Chapter 2

THE INVESTIGATION

Dale  Nolan  Johnston,  his  wife  Sarah  and  her  teenage  daughters,  Margaret  Annette  Cooper and Michelle Cooper, lived in  a mobile home on Dale’s property at 20320 Trowbridge Road in New Plymouth, seven miles south of Logan, Ohio.

Todd Schultz, 19, Annette’s fiancé, lived with his mother, Sandra, in their house on the outskirts of Logan.  Don,  Todd’s  father,  a  fire  department lieutenant, lived in an apartment in Logan.

An  11-month  investigation  into  the  murders of Annette Cooper Johnston and Todd Schultz was about  to unfold.

Logan residents speculated  that the killings were either  perpetrated   by  a  cult,   the  work  of professionals or the act of drug dealers upon whom  the couple had inadvertently stumbled.

On Sept.  29, 1983, a Hocking  County grand jury,  after  three  days  of  testimony,  indicted Dale Johnston for the two  murders. When asked whether he  would make  the arrest  himself, the  sheriff said, “Are  you kidding? After  12 months I  want some action one way or another.”

Eight deputies,  led by Jones, as  well as members of  Logan’s  police  department  converged  on the Johnston farm.

Dale and Sarah stood  outside their mobile home as authorities  pulled  onto  the  property to arrest  him.  He surrendered  quietly, was  handcuffed and read his Miranda rights. As the cars were about to leave, Sarah asked for  permission to approach one cruiser. She  kissed her husband,  lifted her hand and tearfully returned to an empty home.

The arraignment courtroom was crammed with friends of the teenagers. Johnston, wearing a western-cut, blue print shirt  and brown, double-knit polyester trousers,  pleaded  innocent   to  two  counts  of aggravated murder. He was denied bail.

As he  was being led  to a waiting  police car for transfer to the more  secure Pickaway County jail, somebody   spit  in   Johnston’s  direction.   One onlooker  explained, “Everyone  has been  kind of  tense around here.”

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