U.S. Marshals reviving search for convicted killer who escaped in Columbus in 1970s
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – The U.S. Marshals Service has released age-progressed photos of a man who escaped custody in Columbus more than 50 years ago while serving a life sentence for the murder of a 14-year-old girl.
Lester Eubanks was sentenced to death in 1966 after he was convicted of murder while perpetrating a rape in relation to the death of Mary Ellen Deener. In 1972, while Eubanks was serving his time at the now-closed Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus, his sentence was commuted to life in prison due to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that temporarily halted the death penalty.
The next year, Eubanks was given the privilege to go on a Christmas shopping trip with other inmates at Columbus’ Great Southern Shopping Center, due to good behavior. During that outing, Eubanks ran away and has not been found since, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The government agency recently released age-progressed photos of what Eubanks may look like today, at 81 years old. The news release, posted online last month, states the agency is hoping the photos lead to new tips from the public.
“Fifty-nine years ago Lester Eubanks was sentenced to death for the vicious murder of Mary Ellen Deener,” said Pete Elliott, a U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio. “ … even after 59 years, the U.S. Marshals Service will not give up on this case until Eubanks is found, justice can finally be served, and Mary Ellen’s family can rest.”
Eubanks was last seen in southern California in the 1970s, while using the alias of Victor Young, according to the new release. He was known to visit the areas of Gardena, South Central, Long Beach and North Hollywood. Law enforcement believes he worked as a janitor at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, California, in the late ‘80s or ‘90s.
In 2018, Eubanks was officially listed as one of the U.S. Marshals Service’s 15 most wanted fugitives. The agency is offering a reward of up to $50,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the location of Eubanks.
Anyone with information may contact the U.S. Marshals’ Northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force at 1-866-492-6833 or submit a tip online.
What happened to Mary Ellen Deener?
On Nov. 14, 1965, Deener and her younger sister walked to a laundromat in Mansfield. When the girls ran out of change, Deener left on her own in search of more change.
Eubanks, who was a 22-year-old former Air Force medic at the time, was out on bond for an attempted rape that occurred three months prior. When he spotted Deener walking alone, he pulled her behind a home and attempted to sexually assault her.
When Deener resisted, Eubanks shot her twice. He left the scene and headed back to his local residence. Eubanks changed and got ready to leave for a night out, and about 45 minutes after the shooting, he returned to the crime scene. He then realized Deener was still alive, and fatally struck her head with a brick, according to law enforcement accounts on the documentary series “Unsolved Mysteries.”
The following day, Eubanks was apprehended by the Mansfield Police Department and confessed to the crime.