Hyde Park Bang Bang

Decomposed Body Found In Hyde Park Yard
Reported by: Lance Barry
Web produced by: Neil Relyea
Photographed by:
Jeremy Glover, Jason Garrison
First posted: 6/25/2006 11:10:49 PM There's mystery after a young man's decomposing body was found in a Hyde Park backyard Sunday afternoon.

The home is located in the 3400 block of Vista Avenue near O'Bryonville.

This particular section of Hyde Park is known for its affluence, not dead bodies.

But that's exactly what police found.

The big question is, how did the body get there?

9News has learned about the theory that police are going with.

Only 9News cameras were at the crime scene Sunday afternoon, capturing a combination of crime tape and police officers keeping onlookers at bay -- some not even sure of what they were looking at.

"I thought it was like a meth lab at first, at first glance," said Ann Lumb, a Hyde Park resident.

It took the coroner's office hauling away what appears to be Cincinnati's most recent homicide for reality to sink in there.

But life-long resident Ann Lumb says she has a reason to be confused about what she saw.

"This kind of thing doesn't happen in this area too much," said Lumb, "so, I'm feeling a little bit afraid to live here."

Cincinnati police wouldn't comment on-camera about the body, but did say it's that of a black male in his late 20s, found in a state of decomposition by the home owner's garage.

Thea Reis lives across from the home. She says she has a hunch that its proximity to I-71 might have played a part.

"You get people coming through here and you just never know what it is going to bring," Reis told 9News.

9News has learned that Cincinnati police aren't ruling that out either, specifically, that the body may have been dumped there.

With the smell coming from that area on Sunday, it would be hard to believe it could have been there long without someone noticing.

The body had no I.D. and it will take a formal autopsy to determine if the cause of death is indeed homicide, while police look for clues.

Tending to her dogs earlier, Reis says she did see something out of the ordinary just days ago. And she wants police to know.

"I had seen a 4-x-4 black car and another car pulling out of his driveway and I thought it was odd," Reis said. "Nobody ever pulls in the driveway, even his children pull out front."

The house in question is for sale and has been so for the past year, 9News was told.

It's asking price is thought to be around $600,000.

To put things in perspective about just how exclusive a neighborhood it is, the house is likely on the less expensive scale in that market -- so certainly not a neighborhood where you'd expect to find a body.

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If you have any information about this crime, please call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040. You don't have to give your name and you may be eligible for a reward if your tips lead to an arrest.

Jesse - isn't that pretty close to you? Better get a gun.