Real Life Halloween Horror - Halloween Triple Homicide

In Oak Harbor, Ohio, in the early morning hours of Halloween in 2010, William "B.J." Liske murdered his dad, Bill Liske; his stepmom, Susan Liske; and his stepbrother, Derek Griffin.

Transcript

True Crime Podcast and Listener Appreciation

Speaker 1 0:00

Tell me a true crime story . Hey there , welcome to Tell Me a True Crime Story podcast . I'm your host , holly . I'm so appreciative of you for being here . I know that you have a whole lot of quality choices out there as far as true crime podcasts go , so I am truly honored and thrilled that you choose to listen to me . Thank you for taking me along with you and allowing me to be a part of your day in your life . I hope that you and your family are happy , healthy and together forever . Big , big hugs to all of you .

Speaker 1 0:52

Don't worry , I'm not going to blab a lot , but some things are important to cover , so if you don't want to hear anything except for the story , hit that fast forward button a few times . Besides , some people like to hear me blab a little bit , so , in an effort to make everyone happy , I'm just going to say a few quick things before we get started . I'm just going to reiterate how important reviews are to me and this podcast . I want to ask those of you who enjoy the podcast and haven't done so to please take a few minutes and give me a five-star rating and a written review on Apple . Many of you have done that favor for me already and I thank you from the bottom of my heart because I know you guys are super busy out there with everything and everyone you have to take care of this .

Speaker 1 1:43

Last week , I received five-star reviews from Shapa 21 , faye Susie and Kasey Welles 2014 . Shapa said I came across your podcast on TikTok . I had to look you up on Apple Podcast . I must say I'm a new follower . I really enjoy the stories you tell . I also really like how you engage with your audience . I think it's so cool . Keep up the good work , thank you , thank you . Thank you , shapa . I want to give you a big , big hug . Faye Susie said found you on TikTok and I'm now addicted to this show . Lol . You're doing a good job . Thanks for doing this , thank you , thank you . Thank you so much , faye Susie . I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to write that for me . Big hugs to you . And Kasey Welles 2014 said my absolute favorite thing to listen to while working . Great job , keep these episodes coming , please . Thank you so much . Kasey Welles , thank you for letting me keep you company as you work and big , big hugs to you . Thank you for writing me that review . So , oh my gosh . You know , like when I receive these , I can't tell you how much they make my whole day , week and month . Thank you so much , you guys , and the biggest of hugs to you guys . So , to leave me a rating and review on Apple , like those kind peeps did , just go to my show page and scroll down to you see ratings and reviews , select a star rating . Then below that , click on write a review and if you listen on Spotify , you can write a comment , like , about each individual episode and you can also give me a five star rating . So for those of you that are giving me those five star ratings on Spotify because they are , you know , I am getting more of those . I can't see who you are to thank you by name , to thank you personally . But thank you so very much . You know who you are and great big hugs to all of you .

Halloween Murders in Small Ohio Village

Speaker 1 3:41

Please follow this podcast on Facebook , instagram and TikTok . My username on all three of those is at tell me a true crime story . So , okay , okay , enough of that . Now let me tell you a true crime story . It's that time of year , so I'm continuing to cover murders that occurred on Halloween . Here's another one of those stories . So let me set the scene for you just a bit .

Speaker 1 4:08

Our story takes place on Halloween in 2010 in a small village in Ohio called Oak Harbor . A village in Ohio is a municipality with less than 5,000 residents . The population of Oak Harbor in 2010 was a little less than 2,800 and hasn't grown much since then . The population of Oak Harbor now is just a little over 2,800 people . Oak Harbor is mostly rural and is located in north-central Ohio , in Ottawa County , about 30 miles southeast of downtown Toledo . The village is located along the shoreline of one of the five great lakes , lake Erie .

Speaker 1 4:46

Oak Harbor is known as the Warbler Capital of the World . What's a Warbler , you say ? Well , a Warbler is a small , adorable little bird . I didn't know what it was either . I had to go look it up . According to VisitToledoorg , the shores of Lake Erie quote serve as a resting spot for thousands of Warblers each spring before they continue their trek across Lake Erie to Canada . Visitors from all over the United States and around the world flock to witness this phenomenon each May end . Quote . Oak Harbor also hosts a popular annual Apple Festival , which attracts thousands of people to the village . Man the random off-the-wall stuff we learn together in these episodes .

