Man Suspected in 70s Child Killings

An Ohio man, who is being held on criminal sexual assault charges against children, has been named as a suspect in the "Oakland County Child Killer" case of the 1970s. The four slain children were suffocated between February 1976 and March 1977 in the Detroit, Michigan area.

Theodore Lamborgine, 65, of Parma Heights, Ohio, pleaded not guilty to four counts of first-degree, one count of second-degree and 12 counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct against six children in the Detroit area during the 1970s and 1980s. The charges are unrelated to the murders.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Lamborgine (pictured in mug shot) is "our most promising suspect at this particular time."

Authorities apparently got a break in the case when Richard Lawson, a convicted killer serving time in Michigan, gave investigators information linking Lamborgine to the killings. Lawson has been charged with 28 counts of criminal sexual conduct of eight children in the Detroit area during the same time period.

Worthy said Lamborgine and Lawson knew each other and worked together as sexual predators. They lured their victims to motel rooms and homes with soft drinks, drugs, food and cash, Worthy said.

"These suspects knew that there were a lot of kids living in that area -- a lot of poor kids living in that area," Livonia police Detective Sgt. Cory Williams told reporters. "It didn't take too much for them, the suspects, to figure out they could take the kids a case of pop, some drugs or cash."

The victims were Timothy King, 11; Mark Stebbins, 12; Jill Robinson, 12; and Kristine Mihelich, 10. Authorities suspect there were many more victims.

See Also:
'Promising Suspect' Named in '70s Child Murders

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