On The Case With Paula Zahn is investigating the 1983 murder of teenager John “Tony” Muncy, who was killed by Daniel Alan Anderson in Columbus, Ohio.
Muncy was just 15-years-old when Anderson brutally murdered him before dismembering his body. The case haunted detectives for nearly 40 years as a lack of evidence meant they failed to get a conviction. It wasn’t until 2020 that advances in forensic science meant that they finally identified the killer.
On October 16, 1983, a Delaware County deputy sheriff discovered the dismembered remains of Muncy by the side of the road in a rural part of the county. His limbs had been cut off, and he’d been stuffed into garbage bags.
An autopsy revealed that Muncy had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and upper back. The police quickly concluded that the teenager had been murdered in Columbus, and the killer had then dumped the body in this rural area.
The initial investigation lasted several years, but a lack of evidence hampered the detectives. They had blood samples, but at the time, forensic analysis was only advanced enough to pinpoint the killer’s blood type.
The cops investigated many possible leads and interviewed potential killers, but sadly they got zero results, and the case began to go cold.
Advances in forensic science led to reopening of John Muncy’s case
The case was reopened in 2010, with the detectives hoping that advances in forensic science would make a breakthrough in the case possible. However, they still had to wait ten years before identifying the killer.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe cold case cops eventually used genealogy to solve the case. They submitted DNA from the crime scene to a private genealogy organization that could pinpoint the murderer’s family. They learned that the killer was one of three brothers.
Two of the three Anderson brothers were quickly eliminated from the investigation, which meant that the killer had to be Daniel Alan Anderson. The cops were delighted to identify the killer and find closure for the victim’s family; however, they were disappointed that they couldn’t slap handcuffs on him; Anderson died in 2013.
Anderson had been 30 years old when he committed the murder. At the time, he had ties to the area, and he also had a history of violence directed at young boys.
More from On The Case With Paula Zahn
Follow the links to read about more murders profiled on On The Case With Paula Zahn.
Thomas Franklin raped and murdered 66-year-old Bernice Allen in her Florida trailer in 1982. It took years to realize that Franklin was a serial raper of older women, and it was 2007 before he admitted to killing Allen in the face of overwhelming DNA evidence.
Nelson Armas had an argument with his five-month pregnant Hannah Zehner Brim, which resulted in him stabbing her to death. He dismembered and set far to her remains before dumping her in a secluded wooded area.
On The Case With Paula Zahn airs at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.