COLUMBUS, Ohio—An Ohio man serving a life sentence for the shooting deaths of 11 family members, including eight children, on Easter in 1975 has died.
James Ruppert, 88, died Saturday at the prison system’s Franklin Medical Center in Columbus. The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction announced his death Monday, saying that Ruppert apparently died of natural causes but that the official cause of death is pending.
At the time of the shootings, Ruppert lived with his mother at her home in Hamilton. He reportedly struggled with alcohol and was unemployed.
Ruppert’s brother, sister-in-law, and their eight children were visiting for the holiday when his brother asked him about his car, a remark Ruppert took as an insult because he thought his brother—a successful engineer—was judging him….