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Ella Rich

Fiancee of Frank Yassenoff, shot to death alongside him in unsolved double homicide connected to the Kessler-Wexner network.

Ella Rich

FieldDetails
Full NameElla Rich
DiedMarch 23, 1970
Location of DeathColumbus, Ohio, USA
Cause of DeathShot to death
Official RulingUnsolved homicide
CategoryBusiness Associate / Kessler-Wexner Network

Assessment: SUSPICIOUS​

Rich was killed alongside her fiance Frank Yassenoff, a business partner of Berry Kessler. Kessler was suspected but never charged. The double murder is part of a pattern of deaths around Kessler and the Columbus financial network connected to Les Wexner, which later enabled Epstein's rise to power.

Circumstances of Death​

Ella Rich was found shot to death alongside her fiance Frank Yassenoff in Columbus, Ohio on March 23, 1970. The case remains unsolved.

Connection to the Epstein Network​

Rich was connected to the Epstein network through her fiance Yassenoff and his business partner Berry Kessler. Kessler was the prime suspect in the 1985 murder of Arthur Shapiro — the killing that created the opening for Epstein to take over Les Wexner's finances — and was later convicted of the 1991 murder-for-hire of John Deroo.

Key Quotes from Media Coverage​

"Kessler, Shapiro, and Yassenoff had all been 'connected through a maze of business dealings.'"

— Columbus Dispatch, as quoted by Whitney Webb in Unlimited Hangout (August 2021)

"A year after the Brittany Builders case, Columbus police claimed that Yassenoff and Rich were killed during a robbery, a claim they had not made at the time of the victims' deaths."

— Whitney Webb, Unlimited Hangout (August 2021)

"You have attempted to portray yourself as a kindly.. senior citizen. The reality is that you, in a most cold and calculated fashion, plotted and carried out a contract-style murder of a man who thought you were his friend. You are, in fact, a clever, cunning and merciless killer."

— Judge William Webb, sentencing Berry Kessler for the murder-for-hire of John Deroo (February 1997)

  • Wexner / L Brands — Columbus death pattern

See Also​

Other Shocking Stories​

  • Mona Juul: Norwegian ambassador. Reportedly named in Epstein's will. Resigned. Reportedly under investigation.
  • Terrence McAvoy: NYPD sergeant. Allegedly viewed the Weiner laptop evidence. Suicide. Five officers now dead.
  • Arthur Shapiro: Gunned down weeks before IRS questioning. His killer's partner had FBI links to Epstein's network.
  • Brice and Karen Gordon: Managed Epstein's New Mexico ranch for 20 years. Both vanished after Maxwell's arrest. Never found.

Sources​

This information was built by Grok and Claude AI research.

Status: Deceased (1970)

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