writers who wish to aide the police, solve her murder, and tell Rachael’s story with sensitivity. Rachael was an Akronite, a Goodyear Heights girl. Many of us were out barhopping at 23, including probably, the author of the Akron Beacon Journal article admonishing her as a “fun loving woman” aka “party girl.”. You can read this shameful reporting by visiting the Akron library and pulling the microfilm.

PLEASE, if you have information to immediately resolve this ongoing investigation please contact the Akron Police Department Detective Bureau at (330) 375‐2490, or the Ohio Attorney General’s Office at 855-BCI-OHIO.

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/getdoc/1c597246-d0b2-47a1-a4d3-6a5f458f1b59

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Investigator/Cold-Case/Homicides/Johnson-%2812%29