GALION, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW)—The Galion History Center is using its “spooky season” programming to explore one of the area’s darkest true crime stories: the history of local serial killer Frederick “Fritz” Spears, whose horrific crimes began in Galion in the mid-1950s.
The History Center staff, Tanisha and Kylie, have been researching the case of Spears, who was convicted of first-degree manslaughter for the 1954 strangulation death of his sister, Patricia Ann Spears. Spears, a seemingly normal high school senior at the time, confessed to the murder after his gray two-door vehicle was tied to the scene. Released after only seven years, Spears went on to commit further murders, establishing him as a serial killer.
“We did not realize when we set out to research this podcast that he was a serial killer,” Tanisha noted. The research into Spears’s escalation of crime, which also included an accidental shooting and arson, is being featured in the center’s new podcast, “Blood Ties, the Making of a Serial Killer.”
This deep dive into Galion’s past runs alongside the center’s popular Halloween programming at Brownella Cottage. Events include the Adult Trick-or-Treat candy and cocktail pairing tour on Oct. 17 and 18, and a free Kids Trick-or-Treat After Dark on Oct. 25. The month concludes on Oct. 31 with a public ghost hunt, “Halloween 1937, The Last Rites,” investigating the Bishop’s death anniversary, which staff say historically brings an “uptick in activity.”