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MURDERED: Daisy Shelton

When a fisherman pulled a human arm from an Ohio fishing spot in 1964, it marked the beginning of a gruesome mystery that would remain unsolved for decades. More than fifty years later, a shocking confession pointed investigators toward Daisy Shelton’s killer…but by then, time had stolen any chance at a trial, leaving behind unanswered questions and a family determined to reclaim Daisy’s story.

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Daisy Shelton

Courtesy: Maria Walling

An aerial photo of the popular fishing spot in Tipp City, where a human arm was caught in 1964.

Courtesy: Miami County Sheriff’s Office

The night-time search efforts at the fishing spot

Courtesy: Miami County Sheriff’s Office

The day-time search efforts of the fishing spot

Courtesy: Miami County Sheriff’s Office

The canal in Tipp City, where more human remains were found

Courtesy: Miami County Sheriff’s Office

Daisy Shelton

Courtesy: Maria Walling

Daisy holding her son, Rodney

Courtesy: Maria Walling

Buster Hale

Courtesy: Maria Walling

Elijah Murphy

Courtesy: Maria Walling

Episode Source Material

Original reporting by Taylor Day.
Records from Miami County Sheriff’s Office.
Fox, Bill. “Severed Arms of Woman Fished From Gravel Pit.” Dayton Daily News. 9 Jun 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404252370. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Donahue, Jessie. “FBI Joins Hunt For Identity In Torso Slaying.” The Journal Herald. 19 Jun 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394073987/. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Fox, Bill. “Woman’s Head Found In Canal Near Tipp City.” Dayton Daily News. 22 Jun 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404220362. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Donahue, Jessie. “Torso Slaying Victim Strangled?.” The Journal Herald. 24 Jun 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394074179. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Fox, Bill. “Tipp City Dismembered Torso Victim Identified As Missing Dayton Woman.” Dayton Daily News. 14 Aug 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404228963. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Schroeder, Dan. “Valley’s Torso Murder Probe Shifts Into Hunt For Killer.” The Journal Herald. 15 Aug 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394351572. Accessed 17 February 2026.
“Torso Victim’s Husband In Jail for Questioning.” Dayton Daily News. 25 Aug 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404522747. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
“Shelton Free to Leave, Miami authorities Say.” Dayton Daily News. 26 Aug 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404526660. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
“Police Find New Lead In Torso Case.” The Journal Herald. 26 Sep 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/394619315. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Fox, Bill. “Suspected Torso Murder Victims Safe, Sound.” Dayton Daily News. 24 Sep 1964. https://www.newspapers.com/image/404408506/. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Fox, Bill. “Daisy Shelton’s 1963 Butcher Slaying Still a Mystery.” Dayton Daily News. 20 Aug 1973. https://www.newspapers.com/image/405363520/. Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
McHenry, Cheryl. “New Development in Decades Old Cold Case Murder.” WHIO TV 7 and WHIO Radio, 3 Jul 2017, www.whio.com/news/new-development-decades-old-cold-case-murder/xSDUSCkvgE0exiSpOfJ8dO/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
McHenry, Cheryl. “Key clue found in 53-year-old case.” Dayton Daily News, 9 Jul 2017, https://www.newspapers.com/image/422560090/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
WHIO Staff. “‘What kind of animal are they?;’ Cold case solved 60 years after grisly murder of Dayton mother.” WHIO TV 7, 29 Mar 2024, www.whio.com/news/new-development-decades-old-cold-case-murder/xSDUSCkvgE0exiSpOfJ8dO/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
Balduf, Jen. “Cold Case Homicide of Dayton Woman Solved; Suspect Died at Age 92.” Dayton Daily News, Dayton Daily News, 29 Mar. 2024, www.daytondailynews.com/crime/cold-case-homicide-of-dayton-woman-solved-suspect-died-at-age-92/DJFR5XDEOFDCLLMNOQXFCAFCHE/. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
Ohio Public Defender. “Conspiracy.” Ohio Public Defender Law Library: Criminal Law Casebook, Ohio Public Defender, https://opd.ohio.gov/law-library/criminal-law-casebook/conspiracy. Accessed 5 April 2026.
Associated Press. “Ohio authorities close 1964 homicide case of dismembered woman found in gravel pit and a canal channel.” NBC News, 1 April 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ohio-authorities-close-1964-homicide-case-dismembered-woman-found-grav-rcna145814 Accessed 17 Feb 2026.
Bowman, Nancy. “Decades old cold case solved, homicide investigation closed.” The Tippecanoe Gazette, 4 Apr 2024. https://www.tippgazette.com/news/2024/4/decades-old-cold-case-solved-homicide-investigation-closed Accessed 17 Feb 2026.

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