(CALDWELL, Ohio)— Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announced today that a Washington County man has been charged with killing a woman nearly 26 years ago.

A Noble County Grand Jury indicted Randy Slider, 56, on Friday, January 19, on three counts of Aggravated Murder and one count of Murder for the 1992 death of Patsy Sparks.

The charges relate to the 1992 killing of Patsy Sparks. Sparks was last seen in Parkersburg, West Virginia on April 22, 1992, when Slider offered her a ride to a bar in Marietta. She was missing until hunters discovered her remains in a wooded area in Noble County in 1994. Slider, formerly of Marietta, is currently serving a 40-year prison term on separate kidnapping, robbery, and sexual assault charges in Clermont and Hamilton counties.

The Washington County Sheriff's Office cold case squad led the investigation with assistance from the Attorney General's Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. The Parkersburg Police Department, the Noble County Sheriff's Office, the West Virginia State Police, the Marietta Police Department, and the FBI Crime Lab also assisted with the case. At the request of the Noble County Prosecutor, attorneys from the Ohio Attorney General's Office Special Prosecution section are prosecuting the case.

An arraignment date is pending.

Randy Slider

Media Contacts

Dan Tierney: 614-466-3840
Dorcas Jones: 614-466-3840