Janice Beidleman and her 18-month-old son, Brandon, were murdered more than 35 years ago. Their bodies were found in a creek in Franklin County, Ohio, and the person or persons responsible for their deaths have yet to be brought to justice.
On Sept. 13, 1981, Janice was at a relative’s house, near Myrtle Avenue and Marcia Drive, when she called her husband and told him that she was going to stop by a grocery store before heading home.
She then loaded her son into her vehicle, a 1974 Chevrolet Vega, and drove off—that was the last time anyone saw them alive.
At around 1:20 p.m. the following day, on Sept. 14, 1981, Janice and Brandon Beidleman were found dead in Alum Creek. The News-Messenger reported that a resident alerted police after finding Janice “lying on her back in about one foot of water.”
Brandon was found floating about 50 yards away, beneath the Agler Road Bridge, west of Sunbury Road.
Columbus Police Det. Dana Farbacher said, “Her car was beneath the bridge; there’s a service road that leads to the creek, and the suspect found that and drove down.”
An autopsy revealed that Janice had been severely beaten with an unknown object before she was strangled to death, and her son was suffocated with a pillow.
Before their bodies were discarded in Alum Creek, police officials stated that the killer initially assaulted Janice on Putter Avenue, as they uncovered some of her belongings in that area, including her jewelry, according to 10 TV.
Nearby residents told police that around the time Janice was attacked, they heard a woman screaming.
One resident said, “All she said was [SIC] such a wicked scream, like she was really being hurt, real wicked.”
“There was a little kid involved, and that was the main thing that concerned me because the little kid didn’t have a chance at life.”
“That really takes a different, very cruel type of person to do something like that,” Farbacher said.
It was reported in 2009 that detectives were in the process of re-interviewing witnesses and relatives, and they had also re-submitted evidence.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of Janice and Brandon Beidleman is encouraged to contact Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS or submit a tip online.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for more information on the case.