An Akron teen's 2012 murder remains unsolved. But police think they know who did it (2024)

On the recent anniversary of Tyler Anderson’s slaying, several of the Akron teen’sfamily and friends gathered at his graveside.

Terri Hastings, Tyler’s mom, lit a candle and put a photo of Tylernext to his headstone at Greenlawn Cemetery.

They took turns recalling Tyler's favorite things: “Jurassic Park,” Funyuns, Hot Cheetos, ramen noodles and BMX biking.

“We sure do miss him,” Hastings said. “He would be 29.”

This has been a ritual for Hastings twice a year — every February on the day he was born, and every May since his life was ended at the age of 17 in 2012. It keeps his memory from fading and keeps alive hope that his killers may yet be held responsible.

“My mom and dad, and his dad’s mom and dad who he was very close to, they’re fading away and dying,” Hastings said during a recent interview at her Akron home. “They want to see justice for their grandchild. And we haven’t gotten it yet.... I’d really love to say to my mom, ‘The boys have been arrested that killed Tyler.’”

Akron detectives say there is no mystery. They know who shot and killed Tyler and dumped his body in the driveway of a Kenmore home about a mile from his house. They just don’t have that final piece of evidence they need to charge them.

Detectives are having DNA testing done on an item found near Tyler’s body. If that doesn’t panout, they hope someone will step forward with new information.

“We're 99.9% sure — we know who did it,” detective Jim Pasheilich said. “We just can’t get that one more piece we need to allow us to go forward.”

More: Unresolved: Looking back at unsolved cold case murders from the Akron area and beyond

Tyler’s slaying happened at a time when gun violence was just starting to ramp up in Akron, and a teen being fatally shot wasn’t a common occurrence. His death inspired Hastings and others in Kenmore to start the Save Our Youth and Stop the Violence Movementthat held vigils and marches for several years to call attention to both spiking gun violence and heroin overdoses.

“If you see something, say something,” Hastings said after a march in May 2015, three years after Tyler’s death. “That’s one of our mottos. You could save a life by saying something.”

Tyler was a typical and fearless teen, his mother says

Hastings and Kenneth Anderson Jr., Tyler’s dad, were divorced when he was young, so the youth split his time between them — the school year with his mom, summers in Florida with his dad. He also had two older half-brothers, Chad and Daniel Ancona, but both were grown by the time Tyler was 17.

Hastings worked long, hours as a courier for shipping company DHL, leaving Tyler was on his own a lot.

“He was your typical teenager,” Hastings said. “He would give me problems here and there, but nothing serious. He was a pleasant kid and loved to go shopping and to spend money.”

Tyler also enjoyed BMX biking and rode all over Akron — sometimes farther than his mom realized. He loved to show off his new jumps.

“The stuff they do on it used to scare me to death,” Hastings said. “He had no fear of that. They fall down and just get up, dust off and go on.”

But Tyler's fearlessness also had him testing other limits. He was skipping classes, and eventually he was removed from Kenmore High School and enrolled at Akron Digital Academy, where Hastings hoped the mix of online and in-person classes would better suit him.

And then there were run-ins with police. In April 2012, he was arrested with a friend for breaking into a Kenmore business and ransacking it.

Hastings saw an opportunity in that unfortunate incident: She wanted her son committed to a juvenile detention center, believing it would scare him straight.

“That was my goal, but we didn’t get that far,” she continued.

Tyler was scheduled to be sentenced in Summit County Juvenile Court on May 13, 2012.

He was murdered the day before.

‘Absolute nightmare:’ Akron mother learns that son has been killed

Hastings said May 12, 2012, started out like a typical day.

She made Tyler blueberry pancakes and dropped him off at Akron Digital Academy.

“Hope you have a good day,” she told him. “Love you.”

Tyler took the bus home from school about noon, opened a bag of Doritos and left them on the counter. Hastings tried to call him on their home phone,but he didn’t answer.

When Hastings got home about 3:30 p.m.,an Akron officer came to her door. He asked if Tyler had been home after school. She said she knew he had because of the Doritos. The officer then told Hastings that another officer was on his way to speak to her.

“It seemed like forever,” Hastings recalled. “I’m sitting here like, ‘God, did he rob a bank? What did this kid do?’”

Sgt. Tony Starvaggi arrived with the news: Tyler had been shot, and his killers had dumped his body in a driveway on 21st Street.

“It was horrible,” Hastings recalled. “It was the worst moment of my life — an absolute nightmare.”

Tyler planned to buy a gun but got shot instead, detectives say

Detectives began piecing together the events before and after Tyler was killed.

A surveillance video showed Tyler leaving the bus and walking to his house. He then rode his bike over to a friend’s house, visited for a time, then left on foot and walked toward Kenmore Boulevard about 2:30 p.m.

