Plot to kill Gahanna teen’s parents went awry, police say/Grace Dillman, left, and her boyfriend, Robert A. Best, initially stood for 15 minutes over the bed where Dillman’s parents slept, police said.

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Plot to kill Gahanna teen’s parents went awry, police say

By Theodore Decker
The Columbus Dispatch Friday June 15, 2012 6:07 AM


Grace Dillman, left, and her boyfriend, Robert A. Best, initially stood for 15 minutes over the bed where Dillman’s parents slept, police said.

A Gahanna teenager and her boyfriend plotted for a month to murder her parents so they could carry on their illicit relationship, police said yesterday.

Although Robert A. Best ended up using a knife from the kitchen, the 20-year-old had brought a straight razor with him early Wednesday to the Gahanna home of his 16-year-old girlfriend, Grace Dillman, police said.

Police said the pair planned to slit the throats of Trace and Alan E. Dillman as they slept and stage the scene to look like a home invasion committed by strangers.

The new information in the stabbing attack on Mr. Dillman, 49, was released in Franklin County Municipal Court, where Best made his initial appearance on charges of attempted aggravated murder, attempted murder and felonious assault. Bail was set at $500,000, and he was ordered held in the county jail.

Grace Dillman waived her appearance in Juvenile Court on a delinquency count of attempted aggravated murder. She is next due in court later this month.

Mr. Dillman remained in Grant Medical Center, where he is recovering from stab wounds inflicted during the struggle in his house at 511 Hamilton Court. Mrs. Dillman, 47, was not injured.

Brian Hoyt, Gahanna public-information manager, said police have learned more about the plot and how it fell apart.

Police said that Best and Grace Dillman met on the Internet, possibly as early as October 2009. Grace Dillman was a student at Veritas Academy, a Christian school in Worthington.

Her parents did not approve of their daughter’s relationship and had called police last fall to see whether any crime had occurred. Police investigated but did not find evidence to arrest Best.

Hoyt said the murder plot was motivated by the young couple’s desire to keep their relationship going. He outlined the following scenario:

Grace Dillman left a door unlocked and disarmed the home’s alarm system to allow Best inside. He arrived at 3 a.m.

Grace Dillman and Best went into her parents’ bedroom, where they stood over the bed for about 15 minutes without doing anything.

“This is where they got cold feet,” Hoyt said.

They retreated to Grace’s bedroom for about 40 minutes, then returned. Best stood there for about five more minutes while Grace Dillman carried a flashlight and urged him to act before her parents woke up.

Best left the room again to get a knife from the kitchen because he thought he needed a larger weapon. He also grabbed a blanket he intended to use to keep blood from spraying too much, Hoyt said.

At some point, the blanket brushed Mr. Dillman, awakening him, which led to the struggle in which Best stabbed the older man in the back.

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Why do kids think it's ok to kill anyone who stands in their way to satisfy their desires?

I'll tell you, I'm helping to raise my 2-yr old grandtwins and I think the answer to that question is simple: These kids have never outgrown the "terrible twos". Or maybe I should have said, their parents never told them "no"...

At age two, kids want to see how far they can push their weight around. If they are successful at bullying their parents, they will learn to use bullying as a means to their desired end result.

I know my opinions are strong and probably will offend some, but to me it is clear - Spare the rod, spoil the child. The result is a child who never learns to respect others and who becomes the narcissistic sociopath we read about on a daily basis.

God help us.

P.S. I live just minutes from Gahanna...

I know my opinions are strong and probably will offend some, but to me it is clear - Spare the rod, spoil the child. The result is a child who never learns to respect others and who becomes the narcissistic sociopath we read about on a daily basis.

Strong, yes. Correct, definitely!

Lilone,

You did not offend me at all. I do not understand all of this craziness in this world today. I would have never thought of killing my parents whether I liked or disliked their decisions. I agree with you that parents just will not say no to their children today. They just keep giving and giving them everything they want. It is not all kids today that do not have respect for their parents or authority today. There are still many out there that show respect to strangers on the street and I make sure to let them know that they are appreciated.