True crime in Ohio, United States: 38 case files, mapped

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Credit: English WikipediaEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListen
Delta, Fulton County, Ohio · 2016
Murder of Sierah Joughin
Sierah Joughin, a 20-year-old Ohio college student, was abducted while bicycling home in Fulton County on July 19, 2016, and found dead three days later. James Dean Worley, a neighbor with a 1990 abduction conviction who was not listed in any offender database, was convicted of her murder in 2018 and sentenced to death, prompting Ohio's Sierah's Law, which created a searchable violent-offender registry.
9 to watch & hear
Credit: FBIPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListen
South Campus Gateway complex, High Street, Columbus, Ohio · 2006
Disappearance of Brian Shaffer
Brian Shaffer, a 27-year-old Ohio State medical student, vanished after a night of bar-hopping in Columbus, Ohio in the early hours of April 1, 2006. Security footage showed him talking to two women outside a bar just before 2 a.m., but no camera recorded him leaving the building, and he has never been found.
5 to watch & hear
SOLVEDListen
Strongsville, Ohio · 2022
Murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan
Mackenzie Shirilla, then 17, intentionally crashed her car into a building in Strongsville, Ohio, on July 31, 2022, killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19. A judge convicted her of murder in 2023 after a bench trial, and she was sentenced to two concurrent life terms with parole eligibility after 15 years; her appeals have since been denied.
2 to watch & hear
Credit: gargantuenCC BY-SA 2.0SourceUNSOLVEDListen
Kingsbury Run, Cleveland, Ohio · 1930s
Cleveland Torso Murders
Between 1935 and 1938, at least twelve people were killed and dismembered in Cleveland, Ohio, with remains left in the Kingsbury Run area; the case remains unsolved despite an investigation once led by Eliot Ness.
1 thing to watch or hear
SOLVEDListen
Akron, Ohio · 2022
Killing of Jayland Walker
Jayland Walker, a 25-year-old Akron, Ohio resident, was fatally shot by police on June 27, 2022, after a car chase and brief foot pursuit in which eight officers fired approximately 90 rounds, striking him at least 46 times. A grand jury declined to charge any officers, and the city later settled with his family for $4.85 million.
1 thing to watch or hear
Credit: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/miami-county-sheriff-office-release-new-detail…Editorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListen
Greenlee Road, Newton Township, Troy, Ohio · 1981
Death of Marcia King
A 21-year-old Arkansas woman was found murdered beside a road in Troy, Ohio, in April 1981 and remained unidentified for almost 37 years until DNA analysis and genetic genealogy identified her as Marcia Lenore King in 2018. Her killing remains unsolved.
1 thing to watch or hear
SOLVEDListen
New Franklin, Ohio · 2012
Murder of Ashley Biggs
A U.S. Army veteran and pizza delivery driver was lured to a vacant Ohio parking lot and killed in 2012 by her ex-boyfriend and his then-wife amid a custody dispute over her daughter.
1 thing to watch or hear
OVERTURNEDListen
Akron, Ohio, United States · 2020
Killing of Brenda Powell
Brenda Powell was killed in her Akron home in 2020; her daughter's murder conviction was reversed on appeal, and further state review remains pending.
1 thing to watch or hear
Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSourceSOLVEDListen
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio · 1970
Kent State shootings
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guard soldiers fired about 67 rounds in 13 seconds at unarmed Kent State University students protesting the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine, one permanently.
Credit: Becker1999CC BY 2.0SourceSOLVEDListen
Oregon Historic District, Dayton, Ohio · 2019
2019 Dayton shooting
On August 4, 2019, a 24-year-old gunman shot and killed nine people, including his brother, and wounded 17 others near the Ned Peppers Bar in Dayton, Ohio's Oregon Historic District before being fatally shot by responding police officers 32 seconds after he opened fire.

About these files

Case files in Ohio

The files run from 1782 to 2022. The 2010s hold the most, with 13 files. The oldest is 1933 Cleveland shootings, from 1933.

They are spread across 29 cities and towns; the most are in Cleveland (7), Columbus (2) and Akron (2). By type, the largest groups are murder and homicide cases (24), kidnapping and abduction cases (14) and mass shooting cases (8).

