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Dana Rosendale succumbed to fatal head injuries incurred while returning home from one of her girls' night outs in 1982. The 19-year-old had just entered the world of motherhood while attending university at Owens Community College in Ohio.
Unfortunately, Dana's life abruptly ended on the night of September 5 when she failed to return home after accepting a lift from the South Side Roxy bouncer, Russell Adkins. The victim's best friend, Roxy Pelow, was with her throughout the night and was dropped off first on their way home. However, Rosendale never made it home.
She was found unconscious later that night and was rushed to the hospital, where she died days after the incident, on September 11, leaving behind her 8-month-old daughter, Brittany Strok, who later grew up to become a critical factor in the investigation of her mother's death. Dana Rosendale's decade-old cold case would have never been reopened in 2013 if it wasn't for her determined daughter.
About four decades later, Dennis Murphy will revisit the unfortunate incident that took away a mother from her newborn daughter. The re-run of the 2020 Dateline episode will be broadcast as part of Oxygen True Crime's Dateline: Unforgettable this Tuesday, July 26, 2022, at 8 pm ET.
Dana Rosendale allegedly died of blunt force trauma to the head
Dana Rosendale's plans for the night of September 5, 1982, with best friend Roxy Pelow, took an unexpected and gruesome turn when the former was discovered unconscious and brutally injured during the early morning hours. Police were notified of the 19-year-old's body found in front of a house on the 1900 block of Tracy Road in Northwood, OH.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital, and her boyfriend, who slept peacefully in their Toledo home along with their newborn daughter, was informed about the incident. On September 11, she died at Mercy St. Charles Hospital after surviving six days on life support.
Dana's sister Deborah Risner spoke of the time at the hospital, saying,
"I watched her body deteriorate for six days. No one should ever have to go through that at the hands of someone else. Not a parent, a sister or a child."
Upon being questioned, Russell Adkins, the club bouncer, told police that he saw Rodendale's body while driving up the road. He later confessed to giving her a lift that night and stated that she fell out of his car, incurring deadly injuries. An autopsy report showed that the cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head which led to her sustaining severe craniocerebral damage.
Brittany Strok, Dana Rosendale's daughter, investigates the decade-old cold case
Dana Rosendale's cause of death remained "undetermined" until 2013, when her daughter, after learning of her mother's 1982 demise, prompted authorities to reopen the cold case, more than three decades after it occurred. Brittany Strok, dissatisfied with the investigation, decided to take matters into her hand.
As Strok grew older, she started digging into her mother's ambiguous death and eventually pulled ahead in an attempt to get authorities to reopen the case. Her mother's body was reportedly exhumed and re-examined upon the daughter's request, which produced new information indicating a possible murder.
Brittany Strok reportedly spoke of her late mother, Dana Rosendale, saying,
"Do I remember her touch? No. Do I remember her scent? No. I have no memories of my mom but from a picture I keep of her on my mantle."
She added,
"I have lived almost my entire life without my mom, so I feel someone who took her life should not be able to live another second being free."
Reports revealed that Dana died after taking three deadly hits to the head. Police reports dating back to 1982 showed that Lucas County Coroner Dr. Harry Mignerey informed the detective that Dana would have incurred deeper injuries had she fallen from a moving car, as originally stated by Adkins.
The synopsis of Dateline: Unforgettable's upcoming episode titled Return to the Lonely Road states:
"Dennis Murphy looks back at the story of a determined young woman whose decades-long search for answers in her mother's mysterious death leads to a dramatic courtroom decision."
As stated above, the episode will air this Tuesday at 8 pm ET.
