A Child Killer on the Lam for 45 Years Is Now Most Wanted

Lester Eubanks was convicted of the 1965 murder of an Ohio 14-year-old
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 10, 2018 9:30 AM CST
He's a Most Wanted Man, 45 Years After He Escaped
Lester Eubanks: an original photo and age-progression photos.   (US Marshals Service)

A 75-year-old has just been added to the US Marshals Service's "15 Most Wanted" list—some 45 years after he went on the lam. Lester Eubanks was sentenced to death in 1966 for the murder of 14-year-old Mary Ellen Deener of Mansfield, Ohio, a year prior. In 1972, that sentence was commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but he wouldn't be there much longer. As the Cincinnati Enquirer reports, on Dec. 7, 1973, Eubanks was given what turned out to be an unwise reward for good behavior: a holiday shopping trip in Columbus, where he was permitted to shop solo and told to report back to a pickup location. He escaped.

A press release from the US Marshals Service calls it "one of the most notorious prisoner escapes in Ohio history" and says it's looking to end Eubank's time on the lam. They believe Eubanks is alive, but they don't know where; he's believed to have spent time in Michigan and California over the years. He's described as 5-foot-11, with a mole under his left eye, though authorities note "fugitives on the run as long as Eubanks tend to use that time to change their appearance." He has possibly used the alias Victor Young. A $25,000 reward is being offered for info that leads to his arrest. (This most-wanted deadbeat dad was felled by a cherry pit scheme.)

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