15 files of the 38 have coverage attached: 28 videos, podcasts and documentaries from 12 creators. The most covered is Murder of Sierah Joughin, with 9 items to watch or hear. Kendall Rae, Dr. Todd Grande and Emma Kenny have covered the most of them.

Every file is written from cited sources and pinned where it happened, and every person named carries the legal status the record gives them. If you hold information about an unsolved case, contact the investigating agency named in its file rather than posting it publicly. Families and anyone involved can request a correction from any file.

Every file

Every case file in Ohio

38 files

Sierah Joughin — Credit: English WikipediaEditorial useSource
SOLVED AudioMurder of Sierah JoughinDelta, Fulton County, Ohio · 2016 · 9 to watch & hear
BRIAN RANDALL SHAFFER - COLUMBUS, OHIO — Credit: FBIPublic domainSource
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of Brian ShafferSouth Campus Gateway complex, High Street, Columbus, Ohio · 2006 · 5 to watch & hear
Rose Wallace — Credit: gargantuenCC BY-SA 2.0 Source
UNSOLVED AudioCleveland Torso MurdersKingsbury Run, Cleveland, Ohio · 1930s · 1 thing to watch or hear
SOLVED AudioKilling of Jayland WalkerAkron, Ohio · 2022 · 1 thing to watch or hear
Marcia King — Credit: https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/local/miami-county-sheriff-office-release-new-detail…Editorial useSource
UNSOLVED AudioDeath of Marcia KingGreenlee Road, Newton Township, Troy, Ohio · 1981 · 1 thing to watch or hear
Seymour Avenue - panoramio — Credit: Michael A. OrlandoCC BY-SA 3.0 Source
SOLVED AudioAriel Castro kidnappings2207 Seymour Avenue, Tremont, Cleveland, Ohio · 2002
SOLVED AudioKilling of Tamir RiceCudell Recreation Center, Cleveland, Ohio · 2014
BigBottomClearing — Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSource
SOLVED AudioBig Bottom massacreBig Bottom Memorial Park, near Stockport, Ohio · 1791
Chardon HS(3)10-7-24 — Credit: SilentMatt PsychedelicCC BY-SA 4.0 Source
SOLVED Audio2012 Chardon High School shootingChardon High School, Chardon, Ohio · 2012
Burial Site of Indian Martyrs — Credit: NyttendPublic domainSource
UNSOLVED AudioGnadenhutten MassacreGnadenhutten, Ohio Country (present-day Ohio, USA) · 1782
May 4th Strike Poster — Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSource
SOLVED AudioKent State shootingsKent State University, Kent, Ohio · 1970
Buell Sketch — Credit: FBIPublic domainSource
SOLVED AudioMurder of Krista HarrisonMarshallville, Ohio (abduction site); dump site near Loudonville, Holmes County, Ohio · 1982
Note at Ned Peppers Bar after 2019 Dayton shooting — Credit: Becker1999CC BY 2.0 Source
SOLVED Audio2019 Dayton shootingOregon Historic District, Dayton, Ohio · 2019
SOLVED Audio1992 Dayton Christmas murdersDayton, Ohio, United States · 1992
SOLVED Audio2002 Lima, Ohio, apartment shootingLima, Ohio, United States · 2002
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of Beverly PottsHalloran Park area, Cleveland, Ohio · 1951
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of Erica BakerIndian Riffle Park, Kettering, Ohio · 1999
SOLVED AudioKilling of Timothy Russell and Malissa WilliamsHeritage Middle School parking lot, East Cleveland, Ohio · 2012
SOLVED AudioMurder of Margaret Ann PahlMercy Hospital, Toledo, Ohio · 2003
SOLVED AudioKilling of Tina HarmonCreston, Wayne County, Ohio · 1981
SOLVED Audio2011 Copley Township shootingCopley Township, Ohio, United States · 2011
SOLVED AudioExecution of Dennis McGuireSouthern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio · 2014
UNSOLVED AudioDisappearance of John and Shelly MarkleyBristol Township, Ohio · 1995
SOLVED AudioMurder of Dominic Russo and Davion FlanaganStrongsville, Ohio · 2022 · 2 to watch & hear