Richard Paul Streicher Jr.

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Richard Paul Streicher Jr.

Birth
Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA
Death
7 Mar 1935 (aged 7)
Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA
Burial
Ypsilanti, Washtenaw County, Michigan, USA GPS-Latitude: 42.2568741, Longitude: -83.6119003
Memorial ID
View Source
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Richard Streicher Jr, age 7, of Ypsilanti, died on March 8, 1935. He was murdered without a trace at the young age of 7 years, 1 month, 10 days old.

His funeral was on Monday, March 11, 1935 at 10:00 a.m. at the J.E. Moore Funeral Home. The Reverend E.T. Ramsdell of the First Methodist Church was the officiant. The pall bearers included Theodore Mueller, Jr (uncle), of Detroit, E.G. Streicher (uncle), of Ypsilanti, Henry Baker, of Ypsilanti, & S.L. Markowski, of Toledo, OH.

Richard is buried at Highland Cemetery. His grave remained unmarked until 2016.

Parents: Richard Streicher Sr. (b. Toledo, OH) & Lucia "Lucy" Mueller (b. Stuttgart, Germany)

Grandparents: Edward M Streicher (owner of Streicher Tool & Die); possibly Ida (Schmidt) Streicher (#71458518); Resided at 121 South Wallace Blvd, Ypsilanti

Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Mueller, of Scott Lake, MI (near Pontiac); he was a prominent and wealthy General Motors Corporation engineer

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Richard Jr Remembered:
Headstone dedicated 80+ years later (2016)

[October 15, 2016] Ypsilanti, MI - About 30 people gathered at Highland Cemetery on Saturday to dedicate a gravestone for Richard Streicher Jr, a young boy murdered in 1928. Until Saturday, his grave remained unmarked possibly due to the notorious nature of the slaying.

After The Ann Arbor News published a story about the cold case in December 2015, John Sisk Jr of Jackson, MI, created a GoFundMe page to raise money for a gravestone and partnered with a number of area business to honor Richard's memory.

The Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home provided the gravestone at wholesale cost & Tina Atkinson-Kalusha of Highland Cemetery poured the concrete. Pastor Matt Postiff of Fellowship Bible Church Ann Arbor officiated the dedication.
_____
The Mystery:
Streicher's Death Investigated (1935)

[Thursday, March 7, 1935] The death of Richard Streicher Jr shook the town of Ypsilanti to its core and remains a mystery to this day. He as believed to have been heading out to sled on the hills of Island Park (aka "Frog Island") on the Huron River. He never returned home.

At 3:00 p.m. the local children were dismissed early from school. His 2nd grade teacher later reported he had been happy and cooperative that day. Richard walked with a schoolmate who reportedly saw Richard Jr try to enter his house at 404 N. Huron St around 4:00 p.m., but did not see if he actually went in.

His mother and Mrs. Eugene Dillon, a visiting neighbor, reported he had arrived home from school, delivered the newspaper to his mother, and headed back out to go sledding sometime before 4:30 p.m.

By 6:00 p.m., Richard Sr became worried and began searching the neighborhood to look for him. Mrs. Streicher finally reported him missing to the authorities 7:43 p.m. Around 8:00 p.m. a police officer joined Mr. Streicher in the search. They walked along the banks of the Huron River in case Richard Jr had fallen in, and even crossed the Cross St. footbridge.

[Friday, March 8, 1935] The next day at about 1:00 p.m. Richard's body was found frozen underneath the footbridge crossing the Huron River. Buck Holt, age 17, reported he was following what he thought was muskrat tracks when he discovered the body under the abutment on the island side of the bridge.

The footbridge stretched from Cross Street to Island Park, only about 500 feet from the Streicher home. There was no blood, no signs of a struggle and no weapon under the bridge which initially led investigators to believe the body might've been placed there late in the night. Other than the top two buttons of his jacket being unbuttoned, his clothing, though frozen, was otherwise undisturbed. No weapon was recovered from the river.

At the time of the autopsy the coroner determined Richard Jr had been dead about 24 hours. There was no water in his lungs. The cause of death was listed as "multiple stab wounds of chest, penetrating heart". The location of the death was listed as "Huron River and Cross St, Ypsilanti" on his death certificate.

[Monday, March 11, 1935] About 150 people attended Richard's funeral. Local police attended hoping the person who murdered Richard might be there. Newspaper articles reveal a number of were suspects in Streicher's murder, but the crime has never been solved.