Speaker 1 5:32

So on Sunday , october 31st , halloween morning in 2010 , 16-year-old Devon Griffin stopped at home at about 9.30 am to change his clothes before going to sing in the choir at church . His parents were divorced and he had been at his dad's house that weekend . He didn't know it then , but being at his dad's house that weekend very likely saved his life , while Devon was at home . While Devon was at the home that he shared with his stepdad , his mom and his brother getting on his church clothes , he'd only encountered his stepbrother , 24-year-old William Lisk , who went by BJ . Bj Lisk didn't live there with them , but had only spent the night there . The prior evening , devon saw BJ loading something into his dad's white F-150 pickup truck . Devon found BJ to be happier and more chatty and upbeat than normal that morning . Typically , he was gloomy and darkish . Bj had asked him what he was doing and how long he'd been gone , but he didn't think much of it and quickly changed his clothes and went off to church . Devin was in and out of the house within about five minutes .

Speaker 1 6:41

Devin returned from church about an hour and a half later and went directly upstairs to play video games . A couple of hours later , at about 1.30 pm , he realized that the house was too quiet , like no one was around . Where was everybody ? 16-year-old Devin couldn't have imagined the unbelievably grisly , shocking scene that he was about to encounter . It was so unbelievable that for a few seconds he thought it was a Halloween prank . He moved through the eerily silent house and went downstairs to the master bedroom . There he found his mom and his stepdad still in bed covered up under their comforter . He started talking to them to wake them . As he walked in and went to his mom's side of the bed , their maroon comforter was pulled up over their heads , with only his mom's foot sticking out . He tapped her on the leg , but she didn't move . He continued to talk to her as he pulled the covers down a little , and that's when he saw that her pillow was soaked with blood . At that moment is when he thought it may be a Halloween prank , but it quickly registered with him that this was real . He began to cry as he ran out of the room and out of the house . Devon called his aunt , lori , in a complete panic and told her what he'd discovered . But Lori had already been concerned because Devon's older brother , derek , hadn't showed up that morning as planned to do some work for her husband , lori immediately called the police and then went straight over to console her 16-year-old nephew , devon .

Speaker 1 8:08

Authorities responded to the Lisk home located at 7052 North Ohio 2 that sat on about a hundred acres and found Bill and Susan Lisk in their bed , both dead from gunshot wounds . Blood spatter covered the walls of their bedroom . Fifty-three-year-old Bill Lisk had the covers pulled up over him and was in a natural sleeping position . He'd been shot five times in the head and face from a distance of only one to two feet away . However , investigators noted that 46-year-old Susan Lisk was sprawled more awkwardly , as if she'd been moved or repositioned . She had been shot with a small caliber weapon , probably a twenty-two , three times , also at close range . Two shots were to her head and one shot was a defensive wound to her hand . A medical examination later revealed that she'd been sexually assaulted either right before or after she was killed .

Speaker 1 9:03

Authorities then went upstairs to check on 23-year-old Derek Griffin and found the door to his room locked . They kicked the door in and found Derek curled up in his bed in a fetal position , dead . He'd suffered severe trauma to his head , but it was not immediately clear if he'd been shot or had suffered injuries from a blunt object . It was later determined that he'd been bludgeoned with both sides of a claw hammer and died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head . Investigators found a bloody hammer in a closet , which was found to be consistent with Derek's wounds . Investigators surmised that during the wee hours of the morning on Halloween , while everyone slept , the killer entered Derek's room and killed him , first using the hammer instead of a gun , so as not to awaken Bill and Susan Lisk . Then the killer locked Derek's bedroom door as they walked out , possibly to delay the discovery of his body .

