Unsolved Slaying Case From 1970s Takes Shocking Turn
Kevin Landers, WBNS 10TV, March 4, 2010

COLUMBUS, Ohio — An unsolved murder three decades old on Thursday took a twist when the original suspect was found in prison for another crime.

When a woman was found dead inside her German Village home in the late 1970s the victim's family never thought they would relive the crime three decades later, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

That was exactly what happened in the case of Dorothy Swartz, and now the suspected killer will never serve time for the crime.

Nicole Arena was there in 1978 when her grandmother's body was found.

"I kept waiting for Grandmother to come through the door and she never did," Arena said. "It stuck with me all this time."

The suspected killer was Gary Haenszel.

Haenszel was 16 when he was charged with aggravated murder, but was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a lesser charge, Landers reported.

Haenszel's attorney appealed the case, and while free on bond, Haenszel committed a rape on East Sycamore Street, Landers reported.

Haenszel went to prison for the rape, but his conviction in the Swartz case was thrown out because of legal question involving the testimony of a 2-year-old boy.

"I've always wondered in the back of my mind is he's roaming the streets doing this thing to my grandmother to other people," Arena said.

Bret Vinocur, a victim's advocate, came across Haenszel's name while searching for Ohio convicts on parole.

"I was literally going through every violent offender and his name came up," Vinocur said.

He found Haenzel's photo on the Franklin County sex offender Web site.

Vinocur found him behind bars in a Colorado prison, where he was serving a life sentence for rape. Hanszel was using alias, going by Gary Hauk, Landers reported.

The news came as shock to the victim's family.

"We thought he was dead," Arena said.

They are relieved the main suspect in their grandmother's death is finally behind bars unable to hurt anyone again, Landers reported. The family said for them, it is as close as they will get to justice.

"Now that I know that he's locked up it's a huge relief off my mind," Arena said.

Haenszel cannot be retried for Swartz's death, Landers reported.

Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said he has looked at the case and several legal questions prevent another trial. Among them the statute of limitations has run out, and there are issues with double jeopardy.