Michael Spangler

Michael Howard Spangler was a 24-year-old White man living in North Baltimore, Ohio. Friends grew worried about him on Tuesday, February 7, 1978, when he failed to show up for work and no one had seen him all day. The day had already been an unsettling one at his apartment building at 109 ½ South Main Street. That morning around 9:30 a.m., the building's owner, who also lived on the premises, had called the police to report that his own apartment had been broken into and several guns were stolen.

The concern for Michael deepened as the day wore on. At approximately 4:30 p.m., the apartment owner and another friend went to Michael’s residence, apartment 6, to check on him. Inside, they made a devastating discovery: Michael was dead. They immediately called the police, who determined he had been fatally shot. The investigation into his homicide began by piecing together the strange events of that day.

Investigators noted the unusual method of the earlier break-in at the owner’s apartment. The intruder had used a heavy, rectangular object to smash a hole through the door, then reached inside to unlock it. Stains found on the floor were later identified as battery acid. A significant clue was found just outside Michael’s apartment: a white bag containing an automobile battery. The battery was a size consistent with the hole that had been punched through the other apartment door.

Police soon focused on a 17-year-old juvenile who had been staying with Michael. The apartment owner had recently brought the teen to North Baltimore from Florida. In the wake of the homicide, the juvenile was missing. Investigators were able to connect him to the evidence when the white bag holding the battery was identified as his.

A witness came forward who had picked up a hitchhiker at 5:10 a.m. on the morning of the murder. The witness identified the hitchhiker as the 17-year-old, who was trying to make his way from North Baltimore back to Florida. A warrant was issued for the juvenile’s arrest. He was located out of state, arrested, and extradited back to Ohio to face a grand jury.

Despite the evidence gathered by investigators, the Wood County Grand Jury failed to return an indictment for murder against the teenager. With no indictment, he was subsequently released.

As of 2024, the murder of Michael Spangler remains unsolved. The North Baltimore Police Department and the Wood County Prosecutor's Office continue to list the case as open. Anyone with information is asked to submit a tip to the Ohio Attorney General's Office.