News Events of 1998
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March 1998
3-3-1998 -- The scheduled execution of Wilford Berry Jr. was delayed by a stay of execution upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. The stay will permit time for hearings on Berry's competency to waive all appeals.3-4-1998 -- The Ohio Parole Board recommended against clemency for Rebecca Hopfer, convicted in 1995 of murdering her newborn.
3-5-1998 -- Elder-Beerman Stores Corp announced it had purchased the McAlpin's store at the Dayton Mall and would open a Beerman store there by summer.
3-6-1998 -- Acting on a tip from a neighbor, police found the body of Lynn Topp buried on a farm 15 miles from her home. The owner of the farm, Timothy K. Rodeheffer, was being sought as a suspect.
3-6-1998 -- Phillip Moreland, 42, was found dead at his home at 633 Homewood Ave. Three children had died at the home within a span of seven weeks and their deaths had been ruled homicides, though no one had been charged. Although there was no clear cause of death at the time Moreland's body was found, tests would later reveal he died from an overdose of pills.
3-7-1998 -- "Eternal China," and exhibit of ancient Chinese artifacts, opened at the Dayton Art Institute.3-11-98 -- Led by David Holmes of Reynolds & Reynolds, a group of Downtown Dayton supporters unveiled a $24 million riverfront development plan which a 200-foot fountain and an expansion of Van Cleve Park.
3-11-1998 -- The Montgomery County coroner ruled the death of Phillip Moreland a suicide. Moreland, the fourth member of his family to die at 633 Homewood Ave., died from an overdose of antidepressants.
3-13-1998 -- In yet another twist in the Dayton-Trotwood baseball wars,Sports Spectrum, the group trying to bring baseball to Trotwood, withdrew its application to the Class A Midwest League.
3-15-1998 -- In an apparent murder-suicide in Warren County, Patrick Berry and his 4-year-old son were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in Berry's home.
3-16-1998 -- Dayton police stopped a car for speeding on I-75 and found that the inside of the car was splattered with blood and brain tissue. The driver and another man, both from Detroit, were taken into custody and later charged with a murder in Georgia
3-17-1998 -- Dayton officials announced that Liberty Savings Bank, one of the Miami Valley's fastest growing thrifts, had agreed to buy the Hulman Building in downtown Dayton and move its headquarters from Wilmington. The move would bring 75 to 200 jobs downtown.
3-20-1998 -- Jacob M. Agee, 17, pleaded guilty to murder in the April 3, 1997 slaying of gas station manager Margaret "Peggy" Chain.
3-21-1998 -- Investigators found the body of a white male meeting the description of murder suspect Timothy K. Rodeheffer. Police later confirmed it was Rodeheffer and said he appeared to have hidden in a barn and shot himself after learning that the body of victim Lynn Topp had been found on his property.
 Five students died in the Jonesboro, Ark. schoolyard ambush. The suspects are Andrew Golden, 11, and Mitchell Johnson, 13. |  Mitchell Johnson  Andrew Golden |
3-24-1998 -- In Jonesboro, Arkansas five schoolchildren were killed and 10 others were injured when in a shooting ambush in the schoolyard. Police arrested two boys, ages 11 and 13, who reportedly pulled a fire alarm and then opened fire from a nearby field.
3-27-1988 -- Rahshaan Madden, 18, was wounded and then arrested in front of 5th District Police Headquarters , after he allegedly drove into the stationhouse parking lot and began shooting. Though no police officers were harmed it reminded many of the Jason Grossnickle shooting.
3-28-1998 -- University of Dayton soccer player Stacey Martin collapsed and died during an exhibition game. Martin was the second UD athlete in the past two years to die after collapsing. Basketball player Chris Daniels died in 1996.
3-30-1998 -- Wright State University President Harley E. Flack died of cancer at age 55. Flack
3-30-1998 -- The Cincinnati Reds had their worst Opening Day in 36 years, losing to San Diego Padres 10-2. Shortstop Pokey Reese tied a major league Opening Day record by committing four errors in the first three innnings.