Although I have faced many unexpected challenges in 2020, I am fortunate enough to have completed over 50 interviews for the Catch my Killer podcast (www.catchmykiller.com). If you haven’t listened to the podcast, I would ask that you give it a listen. When I created it, my sole objective was to give a voice to families who sought justice for their murdered loved ones. 
One of my more interesting interviews was about an unsolved homicide that has haunted Cincinnati for decades. It involved the murder of the Bricca family. On September 27, 1966, someone murdered Jerry Bricca, Linda Bricca and their 4-year-old daughter Debbie. I interviewed author J.T. Townsend, who covered this crime story in a book titled Summer’s Almost Gone.
I have also spent many hours interviewing families of several murdered soldiers. I spoke to the family of Lavena Johnson, Brandon Rosecrans, Riley Schultz, and Gregory Wedel Morales.
There are thousands of families across the country who have lost a loved one to a homicide. Today, many of these families still wait for answers. Unfortunately, several of my friends were homicide victims. However, the killers were all identified and the families received answers.
Many of the families I speak to have waited many years for answers. Take a minute and think about this. Imagine having someone kill your sibling, parent or a friend for no apparent reason. And then they continue living with no answers. Eventually, the public and the media forget about these cases.
For instance, I interviewed David Dodds, who lost his daughter Brittany Stykes on August 28, 2013. While driving to her father’s residence to celebrate his birthday, an unknown person brutally shot and killed Brittany in Brown County, Ohio. Today, her family still struggles to get answers.
I also met the family of a Northern Kentucky teenager named Paige Johnson who vanished in 2010. Earlier this year, a hunter found her. Someone had murdered Paige and left her body in the woods. This past September, Paige’s family held a vigil to remember her. I met Paige’s daughter, mother, sister and cousin. They will finally be able to give Paige a proper burial. They now must wait for the legal process to start. The police recently arrested a suspect who is possibly involved in Paige’s death.
I have spoken to over sixty people who share a similar pain. Someone they loved has been removed from their lives. Their loved ones didn’t die accidentally or from an illness. These family members should still be alive and preparing to celebrate Christmas and the conclusion of 2020. Instead, these families remain lost and needing answers. However, the wait for answers doesn’t end with an arrest.
Consider Thomas Berg Sr. and his son Brandon Rosecrans who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Rosecrans was murdered earlier in the year by someone he considered a friend. Two people were arrested for killing Brandon. I am thankful Brandon’s family has some answers, but they still don’t know all the details surrounding Brandon’s death. The family likely won’t know everything until Brandon’s killers face a jury.
Through my podcast, I now understand you can feel much pain in the sound of a person’s voice. There isn’t anything worse than hearing a mother tell you about how her daughter died after being stabbed 20 times. And then I learned the coroner ruled the death a suicide. The distraught mother disagreed and now finds herself in an upcoming legal battle with the coroner who made the ruling. Although 2020 has been a terrible year for many of us, I admire the strength and courage of the family members who will spend their remaining days fighting to get justice for their loved ones. To these families, time has no meaning. For them, unjustly losing a loved one has moved them to take action and champion a cause. I can only hope that 2021 is a better year for the families I have spoken to and that they can find the peace and justice that has eluded them.
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and an avid reader. Contact him through his website at www.themarcabe.com or through Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themarcabe or his Twitter account @themarcabe. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer where he interviews family members seeking justice for their murdered loved ones. You can listen at www.catchmykiller.com.