Franklin Police reopen the cold case homicide of Emily Coleman

FRANKLIN — Someone murdered her grandmother, and weeks later, her mother died.

News Center 7 takes you back to 1968 with a Miamisburg woman’s fight to find her grandmother’s killer.

In 1968, Richard Nixon became President, and people mourned the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Also, that same year, someone killed 69-year-old Emily Coleman of Franklin.

Cindy Hubbard, of Miamisburg, was 13 years old at the time. Now, 71, she is searching for her grandmother’s killer.

“I wanted to get the word out because it’s still unsolved 58 years later,” Hubbard said.

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Her family was close and had three siblings.

“It was just wonderful. The best of times growing up,” Hubbard said.

In 1967, Hubbard’s grandfather died of a heart attack. A year later, someone murdered her grandmother.

“She was shot four times in the head while she was sleeping,” Hubbard said.

Her mother and oldest sister found Coleman’s body on August 27 on the summer porch of her Warren Avenue home. Then, seven weeks later, Hubbard’s mother died.

“My mother never recovered. She grieved, and then I found her dead. She died of a broken heart,” Hubbard said.

Police in Franklin investigated Coleman’s murder but never made an arrest.

Lt. Brian Pacifico with Franklin Police said, “It lasted about two weeks. There was no more evidence, and they had no suspects at that time or no one that they could prove had committed the crime. So, they closed the case,”

“When something’s not solved, you just assume they’re working on it, and I assumed wrong,” Hubbard said.

In 2024, Franklin Police Detective David Hatfield reopened Coleman’s murder case.

“He wanted to look further into this case. He wanted to figure out who committed this crime. For Det. Hatfield, this has become very personal,” Pacifico said.

Arrests and convictions in cold cases are rare, but they do happen. In 2022, the Department of Justice gave Dayton Police a grant to use DNA to investigate cold cases.

Lt. Eric Sheldon with Dayton Police said, “Our investigators went back through decades’ worth of cold cases. They spent a lot of time organizing them, digitizing them.”

Some of those cases are:

Tiandre Turner - Rape
Jeffrey Young - Murder of Patricia Peck
Calvin Felder, Jr. - Murder of Lillian Oglesby
Jesse James Lockley, Jr. - Death of Arlene Hall

New or retested DNA helped police arrest a serial rapist, a man suspected of murdering his mother, and locked up two men they said killed two women more than 20 years ago.

“Never give up hope. A new tip or new lead or, you know, a new piece of technology may be all we need to find a suspect and hopefully prosecute that case,” Sheldon said.

“I wish that for everybody who has experienced a homicide. That they find the truth no matter what the truth is,” Hubbard said.

In the case of Emily Coleman, using DNA to find that truth will be difficult. Detectives have already identified and ruled out a handful of fingerprints that they found at the scene.

“The lack of evidence makes it very difficult. We’re relying on black-and-white photos,” Pacifico said.

Hubbard knows the person who killed her grandmother may be dead. And there’s the very real possibility that police will never be able to identify them.

“I think anything is possible, but I won’t give up,” Hubbard said.

Anyone with information about Emily Coleman’s murder can call Franklin Police or Crimestoppers at 1-888-352-3040.

As for Hubbard, she told News Center 7’s Gabrielle Enright that she wants to identify her grandmother’s killer. Her goal is to help other people who have lost a loved one to homicide.

Resources for Survivors of Homicide Victims:

Ohio Victim Witness Association

OVWA.ORG
Monday- Friday 9 am-5 pm
The Ohio Homicide Co-Victim Helpline Is New
1-866-275-6982
https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://ovwa.org/helpline/__;!!F8-Dj6fVkZI!fQ9VTnBgOsWyM_PgZgmnoOigwGmh0JFzVTIDGpt3B7Z0Ccv3zwA5ExPqJ6U4hBGD6TANQ2onvPPA2BnIW6BPvTwYHGlVvw$

Montgomery County Virtual Homicide Survivor Support Group (Miami Valley Dayton) Virtual Support Group 2nd Monday (open to all counties) 6pm -7:15pm (no mtg. Dec.)

937-225-5623 to obtain link and 24-hour help line

National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, INC (POMC) https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.pomc.org__;!!F8-Dj6fVkZI!fQ9VTnBgOsWyM_PgZgmnoOigwGmh0JFzVTIDGpt3B7Z0Ccv3zwA5ExPqJ6U4hBGD6TANQ2onvPPA2BnIW6BPvTxT1FzblA$

Open to all who are friends and family of homicide victims
3 locations in Ohio; contact each chapter below for virtual and/or meeting dates:
Cincinnati (snolan1@fuse.net) 513-910-2598 Columbus (Ohiohugs@sbcglobal.net) Toledo (NWOPOMC@gmail.com) 567-219-1616; 567-215-0045

https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.ucanspeakforme.org__;!!F8-Dj6fVkZI!fQ9VTnBgOsWyM_PgZgmnoOigwGmh0JFzVTIDGpt3B7Z0Ccv3zwA5ExPqJ6U4hBGD6TANQ2onvPPA2BnIW6BPvTxXtCPBlQ$; Hope Dudley, Founder/CEO Prints reward cards, posters, bookmarks to bring awareness of unsolved cases Call for monthly support groups and annual conference information Cincinnati office 513-772-7754; Mobile 513: 404-3063; Fax 513-772-7755

Virtual Support Group for Unsolved /Cold Cases is now open to survivors across the country