Dateline: A complete timeline of the Hannah Hill murder case, revisited

In Dateline S21 E22, the murder case of Hannah Hill is explored. It is one of the most tragic things to have ever happened in Akron. The eighteen-year-old disappeared in May 1999 after she left home the previous year, before beginning a new job. Seven days later, she was found in the trunk of her car, on a deserted street.

In this Dateline episode, the doctor who examined her in the mortuary established that she had been killed by being killed with a bag. A simple search for a missing young woman soon turned into a long and painful investigation.

The case lasted over thirteen years before being submitted. Finally, in 2012, the development of DNA testing led to the sentencing of Denny Ross to death row. The story remains one of Akron's most talked-about tragedies.

Read more about the episode The Night Hannah Hill Disappeared of Dateline below.

Did the boyfriend harm Hannah?

On the evening of May 19, 199, Hannah Hill told her mother she was heading out and left the house at about 10:30 p.m. She had a deadline to return before starting work the next morning. Their attention soon shifted to her boyfriend, Brad O'Born, by the police. Admitted to being abusive with Hannah, and officers observed scratches on his body when interviewed.

This raised serious concerns about the story. O’Born claimed he was at home with his roommates watching TV. Police never questioned his alibi when he spoke to them. Eventually, he was released without any charges, and detectives continued searching for additional suspects.

Who was found with her belongings?

Investigators found out that Hannah Shill had made a call to Denny Ross the night she disappeared. Ross was a 20-year-old under probation due to a drug case. He also admitted that Hannah came to his apartment in Springfield at midnight. He also said that they kissed each other and then left.

Detectives subsequently searched his apartment and discovered a garbage bag lying outside one of the windows that contained clothes, shoes, and Hannah’s purse. Their forensic examination showed that Ross had DNA traces on her body and her items in his house. The splashing of blood in his apartment indicated that there was a violent fight. The case was highly indicative of Ross being the best suspect.

Justice through modern science

According to Dateline, the first trial of Denny Ross took place in 2000, but the case ended in a mistrial due to a juror's mistake. The following decade was marked by legal fights over whether he should be tried again.

In 2012, Ross was again on retrial in Summit County. It was at that time that DNA testing had advanced, and prosecutors dealt with a preserved blood spot on the body of Hannah.

The jury found Ross guilty of murder, assault, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse after a period of about eight weeks of his testimony. He received a sentence of nineteen years to life, which ended the long struggle of justice by Hannah on behalf of her family.

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