HAMILTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR JOSEPH T. DETERS AND FRANKLIN COUNTY PROSECUTOR RON O’BRIEN ANNOUNCE INDICTMENT IN SERIAL KILLER CASE
Posted on 6/7/2019
Defendant: Samuel Little aka Samuel McDowell
Today, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph T. Deters and Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien announced the indictment of Samuel Little aka Samuel McDowell (DOB 6/7/40) for the murders of 2 former Cincinnati residents.
In case B1902543 Little is charged with one count of murder in the October 11, 1981 death of Annie Lee Stewart aka Anna Stewart (DOB 10/17/48). If convicted of the charge, he faces 15 years to life in prison.
Miss Stewart’s body was found on October 12, 1981 in Grove City, Ohio in woods toward the rear of some apartments. The coroner ruled the death a homicide as a result of manual strangulation. Information uncovered in the investigation revealed that Little murdered Miss Stewart in Cincinnati and then drove her to Grove City where he disposed of her body.
In Case B 1902957 Little is charged with the murder of a second unidentified victim named as Jane Doe in the indictment. Assuming Jane Doe’s body was found, we are working with the Hamilton County Coroner’s Office to examine old autopsies to find any that may fit the description of Jane Doe and the location where we believe her body would have been found. If convicted of this charge, Little faces 15 years to life in prison.
Jane Doe’s body may have been found within a 20 minute drive of Over-the-Rhine in Cincinnati on a hillside under a billboard (which may have had an advertisement for Kool cigarettes.) Jane Doe is described as: female black, slender, dark skinned, short hair (wearing a wig at time of death) and wearing glasses. Additional information includes that she lived in Over-the-Rhine with a street entrance to her apartment which opened to a staircase to the second floor where she lived with a heavy Hispanic woman. Her age could have been anywhere from 15-50 with a possible murder date between1980-1995.
Anyone with information about this victim is urged to contact Cincinnati Police Department Homicide Detective Kelly Best at 513-352-1970/[email protected] or Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier at 513-946-3078/[email protected] or Crime Stoppers at 513-352-3040.
Little is currently serving 3 life sentences in the California State Prison in Lancaster, California for the murder of 3 women in California. He is suspected of murder in numerous jurisdictions besides California and Ohio. He is believed to be responsible for 93 murders making him the most prolific serial killer in the United States.
Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier, Cincinnati Police Homicide Detective Kelly Best, and Texas Ranger James Holland interviewed Little on May 23rd at the California State Prison about Ohio cases.
Prosecutor Deters commented, “This is shocking. Little is likely responsible for committing more murders than anyone else in the United States. I’m glad that we can provide some justice for Miss Stewart and our Jane Doe victim. There are no words to describe Samuel Little - -evil doesn’t even come close.”
Since the body of Anna Stewart was found in Grove City that agency and Prosecutor O’Brien resumed working on the case when Texas Ranger Holland identified Little as a person of interest. Detectives Teri Ruslander and Matt Ryan interviewed Little in Odessa, Texas in November 2018 and Prosecutor Deters office was updated upon determining the murder had actually occurred in Cincinnati although the body was dumped in Grove City. Since that date O’Brien and Deters have worked together to bring Little to justice.
Prosecutor Ron O’Brien commented, “ Little victimized vulnerable women and strangled his victims to death for pleasure. ”. O’Brien noted that the Stewart occurred during the window when Ohio did not have a death penalty.