June 15, 1993

Jonathan Port, 50, was sentenced to life in prison June 15, 1993, in Warren Circuit Court for the murder of William Ratliff of Smiths Grove. Mr. Ratliff was killed Jan. 17, 1992, at Stel’s Diner in Smiths Grove when Port fired into a group of people drinking coffee inside the diner, mortally wounding Ratliff.

Port, who had been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, had previously attacked people on several other occasions that led to short prison stays.

– “Way Back When in Warren County” is compiled by researchers at the Warren County Public Library and appears twice weekly in the Bowling Green Daily News. For more information about the library, visit warrenpl.org.