Katharina Buczek
Investigators followed up on leads from across the country over the years, spanning from Washington D.C. to Honolulu, Hawaii.
The baffling cold case was finally solved this past week, when “United States Marshals from Cleveland, Ohio traveled to Boston, Massachusetts and positively identified Thomas Randele of Lynnfield, Massachusetts as the fictitious name of Theodore J. Conrad.”
Conrad had been living in the suburbs of Boston since 1970. “Ironically, he moved to Boston near the location of where the original Thomas Crown Affair movie was filmed,” the press release added.
Investigators were able to verify documents that Conrad filled out in the 1960s against documents that Randele filled out.
“Randele,” aka Conrad, passed away of lung cancer in May of 2021. He would have been seventy-one years old.
Peter J. Elliott, a United States Marshal for Northern Ohio, had a personal connection to this case.
“My father, John K. Elliott, was a dedicated career Deputy United States Marshal in Cleveland. He took an interest in this case early… and never stopped searching for Conrad. He always wanted closure up until his death in 2020,” Elliot said.
“I hope my father is resting a little easier today knowing his investigation brought closure to this decades-long mystery.”
In Thomas Randel’s obituary, he is said to have maintained a successful career in automotive sales for nearly forty years.
In addition, he is recalled as an “excellent cook who loved watching any and all cooking shows.” He also had a wife, Kathy (Mahan) Randele, and a daughter, Ashley Randele.
Despite Conrad’s alias and unsuspecting fictitious life, he left behind a real circle of family and friends following his passing.
