The Cassidy family murders: two parents shot in their beds, a 12-year-old beaten, and a weapon never found.
In the early hours of April 1, 1968, William Cassidy, 41, and his wife Ann, 37, were found shot to death in their beds at their home near Milan, Erie County, Ohio. Their daughter Patricia, 12, was found severely beaten in the next room and died days later. No one has been charged.
Case file at a glance
It was a triple murder in a small farm town. The weapon was never found, and a 2018 report said a "mystifying piece of evidence" was left behind without saying what it was. The Erie County Sheriff keeps the case open. No suspect has ever been publicly named.
- Shot in their beds.William and Ann were found shot to death in their beds.
- A child beaten.Patricia was found severely beaten in her bed and died days later.
- No weapon.The murder weapon was never recovered.
- An unexplained item.News 5 says investigators found a "mystifying piece of evidence" but does not describe it.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
What happened
Details come from three Ohio Attorney General listings (cases 1836 to 1838) and a News 5 Cleveland feature.
The killings
William Cassidy and Ann Cassidy are shot in their beds at their home on State Route 13 near Milan. Patricia, sleeping in the next room, is beaten.
Found
The family is found. Patricia is alive but severely injured.
Patricia dies
Patricia dies from her injuries.
News 5 revisits
News 5 Cleveland features the case in its Unsolved series and gives the Erie County Sheriff tip line, 419-627-7668.
State listings
The Ohio Attorney General lists all three as unsolved homicides under the Erie County Sheriff.
Victims
A well-loved family in a farm town of about 1,300 people.
Photo: Ohio Attorney General listing. The source states no reuse license; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedWilliam Cassidy, 41
Shot in his bed on April 1, 1968.
Photo: Ohio Attorney General listing. The source states no reuse license; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedAnn Cassidy, 37
Shot in her bed.
Photo: Ohio Attorney General listing. The source states no reuse license; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedPatricia Cassidy, 12
Beaten in her bed; she died days later.
We found no freely licensed photo, so a silhouette is shown. Family members or others who want a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Evidence
What exists, and what each piece may or may not mean.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| The shootings | Two adults shot in their beds. | Caliber and gun type: not public in what we read. |
| Patricia's injuries | Severely beaten. | What object was used: not public. |
| The unexplained item | A "mystifying piece of evidence" was left, per News 5. | What it was: not stated in the copy we read. |
| The scene | The home on State Route 13. | Entry and exit: not public. |
Public documents
Three state listings and a news feature are the public record.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Attorney General: William Cassidy | Ohio Attorney General | Case 1836. | Online, free |
| News 5 Cleveland: Who killed the Cassidys? | News 5 Cleveland | Feature, about 2018. | Online, free |
| Erie County Sheriff case file | Erie County Sheriff | The 1968 investigation. | Withheld or sealed |
Access labels: Online, free = we could open it. Fan-hosted copy = a private researcher posted scans; originals are held by the named agency, and we cannot vouch for completeness. Quoted in news = reporters read it; we did not see the document itself. Request needed = held by an agency or court. Withheld = the holder has not released it. We cannot reach non-public records, and we do not try to.
Online discussion (unverified)
Where people talk about this case online, and how to read it.
| Platform | Live search | What you tend to find |
|---|---|---|
| Google: Reddit | site:reddit.com search | Public Reddit threads that Google has indexed, including old discussions. |
| Google: X and Twitter | X and Twitter posts | Public posts and profiles that appear in search results. |
| Google: Facebook | Public Facebook pages and posts | Only public pages and groups that Google can see. Private groups never appear. |
| Google: Instagram and TikTok | Instagram and TikTok | Public posts, memorials, and videos. |
| Google: forums | Forums and message boards | Long-running true-crime forums. |
| Google News | Latest news | Newest reporting, which is usually more reliable than posts. |
| Search Reddit | Long discussion threads and theories, often by amateur researchers. No sign-in needed to read. | |
| X (Twitter) | Search X | Short posts, news links, and anniversary notes. May require sign-in. |
| Search Facebook | Public groups and family or community pages. Requires sign-in. | |
| Search #cassidyfamily | Memorial and true-crime posts. Requires sign-in. | |
| YouTube | Search YouTube | Documentaries, news clips, and interviews. Quality varies widely. |
Be careful with online theories. Naming a private person as a suspect can harm an innocent family, and many "identifications" on forums have been wrong. Our own tools could not read these platforms: Reddit blocks automated access, and the others require an account. The Google searches above work from your browser. To get new public mentions by email, make a free Google Alert for the case name in quotation marks.
Coverage timeline and verification
What local and national reports say, and when we last checked for a solution.
| Date | Outlet | What it reported | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| About 2018 (undated) | |||
| News 5 Cleveland | |||
| Feature; sheriff tip line. | |||
| Read | |||
| Current | |||
| Ohio Attorney General | |||
| Cases 1836 to 1838. | |||
| Read |
Status is re-checked on a regular schedule. If you know of a development we missed, use the clue form near the top of this page or the contact form, and include a link.
