Cold Case Quest: Frances Smith

In the early morning hours of November 15, 2004, the body of 47-year-old Frances Smith was found behind a home in Columbus, Ohio. She had been beaten and strangled. Whoever killed her left her outside without any clothes.

Smith was seen at 10:30 p.m. on November 14. She was getting into a white SUV near Livingston and Fairwood Avenues.

The place that she was last seen is about a mile from where she was found. There hasn’t been any other information about who was driving the SUV. Any leads that the police had haven’t led to any arrests.

I suspect that the Smith case could be connected to the Janet Amar case. Amar was found in a house less than a mile from the place where Smith was last seen. Both ladies were strangled. There is a twelve-year difference but it’s possible that it could be the same killer. Serial killers have been known to operate for long periods of time without getting caught.

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