NEW STRAITSVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) – After more than seven years and no arrests, the family of Amy Jo Nelson continues to demand justice in the 39-year-old's homicide.
Ever since Amy was found dead in New Straitsville, a Perry County village with a population of around 650, her family has been conducting its own investigation in a search for closure. Amy's mother, Pam Nelson, described her as “the sweetest person."
“She had a funny personality, very funny,” Amy’s sister, Abbie Vann, added. “Even when she was upset, she would always try and joke.”
Throughout Amy's life, she dealt with multiple medical conditions, including the autoimmune disorders Lupus and Antiphospholipid Syndrome. This resulted in her being placed on a variety of medications by doctors since she was 14 years old, which led to nonprescribed drug use, Vann said.
Despite pushing through blood transfusions, chemotherapy, months-long hospital stays and other effects of her conditions, Amy’s life was cut short on Sept. 18, 2017. Around 11 a.m. that morning, while working as a nurse, Pam received a call from Amy’s phone. She stepped into the hallway and answered the call, but it wasn’t Amy. The call came from Amy’s boyfriend’s mother, who shared news that made Pam collapse on the floor.
Where Columbus drivers are likely to get parking tickets“She told me Amy passed away in her sleep,” Nelson said.
A coroner's report states someone reported the incident to 911 at 10:47 a.m., but does not specify who. Nelson and Vann rushed to the residence where Amy was found dead – an apartment on Main Street, where Amy and her boyfriend had stayed the night. Vann said the couple often crashed at acquaintances' places. When Nelson and Vann saw Amy, they said they immediately believed foul play was involved because she had injuries on her face.
Nelson asked the two responding officers with the New Straitsville Police Department, an agency with a part-time chief, to reach out to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation to assist with analyzing the scene.
“I said ‘Are you going to call the BCI?’ after I looked at Amy and they said, ‘No, there's no crime scene, ma'am,’" Nelson said. "I said, ‘You've got to be kidding. Look at her.’”
Nelson and Vann speculated Amy’s prior drug use may have led police on the scene to assume she died of an overdose. An autopsy revealed that Amy had both prescribed and nonprescribed medications in her system, but also confirmed the drugs did not cause her passing.
Ohio again examines funding police pensionsAmy's death was ruled a homicide, caused by "repeated" blunt force trauma to the head. A Perry County coroner's report by Dr. Bradley Wilson claims Amy’s boyfriend said she had “fallen” within 48 hours of her death, but did not provide further context.
“The extensive head and brain injuries are not consistent with a simple fall and are consistent with injuries incurred by multiple blunt force trauma given the other body injuries, it appears the decedent was assaulted by another person or persons,” the report reads.
Since the ruling, the BCI and Perry County Sheriff’s Office have been assisting the police department with the case. Amy's family said they are meeting with a sheriff’s detective each month about the investigation.
Nelson and Vann point to the original handling of the scene by law enforcement as one of the main reasons they believe the case is unsolved. Nelson claimed an individual at the scene was cleaning the apartment while Amy was still lying dead on the bed where she was found, which could have resulted in destroyed evidence.
“It's frustrating how everything was handled,” Vann said. “We wouldn't be here if it was handled correctly.”
Opening statements made in Ohio doctor’s defamation trial against Mount CarmelNelson said that Amy’s access to drugs attracted the wrong people into her life who “wanted her for her pain medication.” Through conducting their own interviews and obtaining records, Amy's family has come to believe the motivation behind the homicide was related to her pills and that multiple people were involved.
“We're not stopping until we get to the bottom of it, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who killed her,” Nelson said.
NBC4 reached out to the three law enforcement agencies involved in Amy’s case for comment. The Perry County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond, and the New Straitsville police chief said he has only held the position for a few weeks and deferred to the other agencies. The BCI said it is not currently actively investigating the case and also deferred to the other agencies.
Amy’s family is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the homicide. They asked anyone with a tip to contact the Perry County Sheriff’s Office at 740-342-4123.
If you’re a family member of an individual with an unsolved missing persons or homicide case in Ohio, reach out to aboldizar@wcmh.com.
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