Childhood’s End: Motor City Madness

Part 3: The city went crazy after the murders of four children in the ‘70s

I have been writing about the story of the Oakland County Child Killer, a story that dramatically impacted my young life, here at Medium. Unfortunately, I have been remiss in continuing that story and wanted to return to it.

In 1976–1977, a number of young children went missing in the suburbs around Detroit, Michigan. Some were found dead. Four of those children are believed to be the victims of a person or persons known initially as the ‘Babysitter Killer’ and eventually, as the Oakland County Child Killer.

Mark Stebbins. Jill Robinson. Kristine Mihelich. Timothy King. Each child was seemingly abducted in broad daylight, held between three days and nearly three weeks, only for their lifeless bodies to be found discarded, each placed in the snow. Several were strangled to death. One was shot in the face. At least two were sexually assaulted.

Childhood’s End: Four Tiny Bodies in the Snow

In this missive on the series, I want to explore the reaction that city of Detroit had to the kidnappings and murders of these four children.