After more than a decade, the murder of an Ohio University student remains unsolved, but Athens Police insist they’re one piece of evidence away from solving the cold case.
However, that one piece of evidence has eluded officials since the murder in March 2003.
“I’ve felt that case has been at that status very soon after we received the information that the incident occurred,” Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said. “It was very quickly in a status of ‘here’s what we have, we seem to be short one or two pieces of evidence that would resolve this’ and it’s just been at that status for a while.”
The incident involved two OU students, Terris Ross and Nyerre Mays, who were shot between 2 and 3 a.m. on March 9, 2003 by a man who entered the back seat of Ross’ Cadillac Deville in the parking lot of University Commons, 15 S. Shafer St.
The man parked an SUV near Ross’ car and joined Ross and Mays in the vehicle.
After a few seconds, the man opened fire.
Ross was shot multiple times in the neck and Mays was grazed in the arm, according to a previous Post article. Ross died before paramedics arrived, and Mays fled to a nearby apartment and was later treated for his nonfatal wounds.
He would later tell The Post that the incident was a botched drug deal and that he did not know the man nor did he look at him while he was in the car.
Lt. Jeff McCall declined to comment on when the department last contacted Mays.
An autopsy on Ross later showed he had a .15 blood alcohol content level and traces of THC, a substance found in marijuana.
James Braden McClain, who was found stabbed to death in his New Marshfield home in 2011, was considered a prime suspect in the case after phone records showed he had been in contact with Ross on the day of his death, although the connection was never proven, according to a previous Post article.
Past Post articles indicate Ross was a key player in the Athens County’s drug trade.
Craig Shaver, a former Ohio University student, told The Post Ross allegedly ferried marijuana, cocaine and heroin from Nelsonville and other areas to Athens.
Today, Athens Police have the case under open investigatory status.
“You just hope for information to come in,” Pyle said. “It’s a difficult cold case. There’s no one thing you can latch onto and say this is what will help. Just hang onto the case and look for some resolution. There’s no secret to it.”
Dealing with friends and relatives is the most painful part of the process, and Pyle said the department is very conscious of the family’s concerns.
“Once it goes on for years, we have that conversation with them to say ‘this is where we are and there isn’t a lot more that can be done unless something new comes to light,’ ” Pyle said. “It’s a hard thing to do, but when those cases go unsolved for so long while we constantly have cases coming in that can be solved.”
A major problem with solving such a cold case is that people’s minds begin to fade and others aren’t coming forward with new information, McCall said.
“Again, this is 10 years ago, the possibility of finding any physical evidence is slim to none,” McCall said. “When you put the limited number of witnesses, the lack of any new physical evidence, cases of this nature are very difficult.”
as299810@ohiou.edu
@akarl_smith
This article appeared in print under the headline "Lack of evidence keeps murder of Ohio University student open one decade later"