That was the last time anyone saw him.

Starvaggi said detectives heard that a 16-year-old male showed Tyler a gun at school that day. Tyler made plans to meet up with him after school to buy the gun. Presumably, Tyler was walking toward the boulevard to meet him.

That’s where what happened gets murkier.

Detectives believe the 16-year-old and a 17-year-old friend picked up Tyler in a Dodge Durango. They think the 16-year-old was driving, while his friend was in the passenger seat and Tyler was in the back seat.

“We believe (the 17-year-old) just turned around and shot Tyler,” Starvaggi said. “It goes through his neck and out the window and shatters the window.”

The teens drove to 21st Street where they stopped and dumped Tyler’s body in a driveway. They then drove away.

‘This one’s close,’ detective says of solving Tyler’s case

The teenage suspects both had ties to Youngstown.

The 16-year-old was originally from Youngstown but had moved to Akron and was attending Akron Digital Academy. The 17-year-old was also from Youngstown and affiliated with gangs there but spent a lot of time in Akron with his friend.

Police have surveillance footage of the Durango, showing it on Kenmore Boulevard with the rear passenger window out.

The teens parked the Durango on 10th Street, where the 16-year-old lived, and walked to the nearby dollar store where they bought bleach, lighter fluid and charcoal.Video taken in the store was released to the public and eventually helped with the identification of the suspects. That footage is still available on YouTube.

When later questioned about their visit to the store, the suspects and one of their relatives insisted they were buying supplies for a cookout.

“They said it was a normal thing — normal day,” Pasheilich said.

Detectives, however, believe the teens used the bleach to try to clean the vehicle, then abandoned that idea, took the car to Youngstown and torched it.

The Durango was found on fire in Youngstown about 3:30 the morning after the shooting. It was so badly burned that no evidence could be recovered. Investigators were satisfied it was the same vehicle from Akron because the rear passenger-side window was missing.

Also, the owner of the Durango was a Youngstown woman who is related to the 16-year-old suspect.

Phone records showed the car owner texted and talked to the 16-year-old suspect while he and his friend were on their way to Youngstown, Starvaggi said.The car owner then called Youngstown police at 11:30 a.m. to report the vehicle stolen.

A Summit County Crime Stoppers tip came in from a teen who identified the two shooting suspects and said they told him they shot Tyler because he was “getting squirrely.” Detectives heard a rumor that Tyler might have had access to a gun himself, though no gun tied to Tyler has ever been found.

“So maybe Tyler was ‘getting squirrely,’” Starvaggi said. “Maybe he was gonna rob them or maybe they were gonna rob Tyler, and maybe (the 17-year-old) had the quicker draw. Who knows?”

Starvaggi said the teen with the Crime Stoppers tip refused to talk to prosecutors.

“A lot of people will talk to us,” Pasheilich said. “It’s getting them to testify that is always the hardest part.”

Detectives say they haven’t been able to charge the teens because they don’t have anyone who saw them in the vehicle with Tyler. The suspects weren’t visible on the surveillance footage, nor was the vehicle’s license plate.

Both the suspects are still alive and have spent time in prison, Pasheilich said.

Asked if this case is solvable, Pasheilich, who recently retired after more than 30 years with the department that included investigations into many cold cases, said, “This one’s close.”

Hastings and others still hope for closure in Tyler’s case

Hastings was thrilled when she heard that detectives knew who shot her son, believing that would lead to charges.

She’s disappointed no arrests have happened yet but still hopes for justice. She said there’s a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the conviction of her son’s killers.

“He doesn’t have a voice anymore,” Hastings said. “So, I want to do it for him because it’s the right thing to do. Because I’m a mom and he did not deserve this. I don’t care what he was doing. It’s bad what he was doing, and I don’t know why.”

Hastings, 63, said nearly 500 people attended Tyler’s funeral. Many of his friends told her how Tyler had helped them in trying times, giving them money or buying them lunch.

“Tyler was not really a street kid,” she said. “He had a family. He had a home. He had a life. He chose to be out there running around. He hung out with troubled kids. Of course, he had his problems. He didn’t have his father with him and I was working a lot. But, he reached out to these kids that didn’t have that at home.”

Anderson, Tyler’s father, died in 2014.

Each year, Hastings announces Tyler’s memorial gatherings on Facebook.

At the latest memorial, Elizabeth “Liz” Patton, who found Tyler’s body and called 911, was among those who attended. Patton, who knew Tyler from school, said this gruesome discovery has haunted her.

Patton said when she goes places, like a grocery store, she wonders if one of his killers is there.

“I wish if somebody knows something, they would say something,” she said.

And now that she's a mother of four herself, she can't help but wonder if Tyler would have worked through his troubled teen years and had his own family by now.

