Amy Mihaljevic disappeared in October of 1989 from a Lake Erie area shopping plaza. The 10-year-old met a man there the police believe she might have known. She wanted to buy her mother a gift to celebrate a recent promotion. Amy’s body was four months later. For nearly 30 years, police have been looking for the person responsible in the death. Investigation Discovery’s new miniseries The Lake Erie Murders will try to answer the question when it premires with the three-hour special Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic? on Sunday, December 30 from 9 p.m. to midnight.
The Lake Erie Murders: Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic? is only one of several mysteries of the Great Lake. “Ominously named for its violent and unpredictablenature, Lake Erie borders four states and parts of Canada – and is home to some dark and deadly crimes,” reads an ID press release. The series will bring viewers “to the edge of the water exploring murder cases in the region.
“The aptly named Lake Erie is really a character throughoutthis new series, representing a looming darkness that sets up a stark contrast between the idyllic lakeside towns and the violent dangers of the past,” Henry Schleiff, Group President of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channeland Destination America, said in a statement.
Further reading: Inside The Many Murders of Serial Killer Ed Edwards
Amy Mihaljevic’s story continues to haunt the region and remains a source of intrigue and speculation. The 1989 kidnapping and murder is still an unsolved murder with an active investigation. The special painstakingly follows how each lead was exhausted and how suspects weredismissed one by one. The special also features multiple women with stories similar to Amy’s when they were also young girls, who have chosen to remain anonymous due to the fear that the abductor is still out there. The hours expose a series of other child murders in the area to explore potential similarities to Amy’s case, in the hopes that the details will help bring forward new leads and suspects.
“In Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic?, ID takes a deeper exploration into a case that has never truly gone cold in the region, and hopes to bring some resolution to the Mihaljevic family, and sadly many others, who have been sufferingfor nearly three decades,” Schleiff said.
Further reading: Susan Powell: An ID Murder Mystery Special Coming to ID
Just months older than Mihaljevic when she was abducted, Ohio native James Renner was immediately drawn to the case and his determination to find answers followed him into adulthood through his career as an investigative journalist. In each eight-minute episode, Renner investigates five more of the region’s most notorious unsolved cases in the hopes of bringing justice to families.
The series continues weekly with hour-long episodes that tell four additional haunting murder mysteries which were solved by law enforcement, remindingviewers that when it comes to Lake Erie, there really is something about the water.
Beginning on Sunday, January 6 at 10pm ET, Investigation Discovery will explore four additional closed cases of young girls and women who were found murdered around the Great Lake.
High School Horror
The Butcher of Buffalo
Blood in the Water
Alley of Death
Investigation Discovery will also launch the digital companion series Lake Erie’s Coldest Cases, exclusively on IDGO on Sunday, December 24.
The Lake Erie Murders premieres with the three-hour special, Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic? on Sunday, December 30 at 9 p.m.
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Culture Editor Tony Sokol cut his teeth on the wire services and also wrote and produced New York City’s Vampyr Theatre and the rock opera AssassiNation: We Killed JFK. Read more of his work here or find him on Twitter @tsokol.
