Benjamin Richey
Victim: Coretha Mitchell
Case Summary
Coretha Mitchell, age nine, was on her way to school when she was kidnapped, raped, and murdered by Benjamin Richey. Richey then left Coretha for dead on the ground the at the park where he assaulted her. By the time Richey led police to Coretha, 24 hours later, it was too late to save her life. Facing overwhelming evidence, Richey pled guilty to aggravated murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He was later convicted of a felonious assault charge for stabbing a fellow inmate 12 times. Although it has been over four decades, Richey still refuses to take classes to address his criminal behavior.
Coretha Mitchell's Story
A Little Girl Disappears
Nine-year-old Coretha Mitchell left home around 8 A.M. on July 18, 1974, looking forward to a field trip at school where she was attending summer classes. Coretha, who was a third-grader at Charles Lake Elementary school, stood four feet, one inches tall and weighed 55 pounds. When Coretha did not arrive home that afternoon, her mother called the school and was told Coretha did not arrive that day. Mrs. Mitchell contacted police and the search began to find Coretha.
Suspect Leads Police Missing Child
During the investigation, Cleveland Ohio Police spoke with neighbors who said they saw Coretha get into a yellow car driven by Benjamin Richey Jr. Richey was the boyfriend of Coretha’s aunt. Police questioned Richey, who initially refused to provide any information. One day later, at approximately 10 P.M. on July 19, 1974, Richey told police Coretha was in the Cleveland Metropolitan Park District and agreed to take the police officers to her.
Police found Coretha in the park lying on her back. She was severly beaten and barely breathing. When a detective flashed a light on Coretha’s face she blinked her eyes and tried to shield her face with her arms. A rescue squad was called and Coretha was rushed to Bedford Municipal Hospital. She would be pronounced dead on arrival at 11:40 P.M.
Richey was charged with aggravated murder with rape specifications. He was also charged with abduction for immoral purposes for an attempted rape of an 11-year-old girl just over a year earlier. Richey was alleged to have taken the girl to the exact same spot where Coretha was found. The girl was able to escape before Richey could rape her.
Horrific Injuries End With Murder Plea
Cuyahoga County Deputy Coroner Charles Hirsch ruled that Coretha died as a result of being strangled and being struck repeatedly on her head with a hard, sharp object. The autopsy report detailed horrific injuries including multiple stabbing injuries to Coretha’s face, a fractured skull, and bruises all over her body. In addition, the autopsy report clearly showed severe sexual trauma including multiple lacerations and contusions to Coretha’s genitalia.
Richey knew the evidence against him was overwhelming, so rather than go to trial, he decided to take a plea deal. Richey pled guilty to aggravated murder and the remaining charges were dropped. Common Please Judge John T. Patton sentenced Richey to life in prison for kidnapping, raping, and murdering Coretha Mitchell.
Very Poor Rehabilitation
Richey’s time in prison has been problematic. In 1981 he stabbed another inmate 12 times, which resulted in a felonious assault conviction, adding another 2-15 years to his life sentence. According to his parole records Richey was an “untreated sex offender” in 1993, and there is nothing indicating he has taken any sex offender classes since that time. Although Richey has been in prison for 43 years, he has still not taken a victim awareness class. According to the Ohio Parole Board documents from Richey’s last hearing in 2008, “Few programs completed. He did complete vocational electronics in 2007. However, he refuses to complete programs listed in his re-entry accountability plan.”
No Parole
Benjamin Richey is a monster and he is absolutely the worst of the worst. He raped, stabbed, beat, and strangled innocent nine-year-old Coretha Mitchell and left her on the ground to die alone in a park. She lay on that ground terrified and dying for 24 hours until Richey finally told police where to find her. By then, it was too late to save her life. Richey has shown no remorse in the last 43 years and still refuses to take classes to address his criminal behavior.
Releasing Benjamin Richey at any point would be a complete injustice to Coretha Mitchell and would demean his extreme cruelty to her. In addition, releasing Richey at any point would pose a serious and imminent threat to the community, especially young girls. To further the interests of justice and protect society, we urge the Ohio Parole Board to give Benjamin Richey the maximum ten-year continuance at all future parole hearings until he serves his FULL life sentence.
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