Sunday, July 20, 2014
Associated Press
CHILLICOTHE
The family of a World War II veteran and great-great grandfather killed in his Ohio home nearly three years ago is renewing a $5,000 reward for information that helps solve the cold case, saying that justice is long overdue.
Harry Smith, 89, was fatally struck in the head at his home in Chillicothe in southern Ohio on Oct. 16, 2011, before his killer set the house on fire.
Family spokeswoman Andrea Smith said Saturday that the family is reviving the $5,000 reward, first offered last August for a three-month period, because investigators said it could help solve the case.
She said the patriarch’s murder has devastated the family and that they’ll do whatever it takes to help.
“You can’t grieve somebody who has gone in such a way and justice hasn’t been served, and you have to fight for justice to even exist,” said Smith, 43, whose husband, Gary, is Harry Smith’s grandson. “We’re not going to give up, we’re not going to lay down. We’re going to fight until what’s right is done.”
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation is working on solving the case and believes robbery was the motive in the killing because several items were removed from Harry Smith’s home before the fire, including money and jewelry.
Harry Smith, a native of Chillicothe, served in the Navy during WWII and was a Walmart greeter in his later years.