Plenty of crime has gone down in and around Cleveland in its centuries of existence. But, there’s quite a few cases that have stuck with us – some even decades later. So, we rounded up some of the city’s noteworthy crimes to refresh your memory.
The Murder of 14-Year-Old Alianna Defreeze
Defreeze went missing in January of 2017 and was discovered a week later in an abandoned house on Fuller Avenue, brutally raped and murdered. Christopher Whitaker was sentenced to death for the crime and is currently on death row.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Torso Murderer
In the 1930s, a serial killer roamed the Kingsbury Run neighborhood of the east side of Cleveland. While initially thought to be responsible for 12 murders, the number has risen to closer to 20 in more recent findings. The Torso Murderer often beheaded and dismembered the victims and a few victims were found with their bodies chopped in half. The killer was never found.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsCorporate Welfare for Stadiums
Yes, we all enjoy our sports teams. But the days of billionaire owners sucking the public dry of their hard-earned money should be a thing of the past. Whether it was the Gateway Project, the new Browns’ Stadium or the recent Quicken Loans (Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, whatever) renovations, billionaire owners’ keep getting what they want out of the public’s pockets. Time to start paying for your own stadiums.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Facebook Murder
In April 2017, 37 year-old Glenville native Steve Stephens posted a cellphone video onto facebook of him murdering 74-year old Robert Godwin while he was walking down the street in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland. The murder and subsequent viral posting of the video resulted in a manhunt for Stephens that eventually ended when he shot himself to death two days later.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Murder of Marilyn Sheppard
On July 4, 1954, in Bay Village, Marilyn Sheppard, wife of neurosurgeon Sam Sheppard, was found bludgeoned to death. Dr. Sheppard was arrested for the murder and the trial became national news because of the nature of Sheppard’s profession and standing. Sam Sheppard was convicted of second-degree murder and spent ten years in prison before the case was overturned because of the “circus-like atmosphere” surrounding the first trial, according to the judge. The 1993 film ‘The Fugitive’ is loosely based off of the killing.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Stealing of the Cleveland Browns
In 1995, Browns’ owner Art Modell announced he was moving the beloved franchise to Baltimore. NFL owner’s voted 25-2 to move the team and that resulted in Cleveland being football-less from 1996 to 1998. The team moved back in 1999 but is still recovering to this day.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Michael Madison Murders
In July 2013, Cleveland Police responded to an odor coming from an abandoned East Cleveland house. A body was found decomposing in the house. The next day, two more bodies were found, one buried in the backyard and another in the basement. Madison was sentenced to death in 2016.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe May Day Riots
In 1919, trade union workers, socialists, communists and others started a demonstration on the streets of Cleveland to protest the conviction of labor leader Eugene Debs. The demonstrations turned to riots, which started in the famed Euclid Avenue shopping district. The riots quickly turned violent, with a building being demolished, a bonfire being started on public square, two murders, 40 injuries and 116 arrests.
Photo via Scene ArchivesJ.R. Smith Throwing A Bowl of Soup at an Assistant Coach
In March 2018, the Cavaliers announced that they suspended the mercurial guard for a game due to “conduct detrimental to the team.” It was later discovered that the reason behind the suspension was that Smith threw a bowl of soup at assistant coach and former NBA sharpshooter Damon Jones. It was later confirmed that the soup in question was chicken tortilla.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsJeffrey Dahmer’s Murders
Yes, Dahmer, one of the more infamous killers in United States, was known mostly for his crimes in Milwaukee, but his Northeast Ohio ties often cause locals to remember this heinous man. Dahmer, who raped, murdered and dismembered at least 17 boys and men lived in Bath for a time and attended high school outside of Akron at Revere High School. He also committed at least one of his murders in Ohio.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsThe Hough Riots
In 1966, to protest segregation, racial discrimination and impovershed conditions, riots broke out in the Hough neighborhood of Cleveland. The riots, which took place over five days in July of 1966, led to over 275 arrests, four deaths and more than 50 injuries.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Glenville Shootout
In July 1968, a two-day gun battle took place in the Glenville neighborhood of Cleveland. The battle was between the Cleveland Police and the Black Nationalists of New Libya and led to the deaths of three policemen, three Black Nationalists and a passerby. The shootout sparked the Glenville riots.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsThe Corruption of Frank Russo
Local politics being corrupt? Who would’ve thought. That was the case when Frank Russo, former Cuyahoga County Auditor, pleaded guilty to 21 different counts of corruption in 2010. Russo was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Career of Eliot Ness
While the infamous investigator and prohibition agent made his name for taking down Al Capone in Chicago, any list of Cleveland crime would be incomplete without him. Ness was hired as the Safety Director for the city in 1935 and was in charge of overseeing the Cleveland PD during the Torso Murders. The lawman is buried at Lake View Cemetery. His career was later featured in the 1987 film ‘The Untouchables.’
