Credit: Montgomery County Jail
Credit: Montgomery County Jail
The body of 62-year-old Patricia Peck was found March 8, 2007, in the back seat of her SUV in a back parking lot at the former Dayton Airport Inn, 3300 Terminal Drive in the city of Dayton. She had been reported missing since Feb. 25, 2007.
“Her body had signs of blunt force trauma to her face and torso. There was a plastic bag that had been wrapped around her face,” an affidavit stated.
Young previously told police he had last seen her after she dropped him off at his apartment the night of Feb. 24, 2007, according to the affidavit.
In 2023, evidence was submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for review, which found DNA from an unknown male on the pants and socks worn by Peck at the time of her killing.
A search warrant was obtained in August 2023 for Young’s DNA, which police said was found to be a match.
During an interview with Dayton police on Thursday, Young admitted to have worked at the Dayton Airport Inn for more than three years. He also reportedly admitted to police that Peck had gone inside his apartment on the night of Feb. 24, 2007, and not just dropped him off, which he had never admitted before, the affidavit stated.
Police back in 2007 said Young was the last person to see his mother alive, but he told the Dayton Daily News that he had nothing to do with her death. He said the night before she went missing, they went to a grocery store and then a Wendy’s drive-thru before his mother dropped him off at his Huber Heights apartment.
“I figured she just went home. I didn’t think anything was even wrong,” Young told this newspaper.
Dayton police said one of Peck’s clients from the Grand Central Salon on North Dixie Drive spotted her SUV parked at the Dayton Airport Inn and called police.
Dayton police said someone close to the victim was considered a suspect, but did not identify anyone.
Young told the Dayton Daily News he had his own theories about who killed his mother and said he was not involved in her death.
“It’s just not right that someone out there is responsible for something that they’ve done that caused other people’s frowns and mourning,” he said.
Dayton police Lt. Steven Bauer said Friday that the Dayton Police Department has been working relentlessly on the case in cooperation with the BCI over the past few months after a grant provided by the Bureau of Justice Administration allowed additional resources. Detectives have been assisted by retired Dayton detectives brought back to help on the investigation.
“There are a lot of victims of families that don’t have the resolution. It’s important for them to know they are not forgotten. We remember each and every one very thoroughly. Our investigators work tirelessly on these cases, a lot of weekends, a lot of holidays,” Bauer said.
He also gave a message for suspects in cold case homicides: " We have not forgotten about you, either,” Bauer said. “We’re going to proceed every which way we can to hold you accountable in court.”
Previous Stories:
March 12, 2007: Beautician’s son speaks about mother’s death
March 10, 2007: Missing Clayton woman found dead In SUV
Feb. 27, 2007: Clayton police search for missing 62-year-old woman
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