COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Over three decades after 19-year-old Amy Hooper was found beaten and stabbed to death in her Franklin County apartment, an arrest has been made in her case.
Bruce Edward Daniels, 57, currently of Tumwater, Washington, was indicted on charges of murder and rape on Tuesday in relation to the cold case, according to Franklin County court records. A murder warrant was issued for Daniels on Dec. 4, and he was arrested the next day. He is currently in Thurston County jail in Washington.
Sometime this year, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office identified Daniels as a person of interest in the case, according to a probable cause affidavit. Law enforcement officials in Washington obtained an "item discarded" by Daniels. DNA on the object was compared with DNA recovered from Hooper’s body and it was a match, the affidavit claims.
On Monday, March 9, 1992, Hooper’s naked body was discovered face up on the floor of her apartment, located in the 4900 block of Medfield Way in Lincoln Village. She was bludgeoned and stabbed to death. The killer left behind a heart-shaped medallion with the African flag painted on it, which was used to bind her hands.
Before her death, Hooper worked at a store called Bermans Leather in Columbus’ Westland Mall. That Monday, she did not go to work, leading her family to go to her apartment and check on her, where they ultimately discovered her remains.
Investigators previously stated they believed Hooper knew her attacker and may have let them in her residence, since there were no signs of forced entry or a struggle in her apartment. Police have yet to publicly disclose how the pair may have known each other. Daniels was 25 years old at the time of the homicide.
Daniels’ extradition hearing – a legal proceeding where a judge decides whether to surrender an individual to another state where they are charged with a crime – is set for January 8, 2025.