“We’ll never know,” she said.

Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com and 330-996-3705. Paula Schleis can be reached at feedback@ohiomysteries.com.

About Akron teen's murder

Name: Tyler Anderson

Age: 17

Residence: Akron

Date of incident: May 17, 2012

Body found: 21st Street in Akron's Kenmore neighborhood

Circ*mstance: Tyler was last seen heading toward Kenmore Boulevard to meet someone. His body was found later on 21st Street. He had been shot to death. The vehicle that police think the two suspects were driving was found on fire in Youngstown the next morning.

Investigating agency: Akron Police Department. Contact the detective bureau at 330-375-2490 or 330-375-2TIP. People may also provide anonymous information to the Summit County Crimestoppers by calling 330-434-COPS. For tips, text TIPSCO with your tips to 274637.

About the Unresolved series:

To read past stories in this series, visit Beacon Journal.com. To listen to podcasts that are part of the series, visit the Ohio Mysteries' website. Send tips for future stories to Beacon Journal reporter Stephanie Warsmith at swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.

Each Unresolved episode features a story, podcast, photos, police reports and fact boxes.

Here's a look at the episodes they've done so far.

Episode 1: Janice Christensen

In 1987, Janice Christensen of Cuyahoga Falls went for a run on the Summit County Bike and Hike Trail, where she was raped and killed by a man who has never been caught. Now, Hudson police hope a partnership with Ohio's new Cold Case Unit will identify her killer through DNA found at the crime scene.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 1

Beacon Journal package: Questions remain in 1987 Hudson murder case

Episode 2: Melissa and Jasmine Collins

In 1991, 17-year-old mom Melissa Collins and her 8-month old baby girl, Jasmine, vanished from their West Akron apartment. In the decades since, police have searcheda local park and followed leads to other states in search of the pair.And now, 30 years later, women are calling Akron police to ask: Could I be the missing Jasmine?

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 2

Beacon Journal package: An Akron mother and baby disappeared 30 years ago. Will they every be found?

Episode 3: Roderick Clemons

In 1991, 26-year-old Roderick Clemons wanted to ask for a transfer from the Church's Chicken restaurant in Akron, where he was assistant manager. There were too many shady characters in the Copley Road neighborhood, he told his mom. But Clemons never got the chance to request the change.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 3

Beacon Journal package: Akron police still seek answers in 1991 cold case

Episode 4: Leslie Ann Barker

In 1978, Akron schoolteacher Leslie Ann Barker went to the Red's discotheque with a friend to participate in a new matchmaking event. That morning, she was found dead in her burning car. To this day, Barker's colleagues and loved ones wonder what happened to the outgoing young woman who was looking for love but found death instead.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 4.

Beacon Journal package: After 43 years, Akron teacher's slaying remains a mystery

Episode 5: Jeanette Bartee and Roy Addison

In April 2002, Roy Addison and Jeanette Bartee were both shot and killed, execution-style, in broad daylight. Both struggled with addictions, and detectives suspect they were targeted because of something they did or saw. Family members still hope for answers and think someone may have seen something that could assist the investigation.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 5

Beacon Journal package: Unresolved: Who killed Roy Addison and Jeanette Bartee? Akron case remains a mystery

Episode 6: Phyllis Mosley

In August 1971, Phyllis Mosley was found by her 11-year-old daughter shot to death in her bed. The murder of Mosley, 28, changed the lives of her four children, who struggled with addictions and other demons. Fifty years after Mosley's slaying, her children hope her death won't be forgotten even if it's never solved.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 6.

Beacon Journal package: ‘The pain of losing her’: Siblings hope for justice 50 years after mother’s unsolved murder

Episode 7: The Patel Family

In October 1991, a mother, father and their 6-year-old daughter were killed, execution- style at their house next to the infamous Steve's Motel. Sheriff's deputies initially thought the motive for killing the Patel family, who operated the motel, might have been murder. Deputies now have a different theory —hired hitmen who were famous mobsters were hired by someone with designs on the valuable property in Green.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 7

Beacon Journal package: A hired hit, a flying robber and 3 murders: New details emerge in Steve's Motel killings

Episode 8: Jeff Sauber

In September 1980, Jeff Sauber, 18, a Marine on his first leave, is fatally stabbedat a drive-in theater in Coventry Township after watching a movie about a vigilante killer. His mother sued the theater, saying her son's killer might have been incited by the violent flick. Sheriff detectives, though, thinkthe attack may have been prompted by a racial exchange. Detectives have a suspect but, so far, not enough evidence to charge him.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 8

Beacon Journal package:A vigilante film, hypnosis and a racial slur: Could new clues solve 1980 drive-in slaying?

