Easter Sunday Brings Dark Memories to Hamilton
April 16, 2022 at 6:00 a.m.
Easter Sunday in 1975 started as a typical March day in Hamilton, but by 4 pm, 40-year-old James Ruppert brutally murdered 11 family members including 8 young children at 635 Minor Avenue. Ruppert shot the 11 victims a total of 35 times, including the youngest victim who was only four years old. The entire massacre took place in less than five minutes and ended with James Ruppert calling the police and waiting calmly for them to arrive for his arrest. Former Butler County Prosecutor John Holcomb described the scene as one of the most brutal he had ever seen.
Leonard Ruppert Jr., Alma Ruppert, and their 8 children.
Ruppert’s trial ultimately ended with Ruppert being charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of his mother Charity and his brother Leonard, and not guilty by reason of insanity for the murders of his sister in law Alma along with his nieces and nephews Leonard III, Michael, Thomas, Carol, Ann, David, Teresa, and John. All victims were buried at Arlington Memorial Gardens in Cincinnati after their funerals at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Ruppert is currently serving his two life sentences at Franklin Medical Center in Columbus.
Ruppert has had multiple parole hearings, with the next one scheduled for February of 2025 when Ruppert will be 90. According to American Hauntings, “what happened that afternoon – March 30, 1975 – went down in history as the deadliest shooting to ever occur in a private home in American history”.
