Gregg Olsen's new book, 'The Amish Wife,' investigates 1977 death of young Amish woman
After unraveling the haunting mystery of "Little Boy Blue" and Eli Stutzman Jr.'s demise in "Abandoned Prayers," Gregg Olsen unearths deeper secrets − this time, surrounding the tragic death of Daniel's (Little Boy Blue) mother, Ida Stutzman.
In a packed room at Orrville Public Library, guests gathered to meet and listen to award-winning author Olsen talk about his new book, “The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free.”
The Seattle-native has always been interested in true crime stories. Growing up on the West Coast made him fascinated by the Amish lifestyle.
“The Amish lifestyle is always more interesting to those people on the West Coast because we don’t see them at all,” Olsen said.
Call from Ida's brother, shoebox of letters started the road to a new book
He learned about Eli Stutzman's story in People magazine in 1989 and soon after started his research for “Abandoned Prayers.”
Eli Stutzman Jr. was an Amish gay man who was convicted of several murders, including abandoning his son, Daniel, in a cornfield in Nebraska. On Christmas Eve, 1985, a man found the frozen body of a boy in a cornfield outside Chester, Nebraska. The unidentified child, Daniel, was called Little Boy Blue because he was dressed in blue pajamas.
Nearly 30 years after he released the book, Olsen received a phone call from Daniel Gingerich, Ida’s brother. He had an old shoebox filled with more than 300 letters, some of them sent from Eli Stutzman Jr. to Ida’s family after he took off with Daniel.
Gingerich believes Eli Stutzman's killings started by murdering his wife, Ida.
Suspicious of ruling Ida's death was 'natural causes'
In 1977, the young Amish mother, Ida, who was expecting her second child, died in a barn fire at a Moser Road farm south of Dalton. Eli Stutzman Jr. claimed Ida had a bad heart and collapsed during the fire.
The Wayne County coroner at that time, J.T. Questel, reported the cause of death was natural causes. Sheriff James Frost closed the case without conducting an investigation.
However, Eli was known to be a liar among the Amish community, but no one could prove Ida was killed that night.
“When I started researching for 'Abandoned Prayers,' my very first book, a lot of people felt like Ida had been murdered, but we didn't have any conclusive evidence, or nobody would go on the record that knew anything for sure,” Olsen said.
"The Amish Wife" takes the readers back in time to learn about what possibly happened to Ida that night. It also takes the readers on a journey on how Olsen gathered the information to seek the truth.
Trail of murders, no justice
Olsen said he believes the trail of murders Eli left could have been prevented if justice had taken place from the beginning.
“Even though it was 30-some years later, I still wanted to find out, and I always have,” he said.
Olsen placed billboards in the Dalton area as well as other places in Wayne and Holmes counties that asked for information about Ida’s death. Although it was challenging to have people speak out about it, several people who knew Eli and Ida reached out to him.
“I find that the whole thing about life is that we don't ever forget the things that haunt us and trouble us, no matter how long we live,” Olsen said.
He visited Ohio several times to speak with family members and neighbors.
“I heard from people I never even knew were around, who knew things. I felt like I opened up a floodgate of people wanting to say what they had known," he said.
His attempt to speak with law enforcement wasn’t successful.
“I couldn't get an interview with the sheriff or the coroner, the new one, to talk to me after I made several attempts to talk to them about Ida's death and what could be done if there was enough evidence to show that it was at least a suspicious death,” Olsen said.
Themes of cover-up, impact on community
Unfolding beyond the surface, the story explores themes of justice, cover-up and the impact on a community bound by tradition.
“I looked hard at how to show that Sheriff Frost covered up the murder. I was able to do that by looking at the police reports that were written, the autopsy report, Sheriff Frost's reports and the interviews that I conducted,” he said.
The story leaves readers pondering the unresolved justice for Ida. It's not just a crime story but a reflection on the enduring power of truth, even when the protagonists are long gone.
“I hope that it'll wake people up, it’s not worth it to hold on to something ugly inside of you. And I hope that Wayne County, the prosecutor and the sheriff agree that Ida's death was not an accident and it was not natural causes that killed her,” he said.
Olsen has toured several libraries in Wayne County and neighboring counties to speak about his novel and encourage readers to sign a petition to bring justice to Ida.
“The Amish Wife: Unraveling the Lies, Secrets, and Conspiracy That Let a Killer Go Free” is available for purchase. Readers eager to embark on this true crime journey can find the book in both print and digital formats.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Gregg Olsen, author of 'The Amish Wife,' delves into Stutzman death
