AG seeks help in solving Youngstown cold case

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is seeking help in solving an unsolved homicide from 2008 that occurred on the East Side.

They are looking for any information into the death of John Cotton, who was found slain in a garage he owned on McGuffey Road on May 22, 2008.

The case is part of the attorney general’s Ohio Unsolved Homicides Initiative, where police departments across the state have been asked to submit any unsolved homicides to create a database of the estimated 5,000 unsolved killings in Ohio.

The cases are put on the agency’s website, and people can call or email and leave a tip. So far, 1,343 cases have been submitted to the database by 66 police departments across the state.

Cotton, who repaired cars at the garage, was found by police after family members went looking for him but couldn’t find him.

They estimate he had been dead about 10 hours and believe robbery was a motive but they have no more evidence at this point.

Attorney General Mike DeWine urged anyone with information to get in touch with investigators.

“There are thousands of unsolved homicides in Ohio, and we want victims’ families to know that we haven’t forgot about them,” DeWine said in a news release.

Anyone with information can call the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 855 BCI-OHIO or submit a tip through the attorney general’s website.

The Youngstown Police Department Detective Bureau can be reached at 330 742-8911.