Dana Frison was killed in cold blood days after moving into a house on Toledo's east side, nearly 15 years before a Sept 2025 WTVG report. The case is unsolved and multiple people witnessed the violence. His family asks anyone with information to come forward.
This file rests on a single 2025 WTVG report. It gives no exact date, no suspect, no police statement, no reward, and no tip line. It is here because Toledo police and local news describe it as unsolved and because witnesses exist, which makes it more solvable than many cold cases.
Editorial assessment of public sources, not a finding of fact. Nobody named here has been charged unless this page says so.
The only source is a September 23, 2025 WTVG 13abc "I-TEAM Case Files" report.
Dana Frison is killed in cold blood at a house on Toledo's east side, days after moving in. There are multiple witnesses.
WTVG 13abc reports the case is unsolved nearly 15 years later and that the family asks anyone with information to come forward.
A Toledo man, according to the report.
WTVG's report describes him as male and says he had just moved to the east-side house. We found no photo or biography.
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 killing | Described as cold-blooded. | Weapon, cause of death, and time: not stated. |
| Witnesses | Multiple people saw the violence. | Who they are and what they told police: not public. |
| Motive | Not stated. | Unknown. |
One 2025 news report is the public record.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTVG 13abc (2025) | WTVG 13abc | I-TEAM Case Files. | Online, free |
| Toledo police file | Toledo Police Department | 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 #danafrison | 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.
No suspect is named.
Why named: Someone killed Frison in front of witnesses.
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.
The one stated lead is that witnesses exist.
We put the chance that the killer knew his new address or him at roughly 60%. 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 | At the scene | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The killer (unidentified) | |||
| ✓ inferred | |||
| — 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.
The exact date and cause of death.
Who saw it.
Why him.
Whether the address was connected.
What they know.
None found.
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Police file | Toledo Police. | Public index: not available. |
| Autopsy | Lucas County Coroner. | Not public. |
| 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 13abc report | ||
| Various | ||
| None are verified. |
The house was on Toledo's east side, in Lucas County, Ohio. We do not publish the address.
Open in maps: East Toledo, Ohio. We show no photograph of the scene.
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| WTVG 13abc, Sept 23, 2025 | |||
| Local news | |||
| B | |||
| The only source we read. Short; no police statement. |
Presumed lead agency.
419-255-1111 (as published elsewhere).
Charging decisions.
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the homicide of Dana Frison at a house on Toledo's east side (about 2010), 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.
Dana's family has asked the public for help.
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Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Where they disagree, we say so above.
Everything here comes from one short report with no date, suspect, reward, or tip line. We found no Ohio Attorney General listing. The lead agency and the Crime Stoppers number are inferred.