DNA evidence leads to indictment in Cleveland cold case murder

Courts and JusticeA Euclid man faces murder charges in a 2004 killing after investigators said DNA evidence linked him to the fatal stabbing. (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer)The Plain DealerBy Lucas Daprile, cleveland.comCLEVELAND, Ohio -- More than two decades after Naomi Fails was found stabbed to death on the floor of a Cleveland apartment complex, prosecutors think they have cracked the case. On Tuesday, the man charged with her murder, Angelo Smith, will be arraigned in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. He faces charges including aggravated murder. Angelo, 68, of Euclid was indicted in secret last month before the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office and a SWAT team arrested him. He was booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail on Aug. 7, where he remained as of Monday afternoon. “Forensic genetic genealogy was the key to solving this 22-year-old murder,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Mike O’Malley said in a statement. “Without these advances in science, this case would remain unsolved. Naomi’s family and loved ones will now have their day in court as they seek justice for her.”On March 13, 2004, the owner of a vacant apartment building on Somerset Avenue near East 105th street went to repair a broken window and discovered the body of Fails, 40, in the bedroom, dead of multiple stab wounds, according to The Plain Dealer’s archives. The apartment’s owner, who is not listed in archive records, allowed Fails to stay at the building in exchange for her doing work there, Fails’ mother told the paper at the time. Investigators also noted someone had forced their way inside the apartment through a boarded-up window, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Lexi Bauer said. In 2019, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office’s GOLD team, which stands for Genetic Operations Linking DNA, began investigating, Bauer said.Prosecutors sent genetic data to Othram, a company that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, and were able to construct a family tree of the suspect, Bauer said. Those results pointed toward Smith, so investigators searched his trash. Seeing that the DNA in the trash matched the DNA found at the crime scene, police obtained a search warrant for Smith’s DNA. As of Monday afternoon, no attorney information was listed for Smith. Lucas Daprile is a news reporter focusing on courts for cleveland.com and the Plain Dealer. He also writes a satirical advice column, Ask Lucas, typically once per week. He is a Northeast Ohio native who...