“Why?”
That’s the question an Akron family wants to be answered about the unsolved double homicide of a mother and son in May.
“These people don’t know what they did,” said Roslyn Lane-Clark. “I don’t use the word ‘closure’ anymore, but we just want a sense of why this happened.”
Sonia Freeman, 48, and her son, Christopher Lane-Freeman, 28, were killed in their West Akron home in May.
Their deaths remain unsolved — two of 15 unsolved homicides within the city’s limits in 2016. Another 15 homicides last year have resulted in charges against suspects or were otherwise solved by investigators.
“We’re still continuing to work the case,” Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards said. “There’s nothing concrete right now, but it’s still an open investigation.”
Police say the number of homicides in 2016 isn’t unusual, and neither is the number that remain unsolved.
The most homicides in Akron in recent years — 32 — was in 2006, compared to a low of 16 in 2008.
Edwards said there’s “no rhyme or reason” why certain years see more homicides than others.
“I wish we had an explanation,” he said.
Of 28 homicides in 2015, police report that 16 are solved. In both 2013 and 2014, 23 people died by homicide; detectives have since solved all but one from each year.
In years where detectives solve more homicides, Edwards said it could be that killers admit their involvement readily or they might be domestic violence cases that have a clear suspect. Other times, it could be that homicides occur in public and had witnesses who were willing to talk.
When homicides go unsolved, Edwards said, it’s usually because people who know something about a case fear for their safety if they tell police what they know. In other cases, witnesses might be unreliable or evidence might be scarce.
“Really,” he said, “it depends on the case.”
Relatives of Chris and Sonia take solace that there’s hope their killers might be caught.
According to police, three men went to the family’s home in the 1200 block of Hartford Avenue and opened fire about 10 p.m. May 1. Chris was shot multiple times, while Sonia was hit once, according to the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Lane-Clark, a cousin of Sonia who grew up in the same household, said clues uncovered since the shooting have illuminated some of what happened that Sunday night.
No forced entry
The attackers likely were invited into the home because Chris was shot in an upstairs bedroom and there was no sign of forced entry or a struggle downstairs, Lane-Clark said. After shots sounded, Sonia probably went to investigate and was gunned down near the bedroom door as the men escaped the home.
The incident was reported to police by Sonia’s other child, a 9-year-old daughter who was home at the time. She is living with other relatives and has turned 10 since the shootings, Lane-Clark said.
“She’s doing better than most of us,” Lane-Clark said, “or at least as good as you’d expect.”
Close to cousin
Lane-Clark described Sonia as an “angel.” The two were raised together by their grandmother, and Lane-Clark recalled the two of them playing games and entertaining each other as children. As an adult, Sonia enjoyed line-dancing and cooking for family members. She was known for baking Rice Krispies treats into holiday-themed shapes for family gatherings and dressing in matching clothes with her daughter.
“She was an angel,” Lane-Clark said. “Nobody’s perfect, but she was close to it.”
Where Sonia was more outgoing, Lane-Clark said Chris was more reserved and quiet. He kept to himself, she said, but was polite and friendly. He enjoyed making music and had worked at the Akron Art Museum on the maintenance staff since 2011.
“What he liked was making beats,” she said, “and he was good at it.”
Their deaths devastated the family, Lane-Clark said. She recalled seeing flashing police lights at the home on the night of the shootings and feeling like she was watching a scene from a movie.
A dark cloud
“It just didn’t feel real. It still doesn’t,” she said. “This put a deep hole in my family. Holidays are just not the same. It’s like we have a dark cloud over us.”
Following their deaths, the family hired private investigator Washington Lacy, a former Akron police officer, to help solve the case. Lacy said the case resembles narcotics-related cases he’s worked, but there’s no evidence to suggest anyone in the home was involved in serious drug crime. Court records show Chris faced misdemeanor charges related to marijuana in 2013, but nothing more than that.
“One of the first things I did was verify characters,” Lacy said, “and everything I could find confirmed these were good people.”
He said he’s confident the police know more than they’re telling the family — which he takes as a good sign. Lane-Clark said her family still has hope the police will solve the slaying, and she dreams of one day seeing the men responsible in handcuffs.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook @JournoNickGlunt .