Frank Leslie Ross (June 11, 1948 - July 29, 1986) was a man who disappeared after a night at a bar. After his disappearance, James Hill was a prime suspect, although the prosecution was delayed because of legal obstacles at the time. The victim, whose mostly skeletonized remains were discovered in Claremore Lake in Oklahoma months after his initial disappearance, was long-since believed to be his, remained unidentified until a December 1993 exhumation. Mitochondrial DNA later confirmed his identity, and Hill was later convicted.
Case[]
Ross was last seen at a bar, playing pool with other patrons, socializing, and consuming alcohol. He left the bar with James Hill, who was known to local police for prior offenses. After the victim failed to return to his residence, he was feared to be deceased, and police questioned Hill, but were unable to to obtain enough suitable information to make an arrest.
Months later, a dive team hired to recover a submerged antique car in the nearby Claremore Lake recovered the skeletal remains of an adult male. It was suspected the bones belonged to Ross, especially since the shirt associated with them was consistent with one he owned. However, a positive identification failed, and the decedent was buried in Claremore Cemetery as a John Doe.
In 1992, after their relationship began to sour, Hill's common-law wife informed police that her long-term partner admitted to killing Frank Ross the night he disappeared. It was alleged that Hill opted to kill Ross following an unwanted sexual advance. Hill was subsequently interviewed, and used the "gay panic" defense, citing he committed the act to protect his own safety. Police were doubtful that the allegation was true, as Ross had been been observed, at least during the night he disappeared, attempting to impress female patrons with money he had recently came into.
Police struggled to press charges against Hill based on the information provided by his common-law wife, as legislation in place at the time prevented information provided in confidence by a spouse in certain situations from being used as evidence. Additional interviews were conducted with Hill, who continued to change his story, including the method of killing, Eventually, he admitted to disposing of the body along a roadside and then relocating it to Claremore Lake a few days later. A conviction was made after Ross' body was exhumed in late 1993 and identified after mitochondrial DNA was matched between that of the remains and three of his maternal relatives. Hill continued to deny the crime was anything other than self-defense.
Gallery[]
Media[]
- Cold Case Files profiled the murder of Ross during their initial series run.
Sources[]
- Cold Case Files
- News On 6