5 things to know about Brittany Stork's mother Dana Rosendale's case

Brittany Stork & Dana Rosendale (Image via Brittany Rosendale Stork/Facebook)

Brittany Stork was only eight months old when her mother Dana Rosendale died. When her dance teacher at school inquired about Stork's mother's death, she returned home teary-eyed. Stork had no idea what her teacher was talking about. She returned home to find out the shocking news. The latter had always assumed her grandmother was her mother, unaware that her birth mother had died from fatal head injuries sustained while returning home from a girls' night out in 1982.

Dennis Murphy, from NBC's true crime series Dateline: Unforgettable, looked into the story of Brittany Stork, who spent more than three decades investigating what had really happened to her mother. The case, which remained unsolved for years, was reopened, and the death was determined to be a homicide. Russell Adkins, a South Side Roxy bouncer who had offered Rosendale and her best friend, Roxy Pellow, a ride, was the murderer.

The synopsis for the episode, set to air on July 26, 2022, reads:

"Brittany Stork was just a baby when her 19 year old mother, Dana, died in a mysterious accident. As she gets older she wonders if her family is hiding something from her."

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Here are 5 facts about the Dana Rosendale murder case

1) Adkins initially told the police that he found Rosendale lying unconscious

Dana Rosendale, 19, went out with her best friend, Roxy Pelow, on September 5th, 1982, at South Side Roxy, which was located near Byrne and Hill. Because it was late at night, club bouncer Russell Adkins offered to drive the two friends home. Although Pelow was dropped off safely, Rosendale never made it home.

The same bouncer was said to have knocked on the door of a neighbour in the middle of the night to inform them that Rosendale was unconscious. When the cops arrived, Adkins told them he found her unconscious in the middle of the street.

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2) Rosendale died due to craniocerebral injuries

Dana Rosendale died six days after the incident, on September 11th. Doctors conducting an autopsy on her body determined that she died as a result of craniocerebral injuries. However, it was not clear how she sustained those injuries.

Russell Adkins, who initially stated that he discovered Rosendale unconscious on the street, later admitted that she was a passenger in his car that night and that her injuries could have been caused by her falling out of the car. He said that the car's latch was loose.

Adkins' claims, however, were inconsistent with the type of injuries Rosendale had sustained.

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3) Rosendale's body was exhumed more than 30 years later

The inconsistencies in the case prompted Dana Rosendale's daughter, Brittany Stork, to force the investigators to reopen the case. When a second autopsy was performed after exhuming the body in 2013, it was determined that Rosendale had died due to homicide. Her death was due to three blows to her head.

The investigators' obvious suspect was club bouncer Russell Adkins.

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4) Russell was given maximum sentence

Russell was arrested on February 19th, 2015 and was called in for questioning. During the trial, he failed to explain how Dana Rosendale had sustained those injuries.

On July 18th, 2016, Russell, who was in his 50s by then, was sentenced to maximum prison with eligibility for parole after only 15 years.

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5) Sixth District Court of Appeals overturned Russell's conviction

The 6th District Court of Appeals overturned Russell's conviction in 2018, citing that there had been no fair trial.

After the decision, Adkins stated:

"Waiting to hear that for 3 years and they say that you're going to be leaving, we can't say when but you're going to be leaving."

However, later that year, the Ohio Supreme Court denied his appeal, and his 2016 conviction in the Dana Rosendale murder case stood.