Suspects
No suspect has been publicly named.
The killer or killers
Why named: Someone shot two adults in their beds and beat a child.
Against: No names or descriptions are public.
Where a card shows a silhouette, we found no photo. Anyone who wants a photo added, changed, or removed can use the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Latest lead: the unexplained item at the scene
The one distinctive detail the public has been told about is an item left behind.
What is known
- The sheriff lists the case as open.
- A 2018 report gave a tip line and no suspect.
- The weapon was never found.
What would settle it
- Reveal and test the left-behind item for DNA.
- Re-test any retained evidence with modern methods.
- Search 1968 newspapers for names and theories.
A planned or targeted killing of a family at night
We put the chance that the killer knew the family or the house at roughly 65%. We put the chance of a solution within five years at roughly 3%, because the case is nearly 60 years old.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
Elimination matrix
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Person or idea | Link | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown killer | |||
| ? inferred | |||
| — none published | |||
| — unidentified |
✗ excluded or contradicted · ✓ supports · ? disputed · — nothing public. No cell is an official finding.
Our hypothesis
Editorial reading of public records. A working theory, not a finding, and it names no individual.
A targeted killing inside the home
- It was at night. The family was asleep.
- It was close range. Two shot, one beaten.
- The weapon vanished. Never recovered.
- One item is unexplained. It may identify the killer.
Judgment, not statistics.
Missing links
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
1. The left-behind item
What it is and whether it was tested.
2. The weapon
Caliber and whether it was ever traced.
3. The household
Who had access or a grudge.
4. 1968 coverage
Local newspapers.
5. Retained evidence
Whether any survives.
6. The theories
What local police thought at the time.
Evidence gaps
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence | Collected in 1968. | Whether kept and tested: not public. |
| Autopsies | Done in 1968. | Not public. |
| Sheriff's file | Held by Erie County. | Public index: not available. |
Forensic tech
| Tool | What it could do | Status here |
|---|---|---|
| DNA from retained evidence | Identify a donor or exclude people. | Unknown; not reported |
| Forensic genetic genealogy | Identify an unknown donor from relatives. | Needs usable DNA; none reported |
| Ballistics database (NIBIN) | Link recovered casings or bullets to other crimes. | Not reported |
Solved cases
Local cases that moved after decades.
Carol Sue Klaber (Boone County, KY, 1976)
Investigators say a private genealogy investigation helped them identify Thomas Dunaway, who died in 1990, as the man who killed the 16-year-old. He cannot be indicted, so prosecutors sent a letter saying he would have been charged. The lesson: genealogy can name a killer after decades, even when no trial is possible.
Forensic genetic genealogy training
In 2024, local investigators were being trained in the technique, which has already helped solve Cincinnati-area cases, according to FOX19. The lesson: the tool is now local, so cases with usable DNA have a real path forward.
Golden State Killer
Old crime-scene DNA matched relatives in a public database and led to a 2018 arrest. The lesson: a usable sample can still work after decades.
Case details come from public news coverage and the Boone County Sheriff's cold-case list. Confirm in court records.
False leads
| Claim | Source and date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| The location is Edison | A News 5 URL | The text and the Attorney General place it near Milan. |
| A named neighbor did it | Local gossip | No charge. Treat as unproven. |
Where
The home was on State Route 13 near Milan in Erie County, Ohio, between Cleveland and Toledo.
Open in maps: Milan, Ohio. We show no photograph of the scene.
Source ratings
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Attorney General listings (cases 1836 to 1838) | Agency | A | Opened; short. |
| News 5 Cleveland feature | Local news | B | Undated copy, about 2018. |
| Court TV article | National news | B- | Seen in search results; not opened. |
Records
Erie County Sheriff's Office
Lead agency. News 5 gave 419-627-7668; please confirm before calling.
Erie County Prosecutor
Charging decisions.
Ohio Attorney General (BCI)
Cases 1836 to 1838.
Sample public-records request
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the April 1, 1968 homicides of William, Ann and Patricia Cassidy near Milan, Erie County, including incident reports, laboratory reports, and any evidence inventory. Please send electronic copies. If any part is withheld, please identify the exemption relied on and release all reasonably segregable material.
Agencies often withhold records of open investigations, so expect partial answers.
Remembering the victims
William was 41, Ann 37, and Patricia 12.
News & databases
In the news
Loading headlines…
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
- William Frederick Cassidy, Unsolved Homicide, Ohio Attorney General (case 1836; photo).
- Ann Cassidy, Unsolved Homicide, Ohio Attorney General (case 1838; photo).
- Patricia Ellen Cassidy, Unsolved Homicide, Ohio Attorney General (case 1837; photo).
- Who killed William, Ann and 12-year-old Patricia Cassidy?, News 5 Cleveland (undated, about 2018).
The News 5 piece is undated and does not describe the left-behind item. We found no coverage after about 2018.
Change log
- Oct 8, 2026: File published.