Gustave Sapharas reacts in 2018 after being acquitted of murder in a Licking County court. [GateHouse Media Ohio file photo] ▲ Gustave Sapharas ▲ Loretta Jean Davis was murdered in 1975. [Beacon Journal/Ohio.com file photo] ▲ Karen Louise Bentz was murdered in Tallmadge in 1970. [Beacon Journal/Ohio.com file photo] ▲

For 43 years, schoolmates of Loretta Jean Davis have wondered who killed her.

Davis, 21, was found stabbed to death in September 1975, her body left along a road in Portage County's Suffield Township.

"We always talked about that," said Dolores Juriga, who attended Field High School with Davis. "It was strange. Nothing ever happened."

That changed, though, with the recent arrest of a Jackson Township man for the unsolved murders of Davis and Karen Louise Bentz, 18, of Akron, who was killed five years earlier.

Tallmadge police arrested Gustave Sapharas, 75, Friday on numerous charges, including aggravated murder and murder. He will be arraigned Wednesday morning in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Tallmadge Chief Ron Williams said his department is pleased to make an arrest in these cases that date back more than four decades.

"It's incredibly important," said Williams, who has been with the department since 1989. "We represent victims. People need to understand that we don't stop."

Sapharas previously was convicted of the rape of a Cuyahoga Falls woman in 1976 and acquitted of the 1991 murder of a Columbus woman.

In his latest case, Sapharas is charged with aggravated murder, murder, kidnapping and maiming or disfiguring another and attempted rape. He is being held at the Summit County Jail.

The charges reflect laws that were in place at the time of the murders, prosecutors say.

Bentz's body was found on the morning of April 29, 1970, just off Indian Hills Road in Tallmadge. She had been stabbed seven or eight times in the chest.

Davis' body was found about noon Sept. 28, 1975, along Congress Lake Road in Suffield Township. She had been stabbed twice — once in each breast. Her car was found in front of Tallmadge Auto Parts in Tallmadge.

Case reopened

Tallmadge Sgt. Doug Bohon decided in 2013 to take another look at Bentz's case. He was able to develop new evidence and tied Bentz's case to that of Davis.

Portage County investigators, who had taken the lead in Davis' case, agreed to allow Summit County to pursue the cases together, Williams said.

"It seemed apparent to Bohon that these cases were linked by the suspect," Williams said.

Williams declined to say how Sapharas was tied to the cases.

"It's critical to protect the integrity of the case," he said. "We developed new evidence. It will come to light in legal proceedings."

Williams also wouldn't say if Sapharas is being investigated for other cold cases. He did say that new technology has made it easier to reinvigorate long-dormant investigations.

"We're standing up to a bully from back in the '70s — and we'll be able to bring him to justice," the chief said.

Past cases

Sapharas previously was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of carrying a concealed weapon for the Oct. 11, 1976, assault of a 28-year-old Cuyahoga Falls woman. He was sentenced in February 1977 to 15 to 60 years in prison.

Assistant Summit County Prosecutor Charles Kirkwood said a pre-sentence investigation found Sapharas was not psychotic but was "seriously psychologically disturbed," according to a Beacon Journal story.

Sapharas, then 32, was the manager of Sapharas Restaurant, his family's restaurant at 1540 S. Arlington St.

Sapharas was in prison until November 1990 and then returned to prison for a parole violation in October 1991. He was again released in October 2002.

Sapharas was back in court last year, this time accused of the August 1991 murder of a 21-year-old Columbus woman. Bonita Parker's clothed body was found along a road in Licking County east of Columbus in August 1991. She had a single stab wound in her heart, according to a Columbus Dispatch story.

Sapharas was linked to the case by DNA found under Parker's fingernails and on her pantyhose, and a sample on her underwear was consistent with his profile. There also were unknown male profiles in vaginal swabs and Sapharas' DNA wasn't present in these samples.

The evidence wasn't enough to convince Licking County jurors, who acquitted Sapharas after deliberating for about 40 minutes.

His only reaction to the verdict was to ask, "I get to go home now?"

Friends shocked

News of Sapharas' arrest in the latest cold cases stunned the friends of Davis and Bentz who are still around after the passing of more than 40 years.

"I am just beyond words," Juriga, Davis' friend, said Tuesday. "It just blows me away."

Juriga, who graduated from Field High in 1971, three years before Davis, said she knew Davis from the Twirlettes, a baton team. She said Davis' mother was involved with the team and attended all their shows and events.

"She was quiet," Juriga recalled of Davis. "A nice girl."

Juriga, who now lives in New Franklin, also vividly recalls Davis' murder and how much it frightened young women at the time in the Akron area.

"What concerned me was if somebody from Brimfield did that," she said.

Juriga recently got together with three of her Field classmates and they talked about the unanswered questions about Davis' death. This prompted Juriga to reach out to the Ohio Mysteries podcast, which explores unsolved cases and unexplained phenomena, to see if Davis' case could be featured in hopes of generating renewed interest.

With Sapharas' arrest, Juriga now hopes those lingering questions have been answered.

"I'm going to follow this one," Juriga said of the case. "It's so ironic that it could be solved — after all these years."

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705, swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and on Twitter: @swarsmithabj. Amanda Garrett can be reached at 330-996-3725 or agarrett@thebeaconjournal.com.