The murder of an elderly widow dominated the headlines in the Akron Beacon Journal in 1975.
The articles described Helen Shay as a scared 83-year-old, who hated to leave her home and had the curtains pinned over her windows.
Her body was found Dec. 23.
Her sister, Julia Davis, had taken a plate of Christmas cookies hoping to convince Shay to join the family for Christmas dinner.
"And found her in the basement lying in a pool of blood," Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh said.
Police said that a 17-year-old neighbor, Dale Collins, had shoveled Shay's driveway that day.
Collins called Shay back and asked if he could go over for a visit.
"She let him into the house and immediately he pushed her down the steps, and he strangled her with a dog chain, killing her," Walsh said.
Collins was found guilty and has spent nearly four decades behind bars, reported ONN's Cristin Severance.
Collins applied five times for parole and the last time, the parole board has recommended he be released.
"We are attempting to get the parole board to reconsider their decision to release him," Walsh said.
The prosecutor's office is now searching for any of Shay's family members to help them in the appeal.
"This was a premeditated brutal murder, he strangled an elderly lady with a dog chain and we don't think he should be let out of prison," Walsh said.
Shay lived on Morgan Avenue in the city of Akron during the 1970's.
Any relatives or neighbors of Helen Shay are asked to call the Summit County Prosecutor's Office at 330-643-2800.
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