When “Ohio Man” Took Things Too Far
These crimes prove that criminals aren’t always smart but can be creative.
Criminal behavior is always abnormal, but sometimes, the police get calls that go above and beyond. From mischievous to macabre, the most unusual stories quickly become part of Ohio’s local lore. These five crimes all make the cut.
1. Corpse Used in Commission of a Theft
In March 2024, two women were arrested outside of Cleveland after attempting to use the corpse of a recently deceased elderly man to steal from his bank account. Karen Casbohm and Loreen Feralo were charged with theft and abuse of a corpse.
Casbohm and Feralo pulled up to the drive-thru window with the body of 80-year-old Douglas Layman propped in the passenger seat and withdrew money from his account. A teller told police that the bank had given the two women permission to access the account as long as he was with them.
2. Woman Found Hiding in Ceiling of Tavern
In 2018, a woman was found hiding in the ceiling of the Grayton Road Tavern. The police found her above the kitchen. Surveillance videos and employee reports show that the woman crawled into the ceiling through the bathroom and was there for two hours before being removed by police.
The would-be criminal reportedly snuck into the ceiling to hide from employees, wait until the tavern closed, and steal the money from the bar’s Queen of Hearts game. The manager told News 5 Cleveland that the money was never stored on the premises.
3. Woman Bludgeoned to Death With Two Banjos
One of the state’s most unusual murders took place in 1991 near Vandalia, OH, in Miami County. A bluegrass musician named Edward Benson beat his wife to death with two of his banjos.
Benson was eventually found incompetent to stand trial, and the case was dismissed. Benson was then transferred to a mental health center for treatment.
4. School Employee Steals a Barn
Several years ago, a Strongsville City Schools employee was indicted for the theft of a barn. An investigation found that the man had stolen $65,000 of goods from the school district over the course of his five-year tenure.
Robert Schewerman kept much of the evidence in his backyard, including the utility shed, a plow, a furnace, a carport, a generator, and a thermal camera. The former maintenance worker was also indicted for theft and tampering with evidence.
5. Ohio Man Goes Feral
To end on a strange but innocuous note, we’ll mention a case in which an Ohio man wasn’t a man at all but a pig. Ryan Singley of North Ridgeville was walking home from the Amtrak station when a friendly pig began following him.
The police, thinking that Singley was drunk and hallucinating, attempted to pick him up from a local bar called the Train Station. It was only when they arrived on the scene that they realized the man was sober and a pig was indeed stalking him down the street.
Sarah Johnson