On June 20, 1975, the body of Cora Durham, 27, a mother of a nine-year-old, was found nude in brush in what is now Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio. She had been strangled. Detectives believe she was killed elsewhere. No one has been charged.
The Durham case is a small piece of a larger question: whether several 1970s killings of women across the Tri-State area share a killer. Detectives are now asking that question out loud.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
Details come from a 2024 FOX19 report. Some points are one detective's account and are marked unverified.
Cora Durham, 27, is last seen alive at her house in the Norwood area. Her common-law husband says he had not seen her for about a week. No missing-person report is filed.
Her body is found nude in brush near Irwin Simpson Road in what is now Deerfield Township, Warren County. Warren County deputies respond.
Autopsy reports indicate death by asphyxiation from strangulation, and a struggle. There are no signs of sexual assault, per Detective Lt. Shaun Embleton. Very little physical evidence is recovered.
Investigators believe she was killed elsewhere and her body dumped in Warren County. Detective Embleton says she "took off after an argument," an unverified detail.
Warren County detectives say they are reexamining the case, plan new interviews, and are considering links to other 1970s killings of women in the Tri-State area. One person they spoke with is in prison and did not confess to this case.
A mother whose life had taken a hard turn in her final years.
A young mother of a nine-year-old son. She had eight siblings. Her sister says her life took a dark turn about four years before her death, involving domestic violence and drugs. Her mother died about 20 years before 2024 without answers.
We found no freely licensed photo of Cora Durham, so a silhouette is shown. Her family or others who want a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Very little physical evidence was recovered.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| Cause of death | Asphyxiation by strangulation, per autopsy reports as described by a detective. | None. |
| The struggle | The autopsy indicated a struggle. | None. |
| The scene | Nude, in brush near Irwin Simpson Road. Detectives believe she was killed elsewhere. | The kill site is unknown. |
| Physical evidence | Very little was recovered. | Whether any survives or has been tested is not stated. |
| Last known whereabouts | At her Norwood-area house. Her partner had not seen her for about a week. | No missing-person report was made. |
One local report; the file is with the Warren County Sheriff.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOX19: Fresh look at the 1975 murder (2024) | FOX19 / WXIX | What detectives say in 2024 and the possible link to other 1970s killings. | Online, free |
| Warren County Sheriff case file; 1975 autopsy | Warren County Sheriff's Office; Warren County Coroner | The 1975 records. | Withheld or sealed |
Access labels: Online, free = we could open it. Fan-hosted copy = a private researcher posted scans; originals are held by the named agency, and we cannot vouch for completeness. Quoted in news = reporters read it; we did not see the document itself. Request needed = held by an agency or court. Withheld = the holder has not released it. We cannot reach non-public records, and we do not try to.
Where people talk about this case online, and how to read it.
| Platform | Live search | What you tend to find |
|---|---|---|
| Google: Reddit | site:reddit.com search | Public Reddit threads that Google has indexed, including old discussions. |
| Google: X and Twitter | X and Twitter posts | Public posts and profiles that appear in search results. |
| Google: Facebook | Public Facebook pages and posts | Only public pages and groups that Google can see. Private groups never appear. |
| Google: Instagram and TikTok | Instagram and TikTok | Public posts, memorials, and videos. |
| Google: forums | Forums and message boards | Long-running true-crime forums. |
| Google News | Latest news | Newest reporting, which is usually more reliable than posts. |
| Search Reddit | Long discussion threads and theories, often by amateur researchers. No sign-in needed to read. | |
| X (Twitter) | Search X | Short posts, news links, and anniversary notes. May require sign-in. |
| Search Facebook | Public groups and family or community pages. Requires sign-in. | |
| Search #coradurham | Memorial and true-crime posts. Requires sign-in. | |
| YouTube | Search YouTube | Documentaries, news clips, and interviews. Quality varies widely. |
Be careful with online theories. Naming a private person as a suspect can harm an innocent family, and many "identifications" on forums have been wrong. Our own tools could not read these platforms: Reddit blocks automated access, and the others require an account. The Google searches above work from your browser. To get new public mentions by email, make a free Google Alert for the case name in quotation marks.
What local and national reports say, and when we last checked for a solution.
Status is re-checked on a regular schedule. If you know of a development we missed, use the clue form near the top of this page or the contact form, and include a link.
Detectives have people of interest, none named.
