On Aug 12, 2016, Tyresha Cody, 25, and her boyfriend TreMalik Russell, 21, were found shot in a maroon Pontiac parked in an alley between East 21st and East 22nd avenues in South Linden, Columbus. Russell died at the scene and Cody died the next day. No one has been charged.
Investigators say the shooter was inside the car when he opened fire. Bystanders saw it on a bright day with children outside. The couple had a 12-day-old daughter. A decade later the families are still waiting for an arrest, and Columbus police said they had no updates.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
Details come from a WSYX / ABC6 report published Aug 12, 2026, the tenth anniversary.
Tyresha Cody and TreMalik Russell welcome a daughter.
The couple are found shot inside a parked maroon Pontiac in an alley between East 21st and East 22nd avenues in South Linden. Russell dies at the scene.
Tyresha Cody dies the next day.
A local report marks five years of waiting for justice.
Columbus police decline an on-camera interview and say they have no updates. The families urge the shooter to come forward.
A young couple with a newborn.
The mother of a 12-day-old girl. Her mother says "stuff that's done in the dark will eventually come to the light."
The father of six children. His mother has vowed never to stop seeking whoever killed him.
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.
What exists, and what each piece may or may not mean.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| The shooting | Both shot inside a parked car; the shooter was inside, per investigators. | Caliber, number of shots, and number of shooters: not public. |
| The car | A maroon Pontiac belonging to Russell's brother. | Forensic findings: not public. |
| Witnesses | Bystanders saw the shooting, per Russell's mother. | What they said to police: not public. |
| Motive | Not stated. | Unknown. |
One 2026 news report is the public record.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSYX / ABC6 (Aug 2026) | WSYX / ABC6 | Ten-year report. | Online, free |
| Columbus police case file | Columbus Division of Police | The 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.
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 #codyrussell | 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.
What local and national reports say, and when we last checked for a solution.
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.
There is no publicly named suspect.
Why named: Investigators say he was inside the car when he fired.
Against: No name or description is 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.
The one stated feature of the case is that people saw it.
We put the chance that the shooter knew at least one victim at roughly 70%, because he was inside the car. We put the chance of an arrest within five years at roughly 12%, because witnesses exist.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Person or idea | In the car | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The shooter (unidentified) | |||
| ✓ inside, per investigators | |||
| — none published | |||
| — unidentified |
✗ excluded or contradicted · ✓ supports · ? disputed · — nothing public. No cell is an official finding.
Editorial reading of public records. A working theory, not a finding, and it names no individual.
Judgment, not statistics.
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
Anyone who saw him get in or out.
Why the couple.
Ballistics.
Any camera in the alley.
What they told police.
None found.
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Ballistics | Collected. | Not public. |
| Car evidence | Collected. | Not public. |
| Police file | Columbus Police. | Public index: not available. |
| 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 |
Local cases that moved after decades.
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.
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.
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.
| Claim | Source and date | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|
| Details beyond the 2026 report | ||
| Various | ||
| None are verified. |
They were found in an alley between East 21st and East 22nd avenues in the South Linden neighborhood of Columbus.
Open in maps: South Linden alley, Columbus. We show no photograph of the scene.
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSYX / ABC6, Aug 12, 2026 | Local news | B+ | The only detailed source we read. Quotes the families. |
| CW Columbus, NBC4 | Local news | B | Seen in search results; not opened. |
Lead agency. 614-645-4730 (as reported); please confirm before calling.
614-461-TIPS.
Charging decisions.
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the August 12, 2016 homicides of Tyresha Cody and TreMalik Russell in South Linden, Columbus, 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.
Tyresha was 25 and TreMalik was 21. Their mothers keep the case public.
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Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
Almost everything comes from one 2026 report. We found no Ohio Attorney General listing and no reward. The tip line numbers are as published.