Zach Tuggle|Mansfield News Journal
The lives of two lovers who walked into the night and never returned are the topic of a new podcast being produced in Galion, "Township Falls."
"They were high school sweethearts," said Sara Lehman, her own sweetheart, Adam, at her side.
The husband-and-wife duo grew up in Logan, the seat of Hocking County, and moved to Galion 13 years ago so that Adam could study history at OSU-Mansfield.
Adam is a librarian and a researcher, and Sara is a photographer.
They decided earlier this summer that they wanted to work on a project together, and settled on making a podcast.
That's when a name from their childhoods came to mind:Dale Johnston.
Quickly blamed for murders
On Oct. 4, 1982, Dale Johnston's stepdaughter,18-year-old Annette Cooper Johnston,and her 19-year-old fiancé, Todd Schultz, went for a walk in their hometown of Logan.
It is believed the two went to a party to buy recreational drugs wherethey encountered two men who followed them.
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The next day, the lovers could not be found. It took 10 daysto locatetheir remains. They had beendismemberedand scattered across multiple locations.
Dale Johnston was quickly named a suspect, convicted and sent to death row.
His name became a threat to children in Hocking County in the 1980s: "You better be good, or Dale Johnston will come for you."
"I was 7at the time," Adam recalled. "It changed the tone of our little town. There was no trick-or-treating after that. Doors were locked."
Sara was only 3, so she doesn't recall the autumn of the murders, but she grew up learning to fear the name Dale Johnston.
'Nothing short of horrific'
By the summer of 2022, Sara and Adam had listened to several crime podcasts together and on their own.
They knew they wanted "Township Falls" to be about crime, and they knew the 40-year-old murders pinned on Dale Johnston would be the topic.
They bought a pair of microphones, set up the website www.townshipfallspodcast.com, and started recording.
"We are actual hillbillies from the town of Logan," Adam confessed. "We want to put our spin on it."
The podcast features special music written and recorded for the series by Rich Ratvasky of Westerville.
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The coupletalk in the podcastabout the lasting effects the murders had on Hocking Countythroughout their childhoods, as well as the lives that were cut short in a very violent way.
"It was nothing short of horrific," Sara said. "They were both brilliant people on the verge of their adult lives."
The girl had aspirations of being a computer scientist. The boy was a budding young artist.
"The rest of it you'll have to hear in the podcast," Sara said.
Exonerated after seven years
For seven years after the slayings, Dale Johnston sat in death row. Then, in 1990, he was exonerated and released.
"He's really had a rough way to go," Sara said. "When his stepdaughter died, he never had a chance to grieve for her."
Despite the evidence, people in Logan still believed he was the murderer.
"There are a lot of misconceptions," Adam said. "That opinion is still in the town. A lot of people there still think there's a satanic element."
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Redeeming the name of Dale Johnston is one of the biggest goals of the first season of "Township Falls." Their first three episodes have been downloaded more than 200 times.
"We're actually trying to get with his attorney to set up a breakfast or something," Sara said.
They understand, though, that he's in his 90s and may want to leave the past unturned.
"It wasn't until about three years ago that the state of Ohioadmitted that he was wrongfully convicted and compensated him," Sara said. "He lost his entire life."
'He deserves a hug at this point'
The Lehmans have interviewed a few people from Logan this summer, but have decided to save public comments for their ninth and final episode of the series.
They first want to help people realize thatChester McKnight andKenny Linscott were the real killers, and were both convicted nearly 30 years after their crimes.
The grisly tale of how they dismembered the bodies and hid the victims' limbs awaits those who download "Township Falls."
Linscott has since died, and McKnight is living out the remainder of his days in theMarionCorrectional Institution.
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Once everyone's stories have been fully told in the first season, the Lehmans plan to move on to other bizarre crimes from throughout Ohio.
But first, they have more work to do to restore the life of a man who has lost so much: Dale Johnston.
"You hear a lot of people say that he still needs to get what he deserves," Sara said. "I really believe he deserves a hug at this point."
ztuggle@gannett.com
419-564-3508
Twitter: @zachtuggle
