The cases of Tina Johnson, Maria Gruden and Nadine Frank are not necessarily connected. We don’t know enough about their personal lives to say that they lived in a similar way.
However, the homicides occurred on the east side of Columbus. All three ladies were stabbed. They were between the ages of 19 and 32.
Tina Johnson was 19 years old when an unknown assailant stabbed her and left to die behind a garbage truck. The incident occurred on September 11, 1979.
Maria Gruden was stabbed while in her home on December 6, 1980. Gruden was 32 years old at the time of her death.
On April 7, 1987, Nadine Frank survived an initial attack in which she was stabbed several times. She was taken to the hospital but refused treatment. Frank died from her wounds a few days later. She never named the person who stabbed her.
As far as I know, no one has been arrested for the cases of Johnson, Gruden and Frank. If there were witnesses, either no one has come forward or didn’t identify a suspect.
If you have any information about any cold case in Columbus, contact the Columbus Police Cold Case Division or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers.
