Remembering Beverly Lee

 

The American Dream

On November 28, 1973 Beverly Lee, age 32, kissed her husband goodbye and headed off to her job as a research assistant at The Ohio State University. Mrs. Lee and her husband, Robert, had married on October 11, 1969, and had moved to Columbus, Ohio a year later when Mr. Lee received a job transfer from Washington, Indiana. Mrs. Lee, who was an exceptional student, had earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and a doctorate in outdoor education prior to moving to Columbus. She excelled at her job at the Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, and was well respected by all her co-workers at Ohio State.

A week earlier, Mrs. Lee had celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. She had many things to be thankful for that year. The Lees had just moved in to a new house and they were looking forward to starting a family. Mr. And Mrs. Lee had enjoyed camping trips to Colorado and Canada, and also took a trip to England. When not working, they spent their time bowling, skiing, camping, hiking and hanging out with friends. By all accounts, they were living the American Dream. The Lees could never have realized that dream would turn into a horrific nightmare.

A Mission To Kill

While Beverly Lee was preparing to go to work, 27 miles away, a hateful, unemployed criminal named Leon Baskin decided he wanted to kill someone. Baskin, who had a lengthy criminal record including charges of assault, public indecency and theft had moved to Ohio six months earlier.

Baskin took a six-inch knife from a rack on his kitchen wall, put it in his pocket and made the 25-minute drive to the Ohio State University Campus. He parked his car off campus, calmly walked across the university campus, crossed a sports practice field and entered the third floor entrance of Lincoln Tower. Once inside Lincoln Tower, which was a dormitory for students and also housed university offices, Baskin walked through a lounge area, walked past the elevators and went into the stairwell. He went to the fourth floor and randomly entered Room 433, where Beverly Lee was working alone.

No Evidence

Robert Lee called his wife several times each day to see how she was doing and to tell her that he loved her. When he was unable to reach his wife, he called a secretary and asked her to have Mrs. Lee call him. When the secretary went into Mrs. Lee’s office, she found Mrs. Lee on the floor, face down in a large pool of blood. She told another secretary, “Something has happened to Bev Lee,” and police were called to the scene.

When police arrived, they found Mrs. Lee dead on the floor from multiple stab wounds. There was blood splattered across the walls, and police determined she was stabbed in the back and was stabbed several more times when she turned around in her chair. Nothing was disturbed, nothing was stolen and there was absolutely no evidence. The coroner arrived a short time later and determined Mrs. Lee was stabbed seven times with wounds to her neck, back and chest, which included multiple fatal stab wounds to her heart.

Jon Kleberg, Ohio State Associate Director of the Department of Public Safety, led an exhaustive search to find the murderer of Beverly Lee. He interviewed dozens of people, including those who knew Beverly Lee and several people in the building at the time of the murder. One person claimed he heard a “yelp” shortly before the murder and another claimed he heard a “dog crying,” however no one else could provide any information. Mr. Kleberg combed through the crime scene and found nothing. Beverly Lee’s murder was destined for the cold case file and it appeared someone had committed the perfect murder. That was until police received a call from Leon Baskin’s girlfriend.

A Huge Break

On December 13, 1973, Leon Baskin’s girlfriend called police at 1:50 a.m. and reported her boyfriend had admitted to a robbery and a murder. She was then brought to the Delaware, Ohio Police Department to give an official statement. She told officers that, earlier that day, Baskin told her about a burglary he committed in the area. She also stated that while cutting a steak, she had cut her finger, and Baskin started talking about knives. Baskin stated he has to keep the knives sharp “in the event is was necessary to kill someone.” He then stated “that he always wanted to get some white person because he hates white people.” When his girlfriend joked that he better not do it with one of her knives, Baskin replied “that he had already done that.”

When she pressed Baskin for more information, he said the woman he killed worked in a dorm on The Ohio State University Campus. When she asked Baskin where he stabbed the woman, he said “where it counts.” When she asked him in the heart, he said yes. When she asked him why he did it, he said “that he hated white people.”

Baskin told her after the killing “that he didn’t feel guilty or anything” and only felt bad later because of his girlfriend’s church. Baskin said he wiped off the knife, put it in his pocket and left the building because he heard people.

The woman said she spoke with her father, who was a minister, and he advised her to call police.

An Arrest and an Ice Cold Confession

A warrant was issued based on the information from Baskin’s girlfriend, and he was arrested on suspicion of burglary. Police took Baskin to police headquarters for questioning. Baskin admitted to detectives that he had committed the burglary and also that he killed Beverly Lee. He agreed to lead police through all the events that took place that day. After showing detectives all he had done, Baskin was interviewed by Mr. Kleberg.

During the interview, Baskin reiterated everything he had told his girlfriend. When Mr. Kleberg asked Baskin what he planned to do, Baskin stated, “Well, two things. Either to rob or to kill.” Later in the interrogation, when Mr. Kleberg asked Baskin if he was there “either to rob or kill her,” Baskin stated, “Well I wouldn’t put it like, to rob her or kill her. It just could have been you dead, you know. It just didn’t – well, like I said, like I had this image in me all my life. I guess, a lot of things that went on a long time ago. I never did like white people anyway, so it didn’t matter to me.”

Through the entire interview, Baskin was cold as ice and showed absolutely no remorse or regret for killing Beverly Lee. Police later retrieved the knife from a rack in Baskin’s kitchen, and after taking it apart, found Beverly Lee’s blood inside the handle.

Baskin Gets Life

Baskin chose to waive a trial by jury, and the case was heard by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Craig Wright. The trial lasted two days, and Judge Wright had no problem finding Baskin guilty of first degree (premeditated) murder. Judge Wright stated that the state had proven “all elements of first degree murder” and that “the court must convict.” Baskin was sentenced to life in prison. Baskin attempted to appeal his case, citing that he was unlawfully arrested and his confession should not have been admissible at trial. Appeals Judge Horace Troop found no basis for the appeal and affirmed Baskin’s life sentence.

No Rehabilitation and No Remorse

Baskin’s prison records indicate that he has done nothing to rehabilitate himself. The last records available, in 2004, show that Baskin had taken absolutely no classes. In addition, he had several violations including fighting, seductive or obscene acts, possessing an intoxicating substance, and masturbation. The record also states “Inmate has had poor institutional conduct and lacks relevant programming to reduce his risk to re-offend.” There is nothing to indicate that Baskin has ever shown remorse or had regret for his crime. He had no family support and his parole plan was to be placed in a halfway house.

In 2009, the parole board member handling Baskin’s parole hearing stated that Baskin had not been a good inmate. He had not participated in any activities, had taken no class work and had not availed himself of any rehabilitation programs. The parole board member also stated Baskin had deviant behavior while in prison.