AUSTINTOWN, Ohio — An Arizona man who was recently connected to a 1997 cold case rape via DNA has also been indicted on charges related to an Austintown area murder.
The Mahoning County Prosecutor's Office says Samuel Legg III has been indicted in the 1992 killing of Sharon Kedzierski.
Kedzierski was reported missing by her daughters in March 1992. Her body was found the following month, partially clothed behind a flea market off Clarkins Drive. She was first labeled a "Jane Doe" due to no identification or distinguishing marks.
BCI at the time conducted semen analysis found at the crime scene, which was eventually passed along to Austintown police. That DNA sample was sent to the National Missing and Unidentified Person System for analysis in 2011.
In 2013, an unidentified man was linked to Kedzierski's crime, as well as crimes that took place in other areas, according to WFMJ.
The DNA samples from Kedzierski's body eventually led investigators to a match with Legg, who was also connected to the rape of a Medina County woman in 1997. Legg appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Authorities also said Legg's DNA is linked to four homicides, although details on other cases are not known.
WFMJ reports that Legg faces charges of aggravated murder, aggravated murder during the commission of a felony (rape), aggravated murder during a felony (robbery) and murder. The statute of limitations has run out on robbery and rape, which is why Legg cannot be charged with those crimes.