CLEVELAND — It's been four years since Cleveland firefighters responded to a brush fire and found a woman's dismembered body. Now, a reward has been offered for information leading to the killer.
In February 2020, we told you that firefighters were called to the railroad tracks near Clermont and Larchmont roads for a brush fire. Firefighters soon discovered it was more than a fire.
Someone had set a dismembered body on fire. Police later identified the victim as 54-year-old Benette Smith.
Days after her body was discovered, people in the surrounding neighborhood said the alley that runs back to the railroad tracks near where the body was discovered is frequently used for illegal dumping.
“What was done to her, the heinous crime that was done to her, nobody deserves that, nobody,” said her daughter, who doesn’t want to be identified, as she fears for her safety.
Smith was a mother, grandmother, and sister. “My mom was a person with a very big heart,” she said.
For four years, police have searched for a killer and her family for answers. “I think about her every day,” Smith’s daughter said.
“I think about the what ifs, the who, the why. I have no answers, so my mind is always on overdrive thinking about it because I have no closure,” she added.
Now, a $5,000 reward is being offered.
“The investigators have run into a wall when it comes to leads. They’ve followed all the leads they could, and now we’re putting up the reward because we’re hoping to get more information,” said Patricia Meehan, director of Crime Stoppers Cuyahoga County.
Police said Smith was known to frequent the East Cleveland area and was last seen around East 22nd and Payne Avenue.
Police and Smith’s family now hope the money will entice someone who knows something to come forward.
“For a person to do that, it shows that they have evil in them; it’s pure evil,” said her daughter.
Crime Stoppers is anonymous. Anyone with information is asked to call 216-252-7463 or submit a tip online by CLICKING HERE.
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