According to Oxygen, a witness told police she had seen Mintiks get into an elevator with a man in “workman clothes.” The man was later identified as 21-year-old stagehand Craig S. Crimmins. Mintiks had apparently asked Crimmins where he could find a Russian dancer she was interested in meeting. The man had told her the dancer was on the fourth floor. However, Classic FM writes that this was a blatant lie as the dancers were on the ground level. Authorities ultimately believe he had lied to get her alone. When interviewed by the police, Crimmins confessed to killing Mintik.
It was later discovered that he had been missing at the same time as Minktik. Further damming him was his palm print, which matched the one on the pipe near Mintik’s body. Per Inside Edition, Crimmins told investigators he “made a pass” at her. When Mintik turned him down, he became enraged and attempted to rape her. Though she fought him off, Crimmins would tie and gag her before throwing her down the shaft.
Later dubbed as the “Phantom of the Opera” murder, Crimmins would be sentenced to 20 years to life for the crime. Although he has continued to apply for parole every two years since 2001, he has been denied each time. Crimmins’ lawyer has said that he doubts “this would happen again” because prison has made him a “different person.”
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