On September 20, 1982, eight-year-old Kelly Prosser left Indianola elementary school in Columbus, Ohio but never arrived home.
Sadly, two days later, she was found dead in a cornfield in Madison County, beaten, sexually assaulted, and strangled. This led to a case that puzzled and disheartened her community and the Police for decades.
The story of Kelly Prosser, for 40 years now, was one of mystery and sorrow, and it soon dissolved into the background of thousands of abductions and disappearances that plague the United States year in and year out.
Investigators tried and failed to find anything or anyone to add a clue to the case of Kelly Prosser, and soon enough, the whole investigation turned into a cold case.
However, nearly 40 years later, there would finally be an answer to who caused Kelly’s horrifying fate and why.
Who Killed Kelly Prosser?
It was only in June 2020 that Columbia Police Investigators, who never gave up on the cold case, finally matched a dead man’s DNA to the rape and murder of Kelly.
The Police then held a press conference that stated the DNA they had matched belonged to a man called Harold Warren Jarrell, who was now known as being behind Kelly’s brutal rape and murder. Unfortunately, Jarrell would never face justice as he passed away in 1996 at 67 in Las Vegas.
Jarrell had no connection with the Prosser family and seemed to have abducted Kelly with no prior knowledge of her. It was a case of actual stranger abduction.
Jarrell had a history of sex crimes as he had been convicted in 1977 of another offense involving a child in Columbus. He had served about five years in prison for that case.
After this discovery, the case was finally pronounced closed. It was a sad affair as while the family did gain some answers, justice could not be provided, and a young life had still been brutally taken away from this Earth.
How did the Police Find the Incriminating DNA?
The Columbus Police credited a new genealogical testing technique with identifying the killer of Kelly Prosser.
A genealogy company called Advance DNA recently began working with detectives to use DNA from the crime scene to identify suspects. They did so by establishing a family tree and then following up on leads with possible family members.
In the case of Kelly Prosser, they initially made a match with a third cousin, and by following through with the process, they determined that Harold Warren Jarrell was the killer. Kelly Prosser is one of the many high-profile cold cases, with another being the Golden State Killer in California.
Detective Dana Croom, who took over the case in 2016, could not believe it when they finally got a match and reportedly teared up a little.
Kelly Prosser’s Family Makes a Statement
Following the discovery of Kelly’s killer, the Prosser family released an extensive statement showing their complex emotions on the subject.
In their statement, they mention how for 38 years, Kelly’s death had been a sort of a twisted holiday and reminder of what they lost. The discovery of the identity of the culprit who stole Kelly from them was bittersweet, but they are still glad to have an answer.
The family thanked the Columbus police department for their technology to find the culprit. However, they stated they felt no sense of justice and closure because it had taken well over 38 years to find the killer.
However, they had a lot of positive words to say to fellow survivors by stating that surviving is a journey and not a destination. They also stated that instead of hating the person responsible for the crime and letting it bang inside their head, the survivors should welcome and thank the culprit for helping make them strong, teaching them about forgiveness, and finally going to prison or dying.
Someone who commits horrible acts has no defense against a survivor’s gratitude. Thank them, welcome them, and they will leave your heart and your head alone.
Kelly Prosser is survived by her mother, Linda Garner, and stepfather Ross Kelly.