Child rapist, murderer seeks parole

Timothy Papp is up for hearing after over 40 years in prison

It’s been 44 years since 9-year-old Roxie Ann Keathley was raped and murdered in Sheffield Township.

Timothy Papp, the man convicted of committing the crime, may be released in January.

Papp, 66, currently is serving two life sentences at the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima.

He was found guilty of aggravated murder and rape. He is scheduled for a parole hearing in the case in January after being denied in 2013.

Bret Vinocur, president of Block Parole Inc., has made it his life’s work to keep people like Papp behind bars.

Vinocur does this by maintaining the website blockparole.com, which collects the circumstances of various criminals and hosts petitions for those with parole hearings.

He said his wealth of knowledge is the result of exhaustive searches of old newspaper stories and police records.

The following narrative is based on his research:

Roxie lived in an apartment with her family at Kimberly Gardens on O’Neill Boulevard. On the day she was murdered, she and her sister Tammy were collecting pop bottles from neighbors to make money.

On March 12, 1973, they saw Papp in the parking lot of the complex and asked if he had some bottles. He told them he did, but they would have to come back for them later.

Roxie told her sister, who was returning home for dinner, that she would be back later.

She was last seen alive at 5 p.m. Her parents reported her missing at 10 p.m.

Lorain County Sheriff’s deputies and volunteers searched the area, but did not find the girl.

Nearly two weeks before the disappearance, Papp and another man saw Roxie playing in the parking lot of the complex; he told the other man that he would like the 4-foot-tall, 50-pound girl to perform a sex act on him.

Papp was questioned by police on three separate occasions while the search continued.

On March 23, 1973, during the last interview, Papp gave information about a missing blue footlocker.

Roxie was found naked March 24, 1973, buried in leaves less than a mile from her parents’ home.

During Papp’s trial, thenLorain County Coroner Dr. William E. Kishman testified Roxie’s cause of death was strangulation and that she’d been raped either before her death or during the act of dying.

When Papp was questioned again two days later, he drew a map showing the location of the footlocker and told police, “Man, I am sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt the little girl.”

The footlocker was found less than 1,000 feet from Roxie’s body.

He was formally charged with murder the same day, and later convicted and sentenced.

Papp would later appeal his conviction claiming he was denied legal representation during his interviews with police. The case was retried in 1978 with the same result.

The following year, Papp was indicted and pleaded no contest to charges that he conspired to pay a fellow inmate $100,000 to murder his ex-wife and former Lorain County Prosecutor Joseph Grunda. The scheme came to light when the other inmate told authorities about the plan. Papp was sentenced to four to 15 years in prison for that case, which would be served concurrently with his life sentences.

When Papp was denied parole in 2013, board members wrote their decision was based on the negative effect Papp’s release would have on the community and his unwillingness to take responsibility for the crime.

“The case is aggravated by the young age of the victim,” the parole board ruling said. “The inmate maintains his innocence in this offense, saying that he helped move the body, but did not sexually assault or kill the victim.

“The aggravating factors of this offense lead the board to conclude that release would not further the interest of justice. After weighting relevant factors, the Central Office Board Review does not consider inmate suitable for release and assesses a five-year continuance.”

Vinocur said Papp has been high on his radar due to a letter to the editor Papp wrote to The Lima News in 2014.

“(The letter) complains that old law inmates need to be released,” Vinocur said in a phone interview with The Morning Journal. “When he wrote the letter initially, his name was in the paper, but he didn’t say what he did.”

Vinocur said when he realized Papp had written the letter, he was shocked and the community also seemed to be shocked.

“They wrote to the paper and called Papp for his crimes. The letter is currently available on their website, but Papp’s name has been removed.

“For an inmate to have the gall to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper stating he should get out and doesn’t mention anything of what he did; he wants out. He wants out bad.”

Vinocur said the normal parole process entails a victim’s conference in which the family of the victim meets with the board, then the board will travel to the prison and meet with Papp.

“At which point, one of three things will happen: they’re either going to deny parole, they’re going to grant parole or they’ll send it to a central office board review (or COBRA),” he said. “COBRA means they take it back to the entire board so they can discuss it.”

Vinocur believes the plot to kill Papp’s ex-wife and the former prosecutor is evidence that Papp is vengeful and has not been rehabilitated.

“It’s not like he was in there bettering himself,” Vinocur said. “This guy went to prison, and you would hope he would be remorseful. But he was on a vindictive rampage at this point.”

Vinocur says Papp should serve out his time, but he said it is imperative the public signs the petition on paroleblock.com to help ensure that happens.

“Public opinion is seriously considered by the parole board,” he said. “So the more people that sign the petition, the better off we are.

“He’s the worst of the worst. This is one of the individuals that cannot be rehabilitated, that needs to serve his whole life sentence.

“Putting him back on the streets would endanger the lives of everyone, especially young children.”

Papp