Mahoning County Prosecutor Gina DeGenova joined Boardman Township Chief of Police Todd Werth and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced the identification of a suspect in a 1975 cold case homicide.
In 1975, the Boardman Twp. Community was left searching for answers after a teenage boy, David Evans, was reported missing and later found dead. The discovery of Evan’s body came 1,023 days after the murder of another young boy, Bradley Bellino.
With help from detectives with the Boardman Twp. Police Department and the attorney general’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s (BCI) forensic laboratory Joseph Norman Hill Sr. was identified as the offender linked to both homicides.
In both cases, the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office determined that the forensic evidence would be sufficient to present the cases to a grand jury for indictment if Hill had remained alive.
“Due to the hard work of our law enforcement partners, the killer of David Evans has been identified,” said Prosecutor DeGenova. “While no words can ever bring David back to those who loved him, I pray that this information will bring some closure to his family. Mr. Hill ruined so many lives. I only wish he lived long enough to have been brought to justice. May David Evans and Bradley Bellino rest in peace.”
Thank you to the Boardman Township Police Department, Chief of Police Todd Werth, Ohio AG, Dave Yost, and Ohio BCI for their hard work in giving these families the answers they deserve after decades of heartbreak.