They are gone but not forgotten.
Many murders and missing person’s cases in the Akron area remain a mystery years later.
Since 2021, Beacon Journal reporter Stephanie Warsmith and retired reporter Paula Schleis, co-producer of the Ohio Mysteries podcast, have teamed up to shed new light on these cold cases, with the hope of uncovering new leads. The oldest case they’ve featured dates back to 1928.
With each case, both detectives and family members hold out hope that they will one day be solved.
Each Unresolved episode features a story, podcast, photos, police reports and fact boxes.
Here’s a look at the episodes they’ve done so far. Send tips for future episodes to Warsmith at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.
Episode 1: Janice Christensen
In 1987, Janice Christensen of Cuyahoga Falls went for a run on the Summit County Bike and Hike Trail, where she was raped and killed by a man who has never been caught. Now, Hudson police hope a partnership with Ohio’s new Cold Case Unit will identify her killer through DNA found at the crime scene.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 1
Beacon Journal package: Questions remain in 1987 Hudson murder case
Episode 2: Melissa and Jasmine Collins
In 1991, 17-year-old mom Melissa Collins and her 8-month old baby girl, Jasmine, vanished from their West Akron apartment. In the decades since, police have searched a local park and followed leads to other states in search of the pair. And now, 30 years later, women are calling Akron police to ask: Could I be the missing Jasmine?
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 2
Beacon Journal package: An Akron mother and baby disappeared 30 years ago. Will they every be found?
Episode 3: Roderick Clemons
In 1991, 26-year-old Roderick Clemons wanted to ask for a transfer from the Church’s Chicken restaurant in Akron, where he was assistant manager. There were too many shady characters in the Copley Road neighborhood, he told his mom. But Clemons never got the chance to request the change.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 3
Beacon Journal package: Akron police still seek answers in 1991 cold case
Episode 4: Leslie Ann Barker
In 1978, Akron schoolteacher Leslie Ann Barker went to the Red’s discotheque with a friend to participate in a new matchmaking event. That morning, she was found dead in her burning car. To this day, Barker’s colleagues and loved ones wonder what happened to the outgoing young woman who was looking for love but found death instead.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 4.
Beacon Journal package: After 43 years, Akron teacher’s slaying remains a mystery
Episode 5: Jeanette Bartee and Roy Addison
In April 2002, Roy Addison and Jeanette Bartee were both shot and killed, execution-style, in broad daylight. Both struggled with addictions, and detectives suspect they were targeted because of something they did or saw. Family members still hope for answers and think someone may have seen something that could assist the investigation.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 5
Beacon Journal package: Unresolved: Who killed Roy Addison and Jeanette Bartee? Akron case remains a mystery
Episode 6: Phyllis Mosley
In August 1971, Phyllis Mosley was found by her 11-year-old daughter shot to death in her bed. The murder of Mosley, 28, changed the lives of her four children, who struggled with addictions and other demons. Fifty years after Mosley’s slaying, her children hope her death won’t be forgotten even if it’s never solved.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 6. https://ohiomysteries.com/ohio%20mysteries/unresolved-ep-6-phyllis-mosley
Beacon Journal package: ‘The pain of losing her’: Siblings hope for justice 50 years after mother’s unsolved murder
Episode 7: The Patel Family
In October 1991, a mother, father and their 6-year-old daughter were killed, execution- style at their house next to the infamous Steve’s Motel. Sheriff’s deputies initially thought the motive for killing the Patel family, who operated the motel, might have been murder. Deputies now have a different theory — hired hitmen who were famous mobsters were hired by someone with designs on the valuable property in Green.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 7
Beacon Journal package: A hired hit, a flying robber and 3 murders: New details emerge in Steve’s Motel killings
Episode 8: Jeff Sauber
In September 1980, Jeff Sauber, 18, a Marine on his first leave, is fatally stabbed at a drive-in theater in Coventry Township after watching a movie about a vigilante killer. His mother sued the theater, saying her son’s killer might have been incited by the violent flick. Sheriff detectives, though, think the attack may have been prompted by a racial exchange. Detectives have a suspect but, so far, not enough evidence to charge him.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 8
Beacon Journal package: A vigilante film, hypnosis and a racial slur: Could new clues solve 1980 drive-in slaying?
Episode 9: JoAnn Bartholomew
In October 1987, JoAnn Bartholomew, a Stow wife, mother and business owner, was found stabbed to death in the woods near Chapel Hill Mall in Akron. She was one of four women slain in Summit County that year, leading to concern that this could be the work of a serial killer. Detectives, though, quickly concluded the cases weren’t linked. All but one of the cases, including Bartholomew’s, remain unsolved.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 9
Beacon Journal package Stow woman’s stabbing death near Chapel Hill Mall remains a mystery after 34 years
Episode 10: DeShawn Brown
In March 2004, DeShawn Brown, a North High and University of Akron star running back, was found dead in his Akron apartment, shot through a glass window on his door. His family members are still hoping to find out who killed him. Detectives, though, say this will be challenging because of a lack of evidence.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 10
Beacon Journal package: ‘We want to know why’: Family seeks answers in 2004 fatal shooting of Akron football star
Episode 11 (Part 1): Ruth Guthrie and Tommy Sumerix
In the summer of 1963, two Summit County youths disappeared within a week of each other. The vanishings of Tommy Sumerix, 15, and Ruth Guthrie, 12, so close together prompted some to worry about whether someone might be kidnapping local children. Months passed with no answers. Then, in May of 1964, a farm owner in Portage County and mushroom hunters in Stark County made sad discoveries.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 11, Part 1
Beacon Journal package: Families left with ‘What ifs?’ when two Summit County youths disappear nearly 60 years ago
Episode 11 (Part 2): Ruth Guthrie and Tommy Sumerix
The remains of two Summit County youths who went missing within a week of each other are found a year later in separate parts of the county. Nearly 60 years later, detectives and family members haven’t given up hope that they’ll discover who was responsible for the slayings of Ruth Guthrie and Tommy Sumerix. Modern-day investigators wonder if the two deaths could be connected, a link their predecessors dismissed, despite their many similarities.
Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 11, Part 2
Beacon Journal package: ‘I always have hope’: Sister of missing teen found murdered in 1964 still seeks justice
Episode 12: Charles Wright
Charles Wright was shot and killed in May 2004 while sitting in the driveway of his Akron home, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. The postal worker had just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. Detectives wonder if the killer may have intended to rob Wright — for money or drugs they thought he had — but panicked when they realized he was on the phone. Detectives and family members still hope that his killer may still be caught.
Podcast:
Ep. 13: Sam Hughes
Sam Hughes, 31, was found beaten to death in his Akron home on Dec. 12, 2006. His mother and brother think his death may have been tied to him using and selling drugs. Despite his drug use, they say he didn’t deserve the violent end to his life. Both them and Akron detectives haven’t given up hope that his murder can be solved. In fact, detectives think they may have already talked to his killer.
Podcast:
Ep. 14: Melvin Horst
Melvin Horst, 4, disappeared on Dec. 27, 1928, while playing with friends in Orrville. They went home for supper but he never did. Some people think he may have been targeted by boot leggers because his uncle was the town marshal. Others think Melvin may have lived a long life someplace else, never knowing his true identity. An Orrville detective has been giving this case, thought to be the oldest missing person’s case in Ohio, a fresh look.
Podcast:
Ep. 15: Mary Yocono
Mary Yocono was struck in a hit-and-run crash in November 1985 while walking home from a friend’s across the street from her family’s Italian restaurant in West Akron. The 79-year-old grandmother perished and the driver of the car that struck her was never identified. Akron detectives, who no longer have a file on the case, don’t hold out much hope. But the family, who operated the popular Yocono’s restaurant for nearly 30 years, would still love for this mystery to be solved.
Podcast:
Ep. 16: Javan and Markus Rogers
Akron brothers Javan and Markus Rogers were shot and killed within months of each other in 2002. Years later, both murders remain unsolved. Detectives say they aren’t sure if the slayings are linked, though they think both cases are tied to drugs. To solve either or both, detectives say, they’ll need someone to come forward with information.
Podcast:
Episode 17: Greg Peters
Greg Peters, an employee at the Odd Corner near the University of Akron campus, was killed on the night before Thanksgiving in 2003. A man wearing a bandana and carrying a gun entered the store, presumably to rob it, then shot Peters without taking anything and ran. Friends and family of Peters still hope his killer will be caught.
Podcast:
Episode 18: Alex Wells
Alex Wells was ambushed in the driveway of his West Akron home on Christmas night in 2011 by two men wearing black clothing and ski masks. Both had guns and ordered Wells and his girlfriend to get down on the ground. Although his girlfriend was able to get away, Wells was fatally shot 10 times. Were drugs a motive? His family and detectives still hope for answers.
Episode 19: Tyler Anderson
Tyler Anderson, 17, was shot and killed in 2012, with his body dumped in a driveway. Akron detectives say there is no mystery. They know who shot and killed Tyler and dumped his body in the driveway of a Kenmore home about a mile from his house. They just don’t have that final piece of evidence they need to charge them.
Episode 20: Fred Hale
Fred Hale, who was known as the “millionaire deputy,” was shot and killed while getting out of his car in the garage of his Fairlawn townhome on Nov. 30, 1974. The case remains Fairlawn’s only unsolved homicide. Investigators say the case could still be solved if anyone with new information came forward.
Ep. 21: Robert Mirman
Robert “Bob” Mirman, was brutally stabbed to death in January 1981 inside his Akron grocery store in a robbery attempt. After more than four decades, police and family members still hope the case can be solved. Police think the killer may have been a young person from the neighborhood, accompanied by one or two others. To solve the case, though, they say someone will need to come forward with new information.
Ep. 22: Taylor Robinson
Taylor Robinson, 19, disappeared in May 2013 from the Akron home where she was working as a health care aide. Four months later, her skeletal remains were found in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Her family members haven’t given up hope that her killer or killers will be brought to justice. A retired Akron detective says there’s one person who knows what happened and could crack the case.
Ep. 23: Carol Zastudil
Carol Ann Zastudil, 36, was found stabbed to death in her Perry Township home in December 1983 by her husband and son. Police weren’t able to figure out who was responsible for her brutal murder. Eric Hoffman, Carol’s son, still hopes for justice for his mother and lays flowers on her grave each week. Detectives say someone with information about the slaying would need to come forward for the case to finally be resolved.
Ep. 24: Mel Wiley
Mel Wiley, the police chief in Hinckley in Medina County, disappeared in July 1985. His car was found at Edgewater Park on the Lake Erie shore in Cleveland where he told his girlfriend he planned to go swimming with a friend. Investigators thought Wiley, 47, might have drowned. But, when his body wasn’t found, other theories emerged. After 40 years, many still wonder: What happened to Wiley?
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Unresolved: Looking back at unsolved cold case murders from the Akron area and beyond
Reporting by Chad Murphy, Akron Beacon Journal / Record-Courier
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