MOUNT VERNON — Knox County Sheriff David Shaffer’s last monthly update to the Knox County commissioners included information about a 15-year-old unsolved homicide.
On Dec. 20, 2009, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 10:54 a.m. that Jean Davis was found unresponsive in the backyard of her residence on Dennis Church Road, Gambier.
It was determined that Davis had a gunshot wound to the head and was deceased.
Detectives discovered that Davis’ 2002 tan Chevy Avalanche Z 71 truck was missing. The Avalanche was found in Newark the following day.
Since then, KCSO detectives continued to pursue leads along with investigators from the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
The BCI’s Cold Case Division has successfully used advanced DNA technology to solve cold cases.
“We have DNA as a result of that incident, unknown DNA. I had the detectives reach out to them, so BCI started the process,” Shaffer said.
In November, Shaffer heard a presentation from the Stark County Sheriff’s Office.
“They had a couple of cold cases where they used BCI in conjunction with Parabon Nanolabs, a private company that works with law enforcement a lot. They do DNA profiling,” the sheriff said.
“We’re hopeful we can use technology that’s available now to build a DNA profile to identify a potential suspect.”
Shaffer did not know the cost of the DNA profiling, but he anticipates sharing the cost with the county prosecutor’s office and other interested parties.
“It’s a new outlook,” he said. “We’ll get that information back out to solicit for tips or anything updated. Hopefully, they’ll succeed.
“It is a proven process,” he added. “It’s been used in the past, so hopefully that may get some results.”
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact Ohio BCI at 330-659-4607 or the Knox County Sheriff’s Office at 740-399-3959.
KCSO monthly update
Shaffer said the current jail population of 69 (57 males, 12 females) is “hovering pretty consistently” in that range.
Projects on the capital list for 2025 include replacing kitchen equipment, flooring, and furnishings. Except for the dishwasher, all the equipment was installed when the building opened 23 years ago.
Deputies are undergoing MILO training (multiple integrated learning objectives). The video-based training covers scenarios for the jail, deputies, and patrol. Dog Warden Brian Biggerstaff and his staff are also participating.
Calls for service in 2024 are up by about 134 compared to 2023, for a total of 11,078 so far this year. Shaffer said it is a big number, but reports are down slightly.
“Our crash reports are up again because the Ohio State Highway Patrol are too short-staffed to come over here, so we end up picking up all the slack,” he said. “I’ve had plenty of conversations that they need to pick up the pace on their end.”
