MARIETTA, Ohio — Randy Joe Slider's life began its downward spiral shortly after his mom's death from cancer when he was 15.

Alcoholism, drug abuse, violence toward women he picked up in bars and 15 drunk-driving arrests kept this sexual predator in and out of trouble and prison for the past 21 years, according to police, court records and interviews.

Slider

The 40-year-old was arrested this week in Monroe after police say he kidnapped and robbed two women, raping one of them.

“It seems in 20 years he should be responsible for his own actions and face his troubles,” said Chief Detective Jeff Seevers with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. “He shouldn't blame alcohol or drugs. He should blame Randy.”

Police investigators in Mr. Slider's hometown of Marietta said Thursday they consider him a serial rapist and alcoholic who is dangerous when he drinks. It was only a matter of time before the career criminal struck again, police said. He has had run-ins with the law since he was 19 and didn't stay out of trouble very long after leaving a Mount Auburn drug and alcohol treatment home in August following his 2001 prison release.

Detective Seevers was two years ahead of Mr. Slider in school in Marietta, population 15,026. The detective recalled Mr. Slider's downfall Thursday, saying it began with the death of his mother. His father died soon after.

Mr. Slider has an older brother who lives in the Marietta area who did not respond to an interview request Thursday. His attorney and parole officer did not return calls for comment.

Mr. Slider attended the ninth and 10th grades at Marietta High School, then went to a vocational school, Washington Career Center, where he graduated in 1980, Marietta school officials said Thursday.

He bagged groceries and then worked as a clerk at a lumber store, police said, but ran afoul of the law often, according to Washington County Jail records. He was booked into the jail 20 times between 1981 and 1993, 14 of which were for driving under the influence, records show. He was found not guilty of one of the DUI charges, but the rest stuck.

“The drinking has always been trouble for him,” Detective Seevers said.

Throughout the DUI arrests, his driver's license was suspended four times for short periods, and then was suspended for three years in 1985, according to his arrest record. In all, he served a total of 672 days — just less than two years — in the county jail.

By 1989, his criminal record took an even more dangerous turn when he stood trial on five counts of rape. He was accused of raping a woman he knew five separate times in the same episode in his vehicle, Detective Seevers said.

A Washington County jury, however, acquitted him in May 1990, frustrating detectives because, in light of all the publicity on the case, seven other women came forward and accused him of raping them. But the women feared pressing charges, Detective Seevers said, so nothing came of the accusations.

Two years later, on April 22, 1992, Mr. Slider was the last person seen with April D. Sparks, 19, of Marietta, as the two left a Parkersburg, W.Va., tavern, the Wheel Club, between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.

Detectives turned up few leads, and Mr. Slider denied involvement in her disappearance.

On Dec. 19, 1994, hunters stumbled upon Ms. Sparks' remains in a wooded area in Noble County, Ohio, Sheriff Landon T. Smith said Thursday. The cause of her death has never been determined

Police said Mr. Slider remains the main suspect in her death, despite his steadfast denials and insistence that he barely knew her.

But Ms. Sparks' grandmother and aunt are hoping for peace and justice now that he is behind bars again. Though his involvement has never been proven, they are convinced he is the one who killed the blond, hazel-eyed waitress known for her kind and helpful ways.

“We hoped and prayed she would come home, but she came home the wrong way,” said Juanita Sparks, who raised her granddaughter. “Cutting off his toes and torturing him would be good for us. Maybe he would learn then to leave all these beautiful girls alone. He deserves the death penalty or something.”

Shortly after Ms. Sparks' remains were discovered, Mr. Slider was convicted in 1993 of felonious assault and gross sexual imposition in Washington County. A 24-year-old Marietta woman who gave him a ride home from the Waterfront Lounge in Williamstown accused him of trying to rape her, records show. He beat her, but she overpowered him and escaped, Detective Seevers said.

After serving eight years of his 11-to-20-year prison sentence, Mr. Slider was released from Chillicothe Correctional Institution April 2, 2001. No relatives or friends in Marietta would take in Mr. Slider after his release, but, under his parole, he had to stay in an established residence, Detective Seevers said.

So he reluctantly came to Cincinnati and registered as a sexual predator with the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office. A bed was secured for him at Gateway House on Vine Street in Mount Auburn. The transitional house for men in alcohol and other drug recovery requires them to work full time and attend regular counseling. They must stay at least 90 days, though they can remain longer, according to John Convoy, the home's director.

After staying 16 months, Mr. Slider left Gateway in early August. He moved to a double-wide trailer in Moscow and registered as a sexual predator with the Clermont County Sheriff's Office by Aug. 14, records show.

He got a job as a stocker at a Tristate warehouse. And for about a month and a half, all was quiet. Then, late Sept. 27, he was arrested in New Richmond on DUI and several other traffic charges. Because it was his first DUI arrest in at least six years, he received a summons to court and was released.

But Mr. Slider told police he knew it was likely he would return to prison for violating his parole.

“That's when he went crazy. He tried to feed his fantasy before he went back,” Detective Seevers said. “He told me he knew he was going (to go) back and do a year.”

He allegedly kidnapped and robbed two women within three days, holding them at knifepoint and raping one of them, police said.

He was caught late Tuesday after leading police on a chase through Butler County and is being held on $3 million bond. He faces two counts of aggravated robbery and kidnapping and one count of rape.

“Now he should be locked up for quite a while,” Detective Seevers said.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.

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