AKRON, Ohio — Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh announced Wednesday that Clinton Dickens would remain in prison for the heinous crimes he committed nearly 40 years ago.
The Ohio Parole Board denied the parole of 53-year-old Clinton Dickens. Dickens is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of raping and murdering 21-year-old Wendy Offredo and 20-year-old Dawn McCreery in 1986.
“This was a horrible crime, which is still being felt to this day nearly 36 years later. Wendy and Dawn were loved by everyone who knew them. It absolutely sickens me to think about what they went through,” said Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, in a news release on Friday.
On Aug. 31, 1986, Dickens, who was 17 years old at the time of the crime and then 19-year-old Richard Cooey threw a large piece of concrete onto the highway, smashing the front windshield of Offredo and McCreery’s car near Stoner Street Bridge.
Dickens and Cooey proceeded to go down to the highway to look at the damage they caused. Cooey offered to drive the girls to a nearby payphone for Offredo to call her mother.
Moments later, Cooey and Dickens kidnapped both University of Akron students and drove them to Norton, where they were reaped, beaten and strangled.
Cooey was executed in 2008 by the State of Ohio for the murders.
“Cooey and Dickens are pure evil and Dickens should never be let out of prison. We will continue the fight to keep him locked up and to keep the community safe," said Walsh.
Dickens will not be up for parole again until November 2026. Originally, Dickens was available for parole in 2017, but Ohio’s new law, SB 256, provides individuals under 18 the opportunity for parole after serving between 18 and 30 years.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above previously aired on WKYC on Sept. 20, 2021.
