Larry M. Ralston was born on July 5, 1949. His early years aren't well-documented, but at 17, he left Norwood High School to join the Army, where he finished his high school education. After his military service, Ralston found himself unemployed, and by the time he was arrested in 1977, he was living with his parents.

On September 3, 1975, Linda Kay Harmon, 17, left for school with plans to meet a friend but never arrived. Her parents became concerned when she missed a dental appointment. A month later, on October 5, her skeletal remains were found scattered across a wide area along Braun Road. Six months after the discovery, her parents provided information that led to an arrest.

On May 4, 1976, 22-year-old Nancy Grigsby went to a friend's apartment, mentioned she was going for a short walk, and never returned. Despite her boyfriend's concerns, Grigsby often hitchhiked. Her decomposed body was found on November 16, 1976, in a wooded area near Bucktown Road. Similarly, on June 30, 1976, the nude body of 21-year-old Mary Ruth Hopkins was found in a lover's lane in Anderson Township. She had been brutally attacked.

On January 15, 1977, Elaina Bear, 15, attended a party with her friend Debbie Whitt. They hitchhiked home, and a man dropped Elaina near a tavern. She never made it home, and her body was later found in a creek bed in Clifton County, showing signs of strangulation. On July 17, 1977, 16-year-old Diane Sue McCrobie went on a date and never returned. Her skeletal remains were discovered on October 22 near East Fork Reservoir.

On September 24, 1977, three teenage girls reported being abducted and raped by a man in a rural area. The site was close to where a young woman’s body had been found. As police investigated the murders of 12 women in the area, they identified the perpetrator as a local. On November 15, 1977, Larry Ralston was arrested after the girls identified him as their attacker. His name was later found in McCrobie's address book, leading to charges for the murders. Ralston pleaded innocent.

Ralston's trial for Elaina Bear's murder began in April 1978. The jury, consisting of six men and six women, found him guilty after he confessed. On May 4, 1978, after seven hours of deliberation, Ralston was convicted and sentenced to death, scheduled for execution on October 31, 1978. However, his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Ohio's death penalty unconstitutional. Ralston was also convicted of killing Diane McCrobie, Lisa Harmon, and Nancy Grigsby, receiving additional life sentences.

On November 7, 1979, Ralston’s sentence for Grigsby's murder was overturned due to insufficient evidence. The Ohio Supreme Court dismissed the charge in February 1980. In 1984, Ralston pleaded guilty to killing Mary Ruth Hopkins, receiving another life sentence. He became eligible for parole in 1999, but his request was denied. Another bid for parole was rejected in 2018. As of 2022, Larry Ralston remains imprisoned at Madison Correctional Institution.