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsThe War Crimes of John Demanjuk
Demanjuk came to the United States from Poland in 1952. He and his family settled in Seven Hills and he became an autoworker. It was later discovered that Demanjuk allegedly served as a prison guard at a concentration camp during the Holocaust and was charged with accessory to murder to close to 28,000 Jews. Demanjuk’s first conviction was overturned in the early 1990’s. He then was forced to stand trial again but died a free man despite mountains of evidence to his involvement in war crimes.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsThe Car Bombing of Danny Greene
Greene was the leader of the Irish Mafia in Cleveland during the 1970s. He was involved in numerous crimes as leader of the “Celtic Club.” Greene was assassinated by rivals via car bomb in the eastern suburb of Lyndhurst in 1977. The story was told in the 2011 film “Kill the Irishman”.
Photo via Scene ArchivesPhase II Of The Casino
When Cavaliers’ owner and billionaire Dan Gilbert announced that a casino was coming to Cleveland, the plan was sold to the city and voters as a two-phase plan. First, they’d take over the old Higbee’s building for a smaller casino. Then, a standalone casino would be built, with a hotel and event space. This was announced in 2010. We’re still waiting.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThrowing Bottles at Officials
In December of the 2001 NFL season, the Browns were sitting at 6-6 with a puncher’s chance at still making the playoffs and facing the Jacksonville Jaguars in Cleveland. With 1:08 left, the Browns had the ball at the Jaguars’ 12-yard line, trailing 15-10. Quarterback Tim Couch threw to receiver Quincy Morgan for a first down. The Browns’ then ran the next play and then the officials decided to review Morgan’s catch even though that isn’t allowed after the next play has happened. The officials overturned the catch, giving the Jaguars’ the ball and for all intents and purposes, eliminated the Browns from playoff contention. Fans didn’t take kindly to the overturned call and threw bottles and other debris onto the field. We’re not sure what the bigger crime was, the terrible call or the debris thrown. The legacy of the game is that most arenas around the country don’t give you caps for drinks purchased at events since the incident.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Ariel Castro Kidnappings
Between 2002 and 2004, three women from the Cleveland area, Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus went missing without a trace. In May 2013, neighbors heard screaming coming from 2207 Seymour Avenue on Cleveland’s near west side. It was discovered that Castro had been holding the three women captive in his house for years. The story was a national news sensation. Castro later killed himself.
Photo via Wikimedia CommonsThe Anthony Sowell Killings
Sowell is one of the most notorious serial killers in recent memory, not only in the city but in the country as a whole. Black women were disappearing in the city of Cleveland throughout the 1990s and 2000s and when Sowell was arrested in 2009 in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood in Cleveland, police discover 11 murdered victims. He remains on death row today.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Disappearance of Amy Mihaljevic
On a Friday afternoon in October 1989, 10-year-old Amy Mihaljevic was abducted from the shopping plaza across from the Bay Village police station as every officer in the city was getting their pictures taken. Her body was found in an Ashland County wheat field four months later. The still unsolved murder was featured on America’s Most Wanted and discussed on the Oprah Winfrey Show. A new podcast on the subject called “Who Killed Amy Mihaljevic” was released in late 2018.
Photo via Scene ArchivesThe Murder of Aliza Sherman
Aliza Sherman was murdered in downtown Cleveland in March 2013 after a meeting with her divorce attorney on a Sunday afternoon. The killer, who was recorded on security cameras wearing a ski mask, still hasn’t been found and the police have basically had no leads since the tragic killing.
Photo via Justice For Aliza Sherman/Facebook
