COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Loosely affiliated "groups and
associates" have committed 15 unsolved, mostly drug-related homicides in
central Ohio since 1998, authorities announced Wednesday as they asked
the public’s help in identifying suspects.
State and federal
police and prosecutors stopped short of identifying specific gangs that
might be involved. They said the killings, almost all in Columbus, often
involved violent home invasions and drugs.
The last homicide was committed July 4. The victims include two women.
"We
have good reason to believe that they are tied together over this
period of time, by some … groups and associates committing the
offenses," said Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien.
Some of
the suspects are in prison for unrelated crimes, which O’Brien hopes
will lessen people’s reluctance to step forward out of fear of reprisal.
U.S.
Attorney Carter Stewart said the goal is to bring closure to victims’
families. Columbus police Chief Kim Jacobs said unsolved homicides
affect the broader community and added that the victims’ criminal
history doesn’t matter.
"Whatever happened in regards to how the
crime got committed, or why the person got murdered, it still matters to
us, regardless of whether they were engaged in criminal behavior at the
time," she said.
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Online: http://www.justice.gov/usao/ohs/news/02-19-14.html
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