Speaker 1 9:59

Investigators also figured that sixteen-year-old Devon Griffin likely would have been murdered too , had he not been with his father that weekend . How could this have happened to these great people ? Who would have wanted them dead ? Who was responsible for these heinous , cold-blooded murders ? People familiar with the family may have said that it wasn't that much of a surprise that they would have guessed that something like this could possibly happen one day . Neighbours , friends , family members and even police records gave authorities a solid investigative angle to pursue when they told them of the prior violent acts that BJ Lisk had committed against his dad , his stepmom and others , and of the strained relationship between BJ , his dad and his stepmom .

Speaker 1 10:48

Now let's go back in time a little bit and talk about some of those previous acts of violence perpetrated by BJ Reportedly . After BJ's mom and dad divorced , he started skipping school and misbehaving . His dad married Susan in 2001 , when BJ would have been about 15 years old . Bj and his new stepmom had a contentious relationship from the start . Some of the reason for that may be because Susan attempted to establish some rules and BJ began to resent her for that . About eight years prior to the murders in 2002 , then-16-year-old BJ Lisk was already on house arrest when he threatened to harm himself . His dad , bill , called the cops and when they arrived , bj Lisk attacked the officers and got charged as a juvenile with assaulting a peace officer .

Speaker 1 11:41

At some point neighbors began to suspect BJ Lisk of torturing and killing their pets . Only friend and neighbor Mark Gradel said his dog was shot twice with 22 caliber bullets . Mark Gradel told investigators that Bill often called him for help when BJ was causing problems . Bill would say something to Mark like hey , come over , it's BJ , or BJ is getting goofy . But on at least one occasion Derek Griffin , susan's son and Bill's stepson , called Mark because BJ and his dad , bill , were physically fighting . Mark Gradel also told investigators that he'd had some serious talks with Bill about the family's safety where BJ was concerned . Mark said it was a hard conversation to have because Bill could never see the bad in BJ . Bj was Bill's only son and Bill would just tell Mark BJ won't hurt us . Even though Bill had received physical injuries from BJ .

Speaker 1 12:41

In October of 2004 , bj Lisk was just one month shy of 19 when he hit his stepmom , Susan Lisk , hard in the chest , and I'm not sure if this was part of the same incident , but BJ Lisk attempted to attack Susan as she showered too . Bj Lisk was kicked out of his parents' home Just two months after that . Bj Lisk hit Susan with a coffee cup and stole her car keys . As a result , he was charged with felonious assault and robbery . However , the charges were eventually dropped when he was found incompetent to stand trial .

Speaker 1 13:17

In February of 2006 , bill Lisk filed for guardianship over then-20-year-old BJ . The guardianship application stated , quote Mr Lisk wants to protect William and to get him the help that he needs . He would eventually like to see him in a halfway house or a group home . When William is on his medication he does really good . After a while he will stop taking it because he thinks he is OK , starts drinking smoking pot , end quote .

BJ Lisk

Speaker 1 13:46

Court records show that in 2007 , bj was hospitalized for Schizoaffective Disorder , bipolar type . He went to live at a group home for mental health patients in Sandusky , ohio , which was only about 30 miles away from where his dad and step family live . Bj's father , bill , visited him at the group home often . Since moving into the group home , bj Lisk had had at least three encounters with police . One time he and his father , bill , got into a physical fight when his dad had gone there to pick him up . Despite everything , bill Lisk never gave up on his only son . In fact , the week before the murders , he had taken some vacation time from work in order to take BJ on a trip to the family's hunting cabin on Poker Road in rural Carroll County , ohio , about a three-hour drive away .

Speaker 1 14:34

On Saturday , october 30 , the day before the murders , bill and BJ Lisk had returned from deer hunting . That evening they drank a few beers with Mark Gradle . Later , mark Gradle would tell investigators that everyone had a good time and that the small get-together had broken up around midnight . Mark Gradle said that he didn't see Derek Griffin , susan's 23-year-old son , that night , but that was not unusual because the stepbrothers , derek and BJ Lisk , did not get along . Bj Lisk was not allowed to live at the home and was living at the group home at the time . He rarely even spent the night at his parents' home because of his tendency to get violent , but Bill Lisk had been drinking and he didn't think it was a good idea to drive BJ back to the group home in Sandusky that night , although BJ was permitted to spend the night .

