MEDINA, Ohio — It's been nearly five months since 18-year-old Christion Olson was found badly beaten on Topaz Lane in Brunswick Hills. His friends found him, and he was driven home to his parents' house in Medina. They immediately knew something was wrong and called 911.
Olson was ultimately taken to the hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
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His parents, Rochelle and Christopher, have been keeping his spirit alive by marching for answers in the neighborhood where the incident happened.
His father hopes someone out there knows the answers to solve her son's homicide.
“We went to his burial site and sang happy birthday," his father said. "We took a few Christmas gift presents, birthday gifts, other than that man, it's a very unnatural feeling.”
Christion just graduated high school and was looking forward to vocational school and the next chapter of his life.
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"And we were so proud of who he had become and who he was and the decisions he had made and was making, and it is tragic to see it end like it has ended; there is no next page. You know," Christopher Olson said.
Rochelle Olson said someone knows something about her son's death.
"A young man was killed less than two months after his graduation, and you would think like the whole town, the whole city, would be outraged," said Rochelle. "This isn't a community where they have a lot of deaths, as far as like murders, just nothing, nothing."
“I feel we don't know anything more than we knew in July when everything happened," said Christopher Olson.
The couple expressed frustration at the lack of progress with the case.
"We were told there were suspects, there was enough evidence to make arrests. Here we are almost five months later, with nothing," said Christopher Olson. "All we know is our son is gone; our lives and worlds have been shattered.”
Brunswick Hills Police Chief Tim Sopkovich told News 5 that he and his department are equally frustrated.
“I don't think there's been any hold up on it," Sopkovich said. "We have been pursuing many interviews the day that this was given to us.”
Sopkovich says officers canvassed the area. They have Ring camera video from homes, and they have talked to several individuals, witnesses and acquaintances.
"He was at his friend's house just on the other side of the cul de sacs, you know, just hanging out, listening to music, actually having a really good time. They were videotaping each other and eating donuts," said Sopkovich.
At one point, Olson left the home. The chief told us that witnesses saw the teen walk from the cul de sac down Topaz Lane towards Grafton, where eventually, friends found him beaten and picked him up.
"Why he decided to leave his friends and take a walk down there? We're hoping maybe some of those encrypted messages or something like that, will kind of open up that door for us," said Sopkovich.
Those encrypted messages the chief referred to are stored on Christion's and other individuals' cell phones.
"So some of that evidence is still out at BCI, here in Ohio," said Chief Sopkovich. "We also have some evidence down in Lake County trying to get some results on some DNA and different things like that."
The chief says that the teen died from what he says appears to be injuries from an assault; however, they still don't know how many people were involved. They also don't have any physical evidence to file charges.
That’s why the chief enlisted help from Cuyahoga County Crimestoppers.
Christion’s case was pushed out as “The Crime of the Week.”
“To try to push this out so that people can see Christian's face and know that you know this young man deserves answers," said Sopkovich
The chief said tips to Crimestoppers helped solve several high-profile cases in Cuyahoga County, where he worked in Major Crimes for 12 years. He believes the reward could help find the missing piece of the puzzle. Medina County Doesn’t have Crimestoppers.
"Somebody is out there. Somebody knows somebody who has talked to somebody responsible for this," said Sopkovich. "And we need to have closure for this. We need to give this family the answers that they need on what happened to Christian, and this person needs to be prosecuted.
The Olsons hope the person who can solve this case does the right thing and comes forward. She hopes a $5,000 reward from Crimestoppers will loosen the lips of those who may know the truth but are hesitant to speak up. You can remain anonymous.
“Imagine if your parents were sitting here on this couch. Imagine that, because it's going to take someone to come forward who actually has a heart," the couple said.
