Journey back to 1985, Reagan is in office for a second term, Route 66 was decommissioned and replaced with a more efficient way to travel via the interstate. The wreckage of the Titanic would be recovered after years of searching. For a bit of laughter, the comic Calvin and Hobbs would debut in newspapers. Florida was hit with a two day record cold spell that would wipe out 90% of the grapefruit and orange crops. Live Aid would take place where more than 45 performers sang “We Are the World.” 1985 was a year of movies, treasures and charity. It was a good time to be alive, technology was on the brink of great things, yet kids were not yet consumed and still played outside until the streetlights came on. However, for two families their lives would be forever changed in a way no one could imagine. Tragedy would strike and crumble their world as they knew it.
Nancy J. Smith Abrams was a 33-year-old wife, mother and one of six children, who enjoyed spending her free time bowling, bicycling and spending time with her family. Nancy resided at 6339 Trenton Franklin Road in Madison Township, a small area right outside of Middletown, Ohio with her husband Greg Abrams and their two-year-old daughter.
Nancy was described as an overall good person and excellent mom, who had no known enemies. Nancy had worked for the 24-hour convenience store King Kwik for five years. Before transferring to the Middletown store location Nancy was a manager at the Monroe store before it closed and she was transferred to the Dayton, Ohio location. While working at the Dayton location the store experienced a robbery which left Nancy fearful it would happen again even after she had transferred store locations. It is unknown if Nancy transferred to the Middletown location to be closer to her home or if it was due to the robbery. Nancy worked the graveyard shift from 12 am to 8 am alone at the Middletown location located at 1422 South Breiel Boulevard.
Location of the now defunct King Kwik today
On Sunday March 10, 1985 Nancy arrived at the King Kwik to start her shift at midnight as she had done many times before. Nothing seemed off about the night and customers would come and go making purchases and small talk with Nancy. Sometime between 4:30 am and 4:45 am a horrific murder would take the life of Nancy Abrams and John Fancis who was believed to be stopping in the store as it was the only one open at this hour. Some articles state he was also a regular in the store as it was located not far from his home.
John Fancis was a 31 year old press operator and owner of John’s Gems, a discount jewelry store. John resided at 1933 Fernwood where his brother Gary and sister in law Jessica resided with him. John had been a press operator with Champion Paper for 18 years and every night when he got off at 8 pm he would head over to his jewelry store to check in. John would also spend his days off at his business making sure it ran smoothly, according to his brother Gary.
On Saturday March 9th John was still at home at 10 pm when Gary and Jessica went to bed. However when they woke on Sunday morning the couple saw John’s car was gone, both were puzzled as their truck had been blocking John’s vehicle and the end of the driveway making it very hard for him to leave. It should be noted this was not done on purpose, it was just the way they parked that night.
It is believed sometime after ten pm John left his home and headed to his jewelry store for reasons unknown and upon leaving to return home, he stopped at the King Kwik as it was the only store open at the time.
A newspaper delivery woman who left the store that morning around 4:30 am remembered seeing a slender white male on a dark colored chopper style motorcycle. The man, according to her, was standing in a dimly lit area outside of the store. He was thought to be between five foot eight and six foot tall with a dark leather jacket on and a red gym bag hanging over one of the handlebars. This man is considered to be the killer by some, however it has never been confirmed and no one matching this description has ever come forward to say why they were there that night. A composite sketch was made of this man based on what the delivery woman saw that early morning. Just a short time later both Nancy and John would be found murdered execution style. It is unclear who reported the murderers, it is believed a customer coming in that morning called and reported what they had found.
Sometime after the delivery woman left shortly after 4:30 am and 4:45 am the killer entered the store. It is believed the killer then purchased a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Most question why the killer who is believed to be a man would do this, my theory is he knew someone else was in the store or possibly this is when John entered the store and the killer could have been waiting on John to make his purchases and leave. This is pure speculation on my part and in no way has been confirmed.
When police arrived on scene, they found Nancy lying on her side in a pool of blood wearing a white shirt and her blue corduroy pants. She had been shot twice in the back of the head and her body was located in a small room behind the front counter of the store. Upon further investigation John Francis was located near the back of the store by the freezer area lying on his back wearing a plaid shirt and brown pants, his brown AMC Concord was located in a parking space near the front of the store. He had been shot one time in the head. The police believe both were shot at close range and were more than likely kneeling at the time. Resulting in an execution style killing.
Composit Sketch of the man on the motorcycle.
Detectives were called in and an investigation was underway. It was found less than 100 dollars was missing from the register and 7 money orders had been taken. Soda or pop bottles were collected from the scene. In 2004 those bottles were fingerprinted and ran through the system producing no results. Police would follow many leads that went nowhere. The police would have customers hypnotized in hopes they would remember seeing something that could be helpful in finding the perpetrator, this was not the case.
As in most murder investigations the police have to look into the spouse. At 7:30 am on March 10th police headed to Nancy’s home to inform Greg his wife had been murdered. While it is unknown what reaction Greg had to this it is known that in 1985, he acquired a lawyer named Perry Ellis who has stated he does not believe Greg was involved in the murder then or now. It should be noted Nancy’s family and friends told police their marriage was on the rocks and headed for divorce. While it is unknown if Greg was ever considered a suspect in his wife’s murder as the police have only stated that everyone is a suspect. Some feel he could have committed the crime for various reasons. However, no charges have ever been filed on Greg.
In 2004 a detective looking into the case would develop a suspect and take the information he had to the grand jury. No indictment was issued and the prosecutor at the time said the evidence was very circumstantial. It is unknown to this day who the suspect was thought to be.
It has been 37 years without answers for two families whose lives changed that early March morning. The police then and now believe robbery was the motive and the killer was more than likely not from the area based on the location to interstate 75. They believe someone coming forward whether it be the killer confessing or someone who was told about that night is the only way this case will be solved. As time passes it seems less likely the families will have answers. If you were in the area of Middletown, Ohio in 1985 or if you heard something after this, please come forward with any information you have so both families can have some closure and contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-352-3040.
Source Information:
Fox 19
Dayton Daily News
Middletown Journal (Journal News)
Lamont at Large Youtube
Pressreader.com
WLWT News 5
Websleuths
The Certified Roarikle 