For decades, the family of Herman L. Burton has waited for answers in the brutal, unsolved killing that claimed his life in the spring of 1987. An African-American man, Mr. Burton was 47 years old when his life was cut short, leaving a void for those who knew him and a case that has remained cold for more than thirty years.
The violent encounter took place on Thursday, May 28, 1987, at Mr. Burton’s home in the North Linden neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio. He was inside his apartment, located at 3688 Cleveland Avenue, Apartment B2, with several other people when the evening was shattered by a sudden home invasion. Two white male subjects, both armed with guns, forced their way into the residence. In the chaos and terror that followed, Herman Burton was shot. He succumbed to the fatal gunshot wounds, his life taken inside his own home.
The apartment complex, formerly known as Sandstone Manor Apartments, was a collection of two-story brick buildings constructed in the early 1960s. Situated on a major city artery, Cleveland Avenue, the area in the 1980s was a busy mix of residential and commercial activity. North Linden itself, once a suburban village annexed by Columbus in the 1920s, had seen significant changes in the decades leading up to the crime. By the 1980s, like many urban neighborhoods, it was grappling with economic shifts and the societal challenges of the era.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the investigation was launched by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office. With a history stretching back to the county's formation in 1803, the Sheriff's Office is the chief law enforcement agency for the county, responsible for investigating the most serious crimes in its jurisdiction. Detectives would have canvassed the apartment complex, interviewing the other people present during the home invasion and searching for any witnesses or evidence left behind by the two assailants.
Despite the presence of witnesses inside the apartment, the identities of the two men who broke in and fired the fatal shots have remained a mystery. The motive for the home invasion was never publicly clarified by investigators, and key questions linger: Was it a robbery gone wrong? Was Herman Burton the intended target, or was he simply in the path of a violent intrusion? Without suspects, these questions have gone unanswered, leaving a painful silence for his loved ones.
As years turned into decades, the case was placed in Ohio's unsolved homicide database, a public-facing repository of cold cases managed by the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI). This initiative aims to bring fresh visibility to cases like Mr. Burton's, hoping that the passage of time may encourage new witnesses to come forward or that advances in forensic technology could uncover new leads from old evidence. The BCI’s Cold Case Unit, formed to provide new resources and a fresh perspective, works with local agencies like the Franklin County Sheriff's Office to re-examine these difficult investigations.
The homicide of Herman Burton remains an open and active cold case. There have been no arrests, and no suspects have been publicly named. As of today, his case is a stark reminder of the enduring pain of unresolved violence. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office continues to hold the file on this case, awaiting the one piece of information that could finally break it open. Anyone who may have information regarding the home invasion and shooting at 3688 Cleveland Avenue on May 28, 1987, is urged to contact the Franklin County Sheriff's Office or submit a tip through the Ohio Attorney General's office.