Speaker 1 15:24

When investigators searched the house after the murders they found a bed made up on the living room sofa , apparently for BJ Lisk . Authorities spoke with witnesses , collected evidence and pieced together a timeline of events surrounding the murders . They looked into 16-year-old Devon Griffin but rather quickly ruled him out as a suspect . The murder investigation began to focus solely on 24-year-old BJ Lisk . There was no sign of forced entry or of anything being stolen from the home . The.22 caliber rifle that was used to shoot and kill Bill and Susan would have ejected brass shell casings . However , none were found at the scene . The killer had obviously picked them up . Neighbor Michelle Gradle , who was Mark Gradle's wife , heard banging sounds , which were likely the gunshots that killed Bill and Susan at about 6.30 am on Halloween , october 31st , the morning of the murders , detectives found out that when Devon Griffin left the house and headed to church , bj Lisk had taken off in his dad's white Ford F-150 truck with his dad's cell phone and wallet also in his possession .

Speaker 1 16:35

He'd driven to the family's hunting cabin Remember that was about three hours away in rural Carroll County , ohio . Bj Lisk had been at the cabin for less than an hour when Sheriff's deputies from that county went there and arrested him . Ottawa County Sheriff's detectives traveled to the cabin to look for evidence . They searched the cabin and surrounding property . On the counter they found an uneaten subway sandwich . Detectives went to a subway near the camp to view their security video which showed BJ Lisk purchasing the sandwich . Apparently , he hadn't had time to eat it before the Carroll County Sheriff's deputies descended upon the cabin and took him into custody .

Speaker 1 17:15

Detectives working back at the murder scene at the family home learned from the surviving stepbrother , sixteen-year-old Devon Griffin , that the family owned quite a few guns . They confiscated many of them and sent them for forensic testing . The sprawling property was searched and a muddy footprint was discovered along a dock near a pond . Investigators thought that the killer may have thrown the murdered weapon into the pond from the dock . However , the pond was drained and no weapon was found . Evidence sniffing dogs found nothing on the property either , but in the white F-150 truck , investigators found blood and a.22 caliber rifle . Later on , testing of BJ Lisk clothing would reveal that his boxer shorts and shoes contained blood and DNA from all three murder victims his dad Bill , his step-mom Susan and his step-brother Derek .

Speaker 1 18:06

Bj Lisk was charged with three counts of aggravated murder , which he pleaded not guilty to , and was held on a $3 million bond . He was initially held in Ottawa County , but because one of his family members worked in corrections there , he was moved to the Erie County Jail . The court appointed a guardian to BJ Lisk and he underwent a competency evaluation . Despite his history of mental illness , he was deemed competent to stand trial . According to Detective George Byington of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office , bj Lisk talked with his mom on the phone from jail and she asked him about what he'd done . In the March 19 , 2011 conversation , she read her son , bj , a full newspaper article about the killings and then asked him you did this , you did all this stuff ? Her son replied yeah . She said BJ , how could you ? And he answered I wasn't in my right mind . Then he said Mom , I can't talk about this anymore .

Speaker 1 19:08

After that phone conversation with his mom , bj Lisk gave up his right to a jury trial and changed his plea to guilty . In August of 2011 , he entered into a plea agreement that the prosecutor had worked out with the family of the victims . Bj Lisk's defense attorney called the plea deal quote unquote a fair resolution . Bj Lisk avoided a possible death sentence and , under the plea deal , accepted three life sentences without the possibility of parole . He signed the plea agreement in court . Judge Winters asked BJ Lisk Is it true you have agreed to imprisonment without the possibility of parole ? He answered yes , your Honor .

Speaker 1 19:50

As Ottawa County Prosecutor Mark Mulligan detailed the murders to the courtroom , people wept and shook their heads . When he finished reading the facts of the case , bj Lisk admitted to the honorable judge , bruce Winters , that they were all correct . He said yes , your Honor , effectively admitting an open court , before Judge Winters and in front of a gallery full of family , friends and others , that he murdered his dad , stepmom and stepbrother on Halloween in 2010 . The next month , on September 14 , 2011 , before the judge officially handed down his sentence , bj Lisk apologized for the killings quote . I want to say I'm extremely sorry , it is all my fault , I don't blame anyone but myself . End quote . He blamed his actions on Satan and mental illness quote . I cannot explain why it happened , only my eternal struggle with mental illness caused by great affliction from the devil . End quote he said that Satan was , and still is working to destroy his soul .

