Serial Killers in Michigan: Oakland County Child Killer Cold Case
Fifty years after the first Oakland County Child Killer murder, four Michigan families are still waiting for answers. Imagine fifty years of wondering who killed your child.
Four Young Victims in Oakland County, Michigan
Between February 1976 and March 1977, four children were abducted and murdered: Mark Stebbins, 12; Jill Robinson, 12; Kristine Mihelich, 10; and Timothy King, 11. According to Fox 2, their disappearances happened in Ferndale, Royal Oak, Berkley, and Birmingham.
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In what I can only imagine was a prolonged nightmare, these children were held for days before being killed. Parents tightened rules. Neighborhood freedom became non-existent. As a dad, I can understand why: how do you let your child out of sight when nobody knows who's taking them? It could have been anyone.
A Michigan Murder Investigation Across City Lines
More than 16,000 tips reached investigators. A 1978 report by the Office of Justice Programs describes how the Michigan investigation helped develop a system for police agencies to pool resources across jurisdictions.
According to reports, investigators examined suspects with possible connections to a child sexual-abuse operation on North Fox Island, hundreds of miles away. Those leads never produced a murder conviction.
Oakland County Child Killer Suspects and Vehicle Leads
Investigators focused on several persons of interest and suspects over the years, including Christopher Busch, Ted Lamborgine, and Arch Sloan. Busch died in 1978.
According to a report from WXYZ, Sloan gave detectives new information before he died in June 2026. Hairs found in Sloan's 1966 Pontiac Bonneville shared a mitochondrial DNA profile with hairs found on Mark and Timothy. Prosecutors said the hairs weren't Sloan's.
A 1977 witness description included a white man, roughly 25 to 35, with shaggy brown hair, muttonchop sideburns, and a husky build. Police records point toward a blue or dark Pontiac LeMans or Tempest being involved in the case, including a LeMans sighting with damage near the left rear taillight.
Anyone who remembers a person, a car, or a conversation from that time can contact Michigan State Police at 1-855-MICH-TIP (642-4747) or use the online cold-case tip form.
Newer efforts include digitizing decades of case files, reexamining evidence with newer DNA methods, and exploring AI-assisted analysis of the massive case record. To date, nobody has been charged in the four killings.
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I keep coming back to four names: Mark, Jill, Kristine, and Timothy. Their families deserve answers, however long it takes.
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Gallery Credit: Scott Clow
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