Why named: Detectives say they have people of interest, though a couple are deceased.
Against: No names have been released.
Why named: Detectives spoke with a suspect in other 1970s cases who is still in prison.
Against: He did not confess to this case.
Why named: Her sister says she has a suspect in mind.
Against: Not named; unverified.
Where a card shows a silhouette, we found no photo. Anyone who wants a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Detectives are asking whether Durham's killing belongs to a wider pattern of 1970s killings of women across the Tri-State area.
We put the chance that Durham's killing is linked to at least one other 1970s Tri-State killing at roughly 25%. The scene (a body dumped outdoors), the strangulation, and the era fit a pattern, but so do many other cases. A shared DNA profile, if any evidence survives, would settle it.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Idea | Supported by | Physical link | Official status |
|---|---|---|---|
| A series of 1970s killings | ? detectives' question | — none published | ? being explored |
| A person in prison | — | — | ✗ did not confess |
| A partner or associate | ? unknown | — | — unnamed |
✗ excluded or contradicted · ✓ supports · ? disputed · — nothing public. No cell is an official finding.
Editorial reading of public records. A working theory, not a finding, and it names no individual.
Judgment, not statistics.
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
Where she was between her last sighting and discovery.
What her common-law husband said in 1975 and whether his account was checked.
A public table comparing similar killings in Warren, Butler, Clermont, and Kenton counties.
The exact location and any notes from deputies.
Whether anything from the autopsy or the scene survives.
Why her sister believes it, and whether police checked.
Which cases he is tied to and what he has said.
Who saw her, where she hitchhiked, and who she met.
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Autopsy | Done in 1975. | Full report: not public. |
| Physical evidence | Very little. | Whether tested: not public. |
| Sheriff's file | Held by Warren County Sheriff. | Public index: not available. |
| Tool | What it could do | Status here |
|---|---|---|
| DNA testing | Compare any evidence across the 1970s cases. | Not reported |
| Forensic genetic genealogy | Identify a donor. | Needs DNA; none reported |
| Records comparison | Compare the cases on paper. | Being explored by detectives |
Local cases that moved after decades.
Investigators say a private genealogy investigation helped them identify Thomas Dunaway, who died in 1990, as the man who killed the 16-year-old. He cannot be indicted, so prosecutors sent a letter saying he would have been charged. The lesson: genealogy can name a killer after decades, even when no trial is possible.
In 2024, local investigators were being trained in the technique, which has already helped solve Cincinnati-area cases, according to FOX19. The lesson: the tool is now local, so cases with usable DNA have a real path forward.
Old crime-scene DNA matched relatives in a public database and led to a 2018 arrest. The lesson: a usable sample can still work after decades.
Case details come from public news coverage and the Boone County Sheriff's cold-case list. Confirm in court records.
| Claim | Source and date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| She "took off after an argument" and hitchhiked | A detective, 2024 | Unverified; no records were cited. We do not rely on it. |
| The case is part of a 1970s series | Detectives' question, 2024 | Being explored; unproven. |
| A suspect in prison did it | Speculation | He did not confess. |
Her body was found near Irwin Simpson Road in Deerfield Township, Warren County, Ohio. She was last seen at her home in Norwood, near Cincinnati.
Open in maps: Irwin Simpson Road · Norwood, Ohio. We show no photograph of the scene.
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warren County Sheriff's Office statements | Agency | A | Brief. |
| FOX19 / WXIX, Feb 2024 | Local news | B+ | Includes one detective's unverified remarks. |
| Nonprofit "U Can Speak For Me" | Advocacy | C | Helped publicize the case. |
Lead agency. FOX19 listed a tip line, (513) 695-1280, in 2024; please confirm before calling.
Autopsy records.
Prosecution records.
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the June 1975 homicide of Cora Durham in Deerfield Township, Warren County, including incident reports, laboratory reports, and any evidence inventory. Please send electronic copies. If any part is withheld, please identify the exemption relied on and release all reasonably segregable material.
Agencies often withhold records of open investigations, so expect partial answers.
Cora was 27 and a mother. Her son was nine. Her mother died without answers, and her sister is still asking.
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Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
Everything comes from one FOX19 report. The article also reports unverified claims about her lifestyle, which we do not repeat as fact. The sheriff's name in 1975 and the road name are inconsistent in the report. The tip-line number is as published in 2024.