There is an unspeakable void when someone loses a loved one to a homicide.
In Franklin County alone, there are 720 cases that remain unsolved, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
For families of the victims, they have waited years and sometimes decades for answers. Yet some of these families will never see justice.
This month, CrimeTracker 10 dives into cases that investigators say could be easily solved. Our reporters sit down with detectives and family members in the hopes of uncovering the mystery and answers that will lead police to the killers on the run.
Vicki was a beloved Circleville school teacher who was reported missing on August 14, 1980. Her body was found a month later in a corn field in Madison County. Could a possible serial killer be involved?
Amy was 20 years old when her body was-found naked, loosely bound and murdered inside her Lincoln Village apartment in West Columbus on March 9, 1992. There was a medallion wrapped around her hands. DNA was found on the scene and tested. But that was decades ago. Today, could familial or genealogical DNA help solve this case? You’ll hear from her sister for the first time.
The murders of Lynn Vest and her 2 year-old nephew, Jeremy Pickens, are two of the 600 unsolved slayings in the capital city of Columbus. The Columbus Division of Police Cold Case Unit says she was found strangled on November 12, 1980. The child had been suffocated. Now, Lynn’s father, who is a retired police officer, is pushing for new DNA technology to solve this family’s nightmare.
Jennifer Cooke’s body was found in her apartment in Grandview Heights in 2013. Six years later, police announced a $20,000 reward leading for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed her. But many people remain puzzled as to who would want to kill the 35-year old woman, who died from multiple stab wounds. For the first time, her mother makes an emotional plea to the killer.
