Missing
Christopher Lerch
Christopher, approximately 1982; William Wickline
Date and time person was reported missing : 08/14/1982
Missing location (approx) :
Columbus, Ohio
Missing classification : Endangered Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 08/24/1953 (67)
Age at the time of disappearance: 28 years old
Height / Weight : Unknown
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Blond hair. Christopher's nickname is Chris.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : Christopher was last seen in Columbus, Ohio on August 14, 1982. He disappeared with his wife, Peggy, and neither of them have ever been heard from again.
William Dean Wickline Jr. was convicted of killing the Lerches in 1985. He was sentenced to life for Christopher's murder and death for Peggy's. He had been their friend, and they were last seen at his apartment, drinking heavily and using cocaine with him.
Wickline's girlfriend, Theresa Kemp, testified that Christopher and Wickline got into an argument over a $6,000 drug debt Christopher owed to Wickline. Wickline slit Christopher's throat, then strangled Peggy, who was sleeping. Kemp stated the bodies were dismembered and put in trash bins all over the city. No body parts were discovered, but authorities found blood in Wickline's bathtub and human tissue adhering to his folding saw.
A photograph of Wickine is posted with this case summary. He was also indicted for an unrelated murder which occured in 1979, but never tried because he was already on death row. He maintained his innocence in the Lerches' cases and was executed in 2004. Christopher and Peggy's remains have never been found.
Other information and links : ncy
Columbus Police Department
614-645-4670
September 2021 updates and sources
The Doe Network
Clark County Prosecuting Attorney's Office
The Akron Beacon Journal
The Columbus Dispatch
NewsNet5
October 12, 2004. April 20, 2006; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
