Toledo family, police seek leads in slaying of mother of 5

By MIKE SIGOV

TOLED0 — Relatives of Jennifer Shively made a tearful plea in East Toledo for information about the slaying of the young mother of five.

“It’s tearing us up. It’s hurting us,” said Raymond Smith, 28, of Moline, Ohio, the younger of her two brothers, choking up with tears. “It’s not like she just died. Somebody took her.”

The body of the 26-year-old woman was found Aug. 19 in Lamberjack’s Marina in Ottawa County. Autopsy results showed Shively died of strangulation.

“The children are taking it [especially] hard,” said Esther Swope, the victim’s mother. “If you know anything, please come forward.”

Shively’s children range in age from 1 to 9 and are living with family members.

“They don’t know how to take it, really,” Smith said. “They just know that she is gone and that she’s not coming back.”

Authorities had investigated a report that Shively celebrated her birthday Aug. 14 at Wild Wings Restaurant and Lounge in Oak Harbor, about a mile from where her body was found.

Authorities could not confirm that that’s where the celebration actually took place, but they believe she was at a party in a house near the bar, said Ottawa County Sheriff Robert Bratton, who was at the news conference.

Toledo police Detective Jeff Clark, who also was at the news conference, said investigators have talked to more than a dozen people in Ottawa County and Toledo and have developed some leads. Clark said he could not discuss them, citing an ongoing investigation.

When growing up, she liked to play basketball and enjoyed being a cheerleader at Franklin Elementary School. She didn’t graduate from high school, her brother said.

“She was a good person; she had problems in the past; everybody does,” Smith said.

Shively was dead before she was weighted by two concrete blocks and dumped in the water at the marina in Carroll Township. Her body was discovered with her arms bound behind her back and her feet tied together.

“The people who did this are sick, and they need help themselves,” Smith said.

Smith and his 30-year-old brother, Gerald, were wearing T-shirts featuring photos of them with their sister. Gerald Smith is on leave from the U.S. Army and is scheduled to return to Germany today.

Detective Clark asked anyone with information to call the Crime Stopper Program at (419) 255-1111. Callers may remain anonymous and could be eligible for a cash reward.

“We’ve lost a loved one, and it’s torn the whole family up,” Raymond Smith said. “Whoever did that needs to be brought to justice.

“We are seeking closure. We are asking, please, just for the kids’ sake, come forward and help us out with this.”