Oakland County Child Killer Case Re-Emerges as Victim's Mother Sues for Information

The mother of a Berkley girl slain in 1977 – one of four children killed during a 13-month period in the 1970s – wants the Justice Department to investigate the unsolved Oakland County child killer case.

Another of the victims, 12-year-old Mark Stebbins, was from Ferndale. He was last seen leaving an American Legion Hall on the Sunday afternoon of Feb. 15, 1976, when he told his mother he was going to watch TV. His body was found four days later.

Deborah Jarvis' daughter Kristine Mihelich was 10 years old when she was taken Jan. 2, 1977, near a 7-Eleven in Berkley. Her body was found 19 days later.

Jarvis filed a lawsuit this week in U.S. District Court in Detroit seeking $100 million in damages, claiming the Oakland County prosecutor, sheriff's department and Michigan State Police have withheld information about the case.

The other two victims in the child killing case were:

• Jill Robinson, 12, abducted Dec. 22, 1976, in Royal Oak
• Timothy King, 11, kidnapped March 16, 1977, near a Birmingham drugstore.

Jarvis' attorney, Paul Hughes, held a news conference Tuesday claiming a mysterious informant named "Bob" believes someone in law enforcement is – or was – the Oakland County Child Killer and may be responsible for eight or more additional slayings, the Free Press reports.

Sheriff Michael Bouchard tells the Detroit Free Press the Justice Department has been involved in the investigation for years, while Prosecutor Jessica Cooper dismissed the claims as groundless. State Police won't comment on pending litigation, The Detroit News reports.

Cooper and Bouchard said Hughes is trying to exploit the families of the victims, including Jarvis. They said they cannot share information from an ongoing investigation without compromising the case, the Free Press reports.