Suspects included a number of regional "known degenerates". Two playmates also reported seeing Richard Jr walking with "tall man in a long black overcoat" at about 4:30 p.m. Gerald Young, age 13, reported that Richard Jr left with the man who called him "Sonnie". John Cruz, age 13, corroborated this account, & for a short time Richard Jr's uncle (Lucy Streicher's brother-in-law) was suspected. It was thought he might've committed the murder as an act of revenge, but he was later questioned and released.

Thirteen fingerprints were lifted from the sled which at some point had been carelessly deposited against the side of the house, but it remains unknown by whom. Five of the prints were never able to be unidentified. The others were matched to Mr. & Mrs. Streicher, who were assumed to have found the sled on the side of the house.

[August 1935] In August the Circuit Court Judge ordered a one-man grand jury in an effort to uncover/reveal all of the information surrounding the case. Over 40 witnesses were called, but after three weeks it ended with no one accused or indicted.

[2007-present] To this day, people are still tryIMG to piece together the clues of this unsolved murder. It has also been noted that although there were multiple agencies working this case together (including MSP, City of Ypsilanti, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, & the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department, Medical Examiner, and Prosecuting Attorney), oddly no official records for this case remain.
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Sources: Ann Arbor News. (1935) articles retrieved from Old News at oldnews.aadl.org // GoFundMe. (2016) "Headstone for Streicher Boy Murder" retrieved from gofundme.com on 27 Dec 2015 // Google Earth. (2016) 404 N. Huron Street map retrieved on 20 Oct 2016 // Michigan Department of Public Health. (1935) Death Certificate retrieved from seekingmichigan.com // mlive. (2015) "Murder of 7-year-old remains unsolved" retrieved from mlive.com on 27 Dec 2015 // mlive. (2016) "Ypsilanti boy who died in 80-year-old cold case gets a gravestone" retrieved from mlive.com on 15 Oct 2016 // Ridenour, George. (unk) "Richard Streicher Murder: A Mystery in Our Own Backyard" retrieved from ypsigleanings.aadl.org // Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home (2016) Richard Streicher's Obituary retrieved from rbfhsaline.com/obituaries on 20 Oct 2016.
_____

Richard Streicher Jr, age 7, of Ypsilanti, died on March 8, 1935. He was murdered without a trace at the young age of 7 years, 1 month, 10 days old.

His funeral was on Monday, March 11, 1935 at 10:00 a.m. at the J.E. Moore Funeral Home. The Reverend E.T. Ramsdell of the First Methodist Church was the officiant. The pall bearers included Theodore Mueller, Jr (uncle), of Detroit, E.G. Streicher (uncle), of Ypsilanti, Henry Baker, of Ypsilanti, & S.L. Markowski, of Toledo, OH.

Richard is buried at Highland Cemetery. His grave remained unmarked until 2016.

Parents: Richard Streicher Sr. (b. Toledo, OH) & Lucia "Lucy" Mueller (b. Stuttgart, Germany)

Grandparents: Edward M Streicher (owner of Streicher Tool & Die); possibly Ida (Schmidt) Streicher (#71458518); Resided at 121 South Wallace Blvd, Ypsilanti

Mr. & Mrs. Theodore Mueller, of Scott Lake, MI (near Pontiac); he was a prominent and wealthy General Motors Corporation engineer

_____
Richard Jr Remembered:
Headstone dedicated 80+ years later (2016)

[October 15, 2016] Ypsilanti, MI - About 30 people gathered at Highland Cemetery on Saturday to dedicate a gravestone for Richard Streicher Jr, a young boy murdered in 1928. Until Saturday, his grave remained unmarked possibly due to the notorious nature of the slaying.

After The Ann Arbor News published a story about the cold case in December 2015, John Sisk Jr of Jackson, MI, created a GoFundMe page to raise money for a gravestone and partnered with a number of area business to honor Richard's memory.

The Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home provided the gravestone at wholesale cost & Tina Atkinson-Kalusha of Highland Cemetery poured the concrete. Pastor Matt Postiff of Fellowship Bible Church Ann Arbor officiated the dedication.
_____
The Mystery:
Streicher's Death Investigated (1935)

[Thursday, March 7, 1935] The death of Richard Streicher Jr shook the town of Ypsilanti to its core and remains a mystery to this day. He as believed to have been heading out to sled on the hills of Island Park (aka "Frog Island") on the Huron River. He never returned home.

