For nearly 40 years, the clues sat in silence.
Some were left in an Ohio hotel room where John Warren, a 44-year-old auto parts salesman, was found dead in October 1985. Others turned up hundreds of miles away: his Oldsmobile abandoned on Florida’s Gulf Coast, and a scattering of belongings discarded behind a Cracker Barrel in northwest Georgia.
The pieces were never quite enough to arrest anyone. Detectives chased leads, interviewed witnesses and watched the case grow cold.
Now, investigators in Warren County, Ohio, have identified two men they believe were responsible for Mr. Warren’s killing, based on what they called a renewed forensic analysis.
One of them, Randy McAllister, 62, of Columbus, was indicted in June on charges of aggravated murder and murder.
The second suspect has since died, the authorities said. They have not publicly identified this person, or said why they are withholding the person’s name. They also have not disclosed any specific evidence they believe ties either suspect to the killing.
Mr. Warren checked into a Holiday Inn in Middletown, near Interstate 75, on Oct. 16, 1985. He was found dead the following day. The authorities have not publicly described how he was killed or whether they believe he knew either suspect.
His 1985 Oldsmobile was later recovered in Redington Beach, Fla., with some personal belongings missing, according to prosecutors.
Days after the killing, police officers in Dalton, Ga., discovered some of Mr. Warren’s possessions, along with other evidence investigators considered significant, discarded behind a Cracker Barrel restaurant. Even with those discoveries, the case remained unsolved for decades.
“‘Cold case’ investigations are ‘cold’ for a reason,” David P. Fornshell, Warren County’s prosecuting attorney, said in a social media post on Monday. “Many times there is some evidence that points to a suspect, but just not enough evidence to move forward.”
In 2019, detectives reopened the investigation and submitted evidence collected from the Ohio, Florida and Georgia scenes for renewed forensic analysis. The authorities have not explained how they believe the evidence recovered in those states fits together. But the prosecutor’s office said in its statement that the crime lab results ultimately led them to Mr. McAllister and the other suspect.
The authorities did not say whether the breakthrough involved the men’s DNA or forensic genetic genealogy, techniques that have helped investigators solve many cold cases in recent years.
Sheelagh McNeill contributed research.