Episode 9: JoAnn Bartholomew

In October 1987, JoAnn Bartholomew, a Stow wife, mother and business owner, was found stabbed to death in the woods near Chapel Hill Mall in Akron. She was one of four women slainin Summit County that year, leading to concern that this could be the work of a serial killer. Detectives, though, quickly concludedthe cases weren't linked. All but one of the cases, including Bartholomew's, remain unsolved.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 9

Beacon Journal package Stow woman's stabbing death near Chapel Hill Mall remains a mystery after 34 years

Episode 10: DeShawn Brown

In March 2004, DeShawn Brown, a North High and University of Akron star running back,was found dead in his Akron apartment, shot through a glass window on his door. His family members are still hoping to find out who killed him. Detectives, though, say this willbe challenging because of a lack of evidence.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 10

Beacon Journal package: 'We want to know why': Family seeks answers in 2004 fatal shooting of Akron football star

Episode 11 (Part 1): Ruth Guthrie and Tommy Sumerix

In the summer of 1963, two Summit County youths disappeared within a week of each other. The vanishings of Tommy Sumerix, 15, and Ruth Guthrie, 12, so close together prompted some to worry about whether someone might be kidnapping local children. Months passed with no answers. Then, in May of 1964, a farm owner in Portage County and mushroom hunters in Stark County made sad discoveries.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 11, Part 1

Beacon Journal package: Families left with ‘What ifs?’ when two Summit County youths disappear nearly 60 years ago

Episode 11 (Part 1): Ruth Guthrie and Tommy Sumerix

In the summer of 1963, two Summit County youths disappeared within a week of each other. The vanishings of Tommy Sumerix, 15, and Ruth Guthrie, 12, so close together prompted some to worry about whether someone might be kidnapping local children. Months passed with no answers. Then, in May of 1964, a farm owner in Portage County and mushroom hunters in Stark County made sad discoveries.

Podcast: Unresolved Ep. 11, Part 1

Beacon Journal package: Families left with ‘What ifs?’ when two Summit County youths disappear nearly 60 years ago

Episode 12: Charles Wright

Charles Wright was shot and killed in May 2004 while sitting in the driveway of his Akron home, talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone. The postal worker had just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. Detectives wonder if the killer may have intended to rob Wright -- for money or drugs they thought he had -- but panicked when they realized he was on the phone. Detectives and family members still hope that his killer may still be caught.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: 'He was such a good dude': Mysterious slaying of Akron mailman in 2004 remains unsolved

Ep. 13: Sam Hughes

Sam Hughes, 31, was found beaten to death in his Akron home on Dec. 12, 2006. His mother and brother think his death may have been tied to him using and selling drugs. Despite his drug use, they say he didn't deserve the violent end to his life. Both them and Akron detectives haven't given up hope that his murder can be solved. In fact, detectives think they may have already talked to his killer.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: 'I've never given up hope': Akron man's mysterious murder remains unsolved 16 years later

Ep. 15: Mary Yocono

Mary Yocono was struck in a hit-and-run crash in November 1985 while walking home from a friend's across the street from her family's Italian restaurant in West Akron. The 79-year-old grandmother perished and the driver of the car that struck her was never identified. Akron detectives, who no longer have a file on the case, don't hold out much hope. But the family, who operated the popular Yocono's restaurant for nearly 30 years, would still love for this mystery to be solved.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: Who killed Mary Yocono? Hit-and-run death of Akron restaurant matriarch in 1985 unsolved

Ep. 16: Javan and Markus Rogers

Akron brothers Javan and Markus Rogers were shot and killed within months of each other in 2002. Years later, both murders remain unsolved. Detectives say they aren't sure if the slayings are linked, though they think both cases are tied to drugs. To solve either or both, detectives say, they'll need someone to come forward with information.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: Who killed Javan and Markus Rogers? Akron brothers’ murders remain unsolved after 21 years

Ep. 17: Greg Peters

Greg Peters, an employee at the Odd Corner near the University of Akron campus, was killed on the night before Thanksgiving in 2003. A man wearing a bandana and carrying a gun entered the store, presumably to rob it, then shot Peters without taking anything and ran. Friends and family of Peters still hope his killer will be caught.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: 'A problem at the Odd Corner': 20 years later, clerk Greg Peters' slaying remains a mystery

Ep. 18: Alex Wells

Alex Wells, 46, and his girlfriend were ambushed on Christmas night in 2011 by two men wearing all black and ski masks in the driveway of Wells' West Akron home. One of the men demanded that Wells give him the alarm code to his house. Wells' girlfriend ran and was struck by a bullet in the shoulder. Wells was shot multiple times by both men. Detectives and Wells family members hope for resolution in his case, especially because two men were involved and significant time has passed.

Podcast:

Beacon Journal package: 'Somebody knows who did it,' Detectives and family hope for answers in 2011 Christmas murder