Article published November 07, 2009
Man said to confess murder
Accused allegedly told fellow inmate he killed girl in 1985
By JANET ROMAKER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
WAUSEON - The man accused of killing a Swanton girl in 1985 allegedly has made a jail-house confession, telling an inmate that he beat a 14-year-old girl to death because she wanted to break up with him, and he couldn't handle it.
Walter E. Zimbeck II, 42, of Strawberry Plains, Tenn., who was indicted about three months ago on one count each of aggravated murder and murder, is an ex-boyfriend of 14-year-old Lori Ann Hill. Her body was found by a hunter in Fulton County 24 years ago.
In a motion filed this week in Fulton County Common Pleas Court, Mr. Zimbeck's lawyers said Steve Moden, Jr., who was an inmate at the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio near Stryker, purports to have received a "confession" from Mr. Zimbeck, who has been held at CCNO while awaiting trial.
According to the motion, this "jail-house informer" evidence will be the subject of a forthcoming defense motion to strike Mr. Moden's testimony.
In a letter to prosecutor Scott Haselman, a copy of which was obtained yesterday by The Blade, the inmate stated Mr. Zimbeck had given him a "full confession of the murder he committed 24 years ago. He also gave me the reason for the motive and how he committed the murder," and, too, the letter stated, Mr. Zimbeck provided names of people who lied to help him from being arrested.
Miss Hill disappeared the night of Oct. 25, 1985, after a Halloween party on South Munson Road in Swanton. She was last seen onSouth Berkey-Southern Road about 100 yards from her home.
Four days later a deer hunter found Miss Hill's naked body in a wooded area about seven miles northeast of Wauseon. The coroner said she had been beaten with an object such as a tire iron.
Mr. Zimbeck was arrested July 20 at his home near Knoxville. That was the result of an eight-month investigation by the Toledo-Lucas County cold-case unit and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office.
After writing the letter, the inmate, a resident of Napoleon in neighboring Henry County, was interviewed by law enforcement officials about the alleged confession.
In one of the interviews, the inmate alleged that Mr. Zimbeck stated "that while he was beating her he 'blacked-out' because he was in a 'fit of rage.' Zimbeck further stated that he was surprised that someone could have identified him because it happened at night and he didn't think anyone saw him," according to court documents.
Mr. Zimbeck, who has pleaded not guilty, is formerly of Maumee.
Also this week, Mr. Haselman filed a motion asking the court to disqualify Amber VanGunten as Mr. Zimbeck's counsel because of recent comments she made to the media. During interviews she called the Zimbeck case "absolutely ridiculous" because of lack of proof and she announced that Mr. Zimbeck had been cleared of the crime by DNA evidence.
According to a copy of a lab report obtained yesterday by The Blade, results of testing on pubic hair taken from the victim's body showed Mr. Zimbeck is not the source of the male DNA in the sample.
Mr. Haselman contends the interviews granted by Ms. VanGunten violate professional rules of conduct as well as a Fulton County Common Pleas Court rule prohibiting lawyers from discussing with the media matters that might interfere with a fair trial or otherwise prejudice the administration of justice.
Mr. Haselman wants Mr. Zimbeck's other attorney, Gregory VanGunten disqualified as well, contending continued involvement in the case would appear improper because the VanGuntens practice law at the same office, and they are related (father/daughter).
A pretrial conference in the Zimbeck case was held yesterday, but no proceedings were conducted in open court. Afterward, Judge James Barber said no rulings were made related to the recent flurry of motions.
Following the pretrial conference Mr. VanGunten declined to answer questions about the case, saying "we have been sensitized about comments to the media." He said he looks forward to the day when proceedings related to the case will take place in open court. "There will be forthcoming evidentiary hearings," he said, and those he assumes will "be open to the press."
Ms. VanGunten said she was declining comment on advice from her legal counsel.
Some recent motions filed by the VanGuntens are related to the fact that Mr. Zimbeck was arrested more than 20 years after Miss Hill was killed. Defense lawyers are questioning protocols related to lost or destroyed evidence, for instance, and in one motion, the VanGuntens cite proceedings in the case of Toledo priest Gerald Robinson and ask the court to take special note that the Robinson case and the Zimbeck case involve the same cold-case investigator, Sgt. Steve Forrester.
Robinson was arrested by Lucas County cold-case investigators in 2004. He was convicted and sentenced in 2006 for the murder of Sister Margaret Ann Pahl whose body was found April 5, 1980, on the floor of the sacristy, next to the chapel, of the former Mercy Hospital in Toledo.
Mr. Zimbeck's trial date had been set to start Nov. 30, but instead a motion hearing will be held then, and the trial is set to begin Feb. 2, Judge Barber said.
Contact Janet Romaker at:
jromaker@theblade.com or
419-724-6006.
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