Speaker 1 20:55

Almost a year after the murders , ottawa County Common Pleas Judge Bruce Winters sentenced BJ Lisk to three life sentences without the possibility of parole . Three and a half years later , at 11.25 pm on March 31 , 2015 , 29-year-old BJ Lisk was found dead in his prison cell from a self-inflicted wound . He'd been serving his time at Ross Correctional Institution in Chillicothe , ohio , as inmate number A-604625 . As if the survivors of this family hadn't suffered enough loss , another incomprehensible tragedy befell them . Just hours after the murders of Bill , susan and Derek , on November 1 , 2010 , bill Lisk , younger sister , 52-year-old Zoo Dunmire , who lived about 30 minutes away from Bill , died in an explosive fire in her detached garage next to her house . So surely young . The mother of Bill Lisk and Zoo Dunmire , who died in the fire , shirley , lost her son , her daughter , her daughter-in-law and her grandson in less than 24 hours .

Speaker 1 22:07

I guess it's to be expected , but it seems that there's always so much fallout in true crime cases . I mean , think about 16-year-old Devon Griffin , who lost not only his mama but his big brother and his stepdad . They didn't die in a car wreck or an accident . They were senselessly murdered , violently ripped away from him forever , and he doesn't even have the benefit of remembering them as they were in life , happy and whole . No , he has to live with the image etched into his memory of what he discovered that day , when he pulled the comforter down from his mom's face and found her cold , damaged and dead on her blood-soaked pillow . And mercifully he didn't discover his older brother's body . But he still has to live with the knowledge of the dreadful details of how he lost his life . We're going to end this episode as we usually do , talking about the good , good people that we lost that day , on Halloween in 2010 .

Speaker 1 23:13

Bill , or Billy as his friends and family called him , was born on May 11 , 1957 in Toledo , ohio . The United States Air Force veteran was 53 when he was murdered and had been married to his wife , susan , for about nine years . He was employed at waste management as a front-end loader . He enjoyed hunting , fishing , gardening and all things outdoors . His 100 acres that he lived on was said to be his personal heaven . Today , bill would be 66 years old .

Speaker 1 23:48

Bill's wife , susan , was born on January 30 , 1964 . She graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 1982 and went on to get an associate's degree . She first married Gary Griffin , with whom she shared two sons with and later married Bill Lisk in 2001 . She worked as the office manager for Northwest Ohio Carpenter's Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee . Like her husband , bill , she enjoyed outdoorsy activities like hunting , camping and gardening . She is said to have had a big heart and was a loving mother , aunt and friend . Susan would be 59 years old today .

Speaker 1 24:28

Derek Griffin was born on July 30 , 1987 . Like his mom , he was also a graduate of Oak Harbor High School . There he was active in track and set a school record in 2005 for the 4x2 relay . He was also a second-degree black belt and had fought in Italy for the US Taekwondo team . His favorite pastime was spending time on Lake Erie in his sailboat or in his dad's inflatable dinghy . He loved to sneak it away in the early morning hours when the water was calm . Had he not been murdered , derek would be 36 years old now .

Speaker 1 25:06

Thank you for listening to this episode of Tell Me a True Crime Story . Please follow this podcast on social media at Tell Me a True Crime Story on Facebook , instagram and TikTok . I have two ways you can support my podcast . You can buy me a coffee by going to buymeacoffeecom slash truecrimestorypod . They call it Buy Me a Coffee , but it's really just a way to show your appreciation and send me a tip . And the other way is totally free , but it helps me out so very much . You can write a short but sweet review for the podcast on Apple Podcast or give it a 5-star rating on Spotify . Thank you again for being here . I love you guys lots . I wish you safety as you go about your days , always be aware of your surroundings , and I wish you all in your family good health and happiness too . Please join me in episode 31 when I'll tell you another True Crime Story . Big , big hugs to each and every one of you . Bye , bye .