At 3:00 p.m. the local children were dismissed early from school. His 2nd grade teacher later reported he had been happy and cooperative that day. Richard walked with a schoolmate who reportedly saw Richard Jr try to enter his house at 404 N. Huron St around 4:00 p.m., but did not see if he actually went in.

His mother and Mrs. Eugene Dillon, a visiting neighbor, reported he had arrived home from school, delivered the newspaper to his mother, and headed back out to go sledding sometime before 4:30 p.m.

By 6:00 p.m., Richard Sr became worried and began searching the neighborhood to look for him. Mrs. Streicher finally reported him missing to the authorities 7:43 p.m. Around 8:00 p.m. a police officer joined Mr. Streicher in the search. They walked along the banks of the Huron River in case Richard Jr had fallen in, and even crossed the Cross St. footbridge.

[Friday, March 8, 1935] The next day at about 1:00 p.m. Richard's body was found frozen underneath the footbridge crossing the Huron River. Buck Holt, age 17, reported he was following what he thought was muskrat tracks when he discovered the body under the abutment on the island side of the bridge.

The footbridge stretched from Cross Street to Island Park, only about 500 feet from the Streicher home. There was no blood, no signs of a struggle and no weapon under the bridge which initially led investigators to believe the body might've been placed there late in the night. Other than the top two buttons of his jacket being unbuttoned, his clothing, though frozen, was otherwise undisturbed. No weapon was recovered from the river.

At the time of the autopsy the coroner determined Richard Jr had been dead about 24 hours. There was no water in his lungs. The cause of death was listed as "multiple stab wounds of chest, penetrating heart". The location of the death was listed as "Huron River and Cross St, Ypsilanti" on his death certificate.

[Monday, March 11, 1935] About 150 people attended Richard's funeral. Local police attended hoping the person who murdered Richard might be there. Newspaper articles reveal a number of were suspects in Streicher's murder, but the crime has never been solved.

Suspects included a number of regional "known degenerates". Two playmates also reported seeing Richard Jr walking with "tall man in a long black overcoat" at about 4:30 p.m. Gerald Young, age 13, reported that Richard Jr left with the man who called him "Sonnie". John Cruz, age 13, corroborated this account, & for a short time Richard Jr's uncle (Lucy Streicher's brother-in-law) was suspected. It was thought he might've committed the murder as an act of revenge, but he was later questioned and released.

Thirteen fingerprints were lifted from the sled which at some point had been carelessly deposited against the side of the house, but it remains unknown by whom. Five of the prints were never able to be unidentified. The others were matched to Mr. & Mrs. Streicher, who were assumed to have found the sled on the side of the house.

[August 1935] In August the Circuit Court Judge ordered a one-man grand jury in an effort to uncover/reveal all of the information surrounding the case. Over 40 witnesses were called, but after three weeks it ended with no one accused or indicted.

[2007-present] To this day, people are still tryIMG to piece together the clues of this unsolved murder. It has also been noted that although there were multiple agencies working this case together (including MSP, City of Ypsilanti, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, & the Washtenaw County Sheriffs Department, Medical Examiner, and Prosecuting Attorney), oddly no official records for this case remain.
_____
Sources: Ann Arbor News. (1935) articles retrieved from Old News at oldnews.aadl.org // GoFundMe. (2016) "Headstone for Streicher Boy Murder" retrieved from gofundme.com on 27 Dec 2015 // Google Earth. (2016) 404 N. Huron Street map retrieved on 20 Oct 2016 // Michigan Department of Public Health. (1935) Death Certificate retrieved from seekingmichigan.com // mlive. (2015) "Murder of 7-year-old remains unsolved" retrieved from mlive.com on 27 Dec 2015 // mlive. (2016) "Ypsilanti boy who died in 80-year-old cold case gets a gravestone" retrieved from mlive.com on 15 Oct 2016 // Ridenour, George. (unk) "Richard Streicher Murder: A Mystery in Our Own Backyard" retrieved from ypsigleanings.aadl.org // Robison-Bahnmiller Funeral Home (2016) Richard Streicher's Obituary retrieved from rbfhsaline.com/obituaries on 20 Oct 2016.

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