Devry Mosley

For more than four decades, the silence surrounding the death of Devry Mosley has been a heavy burden. A 27-year-old Black woman, Devry was killed in Akron, Ohio, on Tuesday, November 18, 1980. Her death was ruled a homicide, but the trail for her killer went cold, leaving behind a case file filled with unanswered questions and a community with an unsolved crime.

Very little public information has ever been released about Devry’s life. Who she was as a person—her friends and family, her work, her dreams, and the things that brought her joy—remains shielded from the public record. Her memory exists primarily in the stark, official classification of an unsolved murder, a name on a list of tragedies waiting for justice. Without an obituary or public remembrances from loved ones, the personal story of the young woman lost that autumn day has been obscured by the crime itself.

The specific details of what happened to Devry on that day in 1980 are not publicly known. The location within Akron where she was found, the cause of her death, and the circumstances leading up to the final moments of her life have been held by investigators. There were no publicly announced witnesses, and no description of a potential suspect was ever released. The Akron Police Department handled the initial investigation, but as time passed with no significant leads, Devry’s case was designated as "cold."

Akron, a city built on the rubber industry, was undergoing significant economic and social change in 1980. Like many industrial cities in the region, it faced challenges, and crime was a part of that reality. In a year with numerous other homicides, a case with few leads could easily be eclipsed by more immediate investigations. For the detectives at the time, each unsolved case represented a frustrating end to a trail they desperately wanted to follow to its conclusion.

Today, the investigation into Devry Mosley’s murder is officially inactive, but it has not been forgotten. Her case is listed in the Ohio Unsolved Homicides database, a public initiative managed by the Ohio Attorney General's Office. This powerful tool serves as a digital repository for cold cases from across the state, created with the hope of generating new leads from the public. By featuring victims like Devry, law enforcement aims to reach people who may hold a missing piece of the puzzle—individuals who might have been reluctant to speak at the time or who may have dismissed a piece of information as unimportant.

The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) often partners with local agencies such as the Akron Police Department to provide advanced investigative resources and a fresh perspective on these lingering cases. This collaboration ensures that even decades-old files are not simply gathering dust but are available for review should new technology, such as advancements in DNA analysis, or new witness testimony emerge.

As of the latest updates, there have been no arrests, and no persons of interest have ever been publicly identified in connection with Devry Mosley's death. The case remains open but unsolved. For any family or friends who mourned her loss, the decades without answers represent a prolonged and painful uncertainty. Law enforcement continues to ask for the public’s help to finally bring closure to this case. Anyone with information regarding the homicide of Devry Mosley is encouraged to contact the Ohio Attorney General's Office.