Evidence found behind Cracker Barrel nearly 41 years ago helps solve 1985 cold case, authorities say

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio. (WXIX/Gray News) - A 62-year-old man who authorities say was on the run since 1985 has been charged with the death of an auto parts salesman in Ohio, prosecutors announced.

Randy McAllister and a now-deceased accomplice John Christopher Warren were identified as suspects in a fatal robbery.

On Oct. 16, 1985, John Warren was staying at a Holiday Inn in Middletown, Ohio, while traveling for meetings as an auto parts company representative, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office.

The next day, Warren was found dead inside his hotel room. Investigators said several of his personal belongings, along with his 1985 Oldsmobile, had been stolen.

Authorities in Dalton, Georgia, recovered some of Warren’s property and other evidence that had been discarded behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant nearly 400 miles away.

His stolen vehicle was eventually located in Redington Beach, on Florida’s Gulf Coast, nearly 1,000 miles from the scene.

Several items that were originally recovered from all three crime scenes were submitted to the crime lab for analysis.

Based on this information, that’s how McCallister was identified.

The former Holiday Inn where Warren was killed has since been demolished.

McAllister was charged with aggravated murder and murder. If convicted as charged, McAllister faces 20 years to life in prison without the possibility of parole.