Ohio Man Admits Dismembering Father, Collecting Benefits for Decades in Cold Case Breakthrough

An Ohio man has allegedly admitted to dismembering his father decades ago and then dumping his body in suitcases. Authorities revealed that the cold case was solved through advanced genetic genealogy.

The discovery of the first suitcase came in February 1998. A few children playing in the woods of Dover Township, Tuscarawas County, came across a suitcase containing the dismembered remains of an adult man.

The discovery prompted an investigation. According to court documents filed with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on April 16, authorities revealed that days later, a second suitcase was found with additional remains.

Authorities confirmed that the remains were of an elderly man. However, since identification was difficult, the case eventually went cold because of lack of evidence.

In May 2023, authorities reopened the case and with genetic genealogy testing identified the victim as Lawrence A. Drotleff.

According to a press release by the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office, his son, Larry J. Drotleff, now 81, was identified as the prime suspect.

Authorities revealed that Drotleff had been collecting his father’s Social Security and retirement benefits after his death. According to the press release obtained by People, investigators alleged that Drotleff said he found his father dead after returning from work in 1998.

He allegedly dismembered his father's body with a manual hand saw and placed the remains in suitcases. Authorities said, he disposed of additional body parts in bags and threw them into a dumpster.

In the press release, the Tuscarawas County Sheriff’s Office said, “While the case did not prove to be a murder, it should be noted that the inhumane treatment of the corpse was conduct so inexcusable that this case remained a priority for the Tuscarawas County Sheriff's Office.”

The statement added, "It remains difficult to comprehend that the greed of theft could cause someone to treat their father's body in this manner."

Larry J. Drotleff was charged with theft of government property and embezzlement from an employee pension fund. According to court documents, federal prosecutors accused him of stealing $111,485 in Social Security benefits and $135,040 in pension funds from his deceased father.

Court documents also noted that the statute of limitations on potential criminal charges related to his father’s death has expired, and that is why he could not be charged with abuse of a corpse.

It remains unclear whether Drotleff has entered a plea for the charges he is already facing.