COINCIDENCE
Tyrone Noling and an accomplice robbed two elderly couples, the Hugheses and the Murphys, in the town of Alliance in northeastern Stark County on April 4 and 5, 1990. According to prosecution evidence, the Hartigs were murdered in their Atwater home in rural southeastern Portage County on April 5, 1990. This coincidence led the Portage County Sheriff to immediately suspect Tyrone Noling and his alleged accomplices in the Hartig murders. The Portage County Sheriff's Office, then headed by Sheriff Ken Howe, began investigating Tyrone Noling and his accomplices. The investigation was led by then Chief Detective, now Sheriff Duane Kaley. However, after an extensive two-year investigation, the Portage County Sheriff did not refer the case to the Portage County Prosecuting Attorney for prosecution due to a lack of evidence. The Prosecuting Attorney, and his investigator Ron Craig, then took over the investigation. Coincidentally, the Portage County Prosecutor was up for election in 1992, the year Tyrone was first indicted; that original indictment was dismissed by the prosecution in June of 1993. The Prosecutor was also facing election in 1996, the year that Tyrone was ultimately tried.
CONTINUED:
NO PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
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