Erin DeMarco was a 19-year-old student from Canton, Ohio, who her loved ones remembered as someone who loved life and brought happiness to others. A student at Ohio University and a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority, she was known for her playful spirit. Her father, Michael, recalled her as his "best friend" who enjoyed teasing him. Erin, a White female, was visiting friends at The Ohio State University in Columbus for a weekend with two of her sorority sisters, Andrea Dennis and Christine Wilson.
On the night of Saturday, April 12, 2003, Erin attended a party at a house on 64 East 17th Avenue in the University District, near the OSU campus. The gathering, with as many as 200 attendees, was a 21st birthday celebration for one of the residents, OSU student Alan Schlessman. The party ended in the early hours of Sunday, April 13, and by 3:30 a.m., most guests had left, with about 16 people remaining in the three-story brick home. Around 4 a.m., a fire erupted.
Investigators later determined the blaze was an arson, deliberately set on a couch on the home's front porch.
The fire spread with terrifying speed, engulfing the house and trapping many of the occupants inside. Eleven people managed to escape on their own or were rescued by the Columbus Division of Fire, but five students were caught on the second floor. Firefighters found Erin, Kyle Raulin, Alan Schlessman, Andrea Dennis, and Christine Wilson deceased inside. The cause of death for all five was determined to be smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. The tragedy claimed the lives of two Ohio State students, Raulin and Schlessman, and three Ohio University students, DeMarco, Dennis, and Wilson.
The Columbus Division of Police launched a homicide investigation. Over the following months, detectives interviewed approximately 170 people who had been at the party. Four months after the fire, authorities arrested a suspect, Robert Patterson, described as a campus-area drifter. He was charged with five counts of aggravated murder and multiple counts of aggravated arson. According to investigators, Patterson had implicated himself in the crime. However, the case against him quickly faltered. Prosecutors announced that they lacked sufficient evidence to secure a conviction and dropped all charges.
Though the charges were dismissed, police stated that Patterson remained a person of interest in the case. The investigation was eventually handed over to the cold-case unit, which continued to review evidence and seek new leads over the years. Detectives have maintained that they believe some individuals who were at the party on the night of the fire have never come forward to speak with law enforcement. They have publicly appealed for those people to share any information, no matter how minor it may seem, in the hope that it could finally solve the case.
In the years since the fire, the families of the five victims have channeled their grief into creating positive legacies. They established scholarship funds and charitable foundations to honor their children. The Christine Wilson Foundation has raised significant funds for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which named its burn unit after her. Al's Clinics was founded in Alan Schlessman's memory to provide funding for underprivileged children to attend sports clinics. Memorial services at both universities brought the campus communities together to remember the lives that were lost.
The murders of Erin DeMarco and her four friends remain unsolved. The families and survivors continue to live with the pain of their loss while holding out hope for justice. "We're all hoping for an arrest and conviction," Christine Wilson's father, Tim, said on the fifth anniversary. "Not that we'll get closure. That's a real overused word. There is no closure. But we'll have some sense of satisfaction knowing that the person who started the fire is paying for their crime." A reward for information leading to an arrest has been offered. Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbus police cold-case unit at 614-645-4036.
