COLUMBUS (WCMH) — An 89-year-old Ross County man was tied up and murdered and his home was set on fire. Six years later, his case remains unsolved. Now his family is putting his reward money to a different use.
Smith family spokeswoman Andrea Smith said it took eight months for Harry Smith’s killing to be ruled a homicide. By then, the trail for his killer or killers had grown cold.
In 2011, Smith’s family hired a private investigator and got the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) involved. The reward for Smith’s killer grew to nearly $24,000. Smith’s family is now donating the reward money to the AMVETs for scholarships.
“I know dad would be tickled to death to know that he had some sort of a part of giving to a young people,” said his son Jerry Smith.
Harry Smith was a WWII Navy veteran and family said he would have loved seeing the reward help other veterans’ families.
“You never forget the pain, but as time goes on you think the longer it goes the harder it is going to be to find an answer,” Smith said.
Smith’s grandchildren pulled him out of the smoldering mobile home south of Chillicothe on the morning of October 16, 2011. Initially, the Ross County Sheriff said Smith’s death was a suicide, even though Smith was tied up, severely beaten, clubbed on the back of the head and robbed. Sheriff George Lavender eventually began calling the death suspicious.
As the reward grew so did the family’s frustrations with local officials, then the Montgomery County Coroner ruled the death a homicide and the family spent $30,000 on a private investigator for help. The BCI took over the case in 2012 and have followed up on leads and placed Smith’s case on their Cold Case Homicide web site. But his family said little else has changed for Harry’s case over the last four years.
“So we are reminded of it in everyday life,” his son said.
The Chillicothe AMVETS will administer the Harry W. Smith Memorial Scholarship.
“It is specifically for those veteran families out there that need help,” said AMVETs Commander Dave Clemmons.
The AMVETs post four has pictures of four Ross County veterans who gave their life for their country, but the scholarship is not just for veterans of this post. All area veterans and their families are eligible for the Harry Smith Memorial Scholarship.
The fund stands at $3,500 at this point, but the family and post are planning fundraisers to provide more. The reward for Smith’s killer(s) stands at $10,000.
The family said if you know anything about Smith’s murder you can still leave a tip for the Southern Ohio Crime Stoppers at 740-773-TIPS or the Ohio Attorney General at 855-BCI-OHIO, ohioattorneygeneral.org and search Cold Case Homicides.