“They said they wanted to take me back Saturday,” Perone said during the hearing. “They don’t want to miss the Ohio State game, I guess.”
Perone is accused of firing two bullets into the back of Richard Woods’ head on Oct. 9, 1992 in Lebanon.
Woods’ widow, Susan Schneier, cried after learning Perone - a prime suspect from the beginning - had been arrested as the result of a cold-case investigation by Warren County authorities, according to Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell.
It was the 23rd anniversary of Woods’ death.
“Certainly she was in tears over probably the relief the process was actually moving forward. There was a certain surrealness to the fact that all of this was coming to a head,” Fornshell said Friday during a press conference announcing Perone’s arrest.
The investigation began after Woods’ wife reported him missing on Oct. 9, 1992, but resulted in Perone’s arrest after it was taken up by the county’s cold-case unit, among those credited during the press conference.
While congratulating all those so far involved in the case, authorities acknowledged the case was far from over.
“This is not a victory lap, other than for these folks,” Fornshell said Friday. “This case is far from over.”
On Wednesday, detectives from the Warren County Sheriff’s Office went to Phoenix, and with Phoenix police and deputies from the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, served a search warrant at Perone’s home.
After the officers “breached” Perone’s front door about 5:30 a.m. Thursday and urged him and his wife to come out, the couple surrendered to authorities and Perone was taken to jail, authorities said Friday.
“I was awakened this morning by a truck ramming into my house. They took me and my wife in handcuffs,” Perone said during a hearing Friday in Arizona.
Perone said a Warren County detective urged him to waive his rights to extradition.
“You don’t want to drag your wife down with you,” Perone said the detective told him.
Major John Burke, chief detective in the sheriff’s office, questioned Perone’s statement.
“I can’t imagine that that would be said to him.” Burke said.
Perone’s wife was released, but he is being held without bond on a murder charge, issued secretly on Oct. 1 by a Warren County grand jury. If convicted, he faces 15 years to life in prison.
The case was presented to the grand jury after all the latest DNA and other investigative techniques were used. It was also presented in recognition that waiting any longer could diminish the case through fading memories and other problems related to the passing of time, Fornshell said.
“We were comfortable with the fact that this was going to be the best time to present this case,” Fornshell said during the press conference.
Burke emphasized that Perone’s arrest on the 23rd anniversary of the case’s inception was entirely coincidence.
“This was not planned,” he said. “This was an incredible job done by a lot of people.”
The case begins
On Oct 8, 1992, Woods called and told his wife he was headed home to Dublin, a Columbus suburb, after a call at Perone’s store in Lebanon. But he never came home and his wife reported him missing.
The first break in the case came when Woods’ car was found by a private detective - the day after his disappearance and death - in a rest area along Interstate 71.
The 41-year-old Dublin, Ohio man’s body was discovered a month later in a wooded area alongside Middleboro Road in Warren County.
Authorities described Perone - now working in the furniture business in Arizona - and Woods as competitors. Woods was also Perone’s supplier of Berkline furniture he sold at Just Living Rooms, a store he and his wife operated from a space in the Colonial Square Shopping Center in Lebanon.
Investigators questioned Perone and his wife, the last persons reported to have seen Woods alive. Both denied any involvement in the slaying.
Perone allegedly threatened Woods before his death, authorities said previously.
On Friday they declined to discuss motive or provide the results of DNA tests.
Blood stains were found in the back room of the store, but tests were inconclusive at the time.
Becomes a cold case
The case was one of those taken on by a cold-case team headed by Chief Deputy John Newsom, a former Cincinnati police detective. Newsom's teams have solved the murders of Vickie Barton and Troy Temar, although the Barton conviction could be reversed.
In 2006, Newsom, who retired this year, said his team had no suspects and planned to reconstruct the last 72 hours of Woods’ life.
Last August, investigators returned to the spot on Middleboro Road in Washington Twp., Warren County, where Woods' body was found on Nov. 9, 1992.
At Friday’s press conference, Newsom was among four people speaking and taking questions, as well as one of those singled out for credit for sticking with the case.
“Detectives always think they’ve got the best case in the world. Prosecutors always want more. It has always been thus. Somehow you reach in the middle and you get some justice. I think that’s what happened here,” Newsom said.
No hearings had been scheduled Friday in Warren County.
About the Author
