The Joe Patterson case: two armed men, a family in the next room, and a hotel visit hours earlier.
On Aug 25, 2010, around 11 p.m., two armed men entered a townhome in the Tyler's Creek area of Fairfield Township, took about $1,000 and shot Joe Patterson, 34, several times. His wife and three daughters were home and were not hurt. He died at the hospital. No one has been charged.
Case file at a glance
Police say a visit Patterson made to a Fairfield hotel about two hours before the shooting could be connected, and that security footage shows another man entering the building around the same time. Items sent for testing were not enough for an arrest. No suspect has been named.
- Two armed men.They wore dark clothing and carried a handgun and a semiautomatic rifle, according to police.
- His family was home.His wife and three daughters were in the home and were not harmed. His wife called 911.
- A hotel visit.About two hours before the shooting he stopped at a Fairfield hotel. Footage shows another man entering around the same time, and police say it could be connected.
- Cash taken.The men took about $1,000.
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 a January 2024 FOX19 report. The report did not give a street address.
The hotel stop
About two hours before the shooting, Patterson stops at a hotel in Fairfield. Security footage shows another man entering the building around the same time. Police say the visit could be connected to the murder.
The home invasion
Two men in dark clothing enter the townhome with a handgun and a semiautomatic rifle. They take about $1,000 and shoot Patterson several times. His wife and three daughters are inside.
He dies
Patterson, 34, dies at the hospital. His wife called 911.
Testing and tips
Items are sent for testing. Police say what they have has not been enough for an arrest.
FOX19 cold-case report
Fairfield Township police ask for tips and say the case is cold. The report names Sgt. Brandon McCroskey as the contact.
Victims
A father of three daughters, killed in his home.
Photo: Ohio Attorney General, unsolved-homicide listing. The source states no reuse license; shown at the site owner's direction. Contact us to have it removed.
DiedJoe Patterson, 34
FOX19 reports he had been released from prison about six months earlier after serving 15 years for voluntary manslaughter, starting in 1995. Police say that does not affect their efforts to solve the case. His mother and siblings, who mostly live in Alabama, have asked for answers.
The photo of Joe Patterson is from the Ohio Attorney General's listing and is credited under it. 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.
Evidence
What exists, and what each piece may or may not mean.
| Item | What is known | Disputed or unknown |
|---|---|---|
| The weapons | A handgun and a semiautomatic rifle, per police. | Make, caliber, and recovered casings: not public in what we read. |
| The robbery | About $1,000 in cash was taken. | Whether the cash was the aim: unknown. |
| Hotel footage | Shows another man entering as Patterson visited. | Whether that man has been identified or interviewed: not public. |
| Testing | Items were sent for testing. | Police say the results were not enough for an arrest. |
| Targeting | Police believe it was targeted. | Why: not public. |
Public documents
One 2024 local report is the main public record.
| Document | Holder | What it shows | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOX19: Someone shot my husband (2024) | FOX19 / WXIX | Facts, hotel lead, tip line. | Online, free |
| Fairfield Township Police case file | Fairfield Township 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.
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 #joepatterson | 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.
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
There is no publicly named suspect.
The two gunmen
Why named: Two men in dark clothing, one with a handgun and one with a rifle.
Against: No names, arrests, or detailed descriptions in the FOX19 report.
The man on the hotel footage
Why named: He entered the hotel around the time Patterson visited, per police.
Against: Police say the visit could be connected. Nothing shows he was involved.
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 hotel stop two hours earlier
The hotel is the one concrete thread police have discussed.
What is known
- Patterson visited a Fairfield hotel about two hours before the shooting.
- Footage shows another man entering around the same time.
- Police say the visit could be connected to the murder.
What would settle it
- Identify the man on the footage and establish whether he met Patterson.
- Re-test the retained items with current DNA methods.
- Trace the weapons by checking the semiautomatic rifle and handgun against other crimes.
A targeted robbery by people who knew he would be home
We put the chance that the attack was targeted at Patterson rather than random at roughly 75%, because police say so and the men entered with a rifle at night. We put the chance of a solution within five years at roughly 12%.
Editorial judgment, not statistics.
Elimination matrix
"—" means no public information, not a clean result.
| Person or idea | At the scene | Physical link | Legal outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Two gunmen (unidentified) | ✓ per police | — none published | — unidentified |
| Man on hotel footage | ? unknown | — none published | — unidentified |
| Random burglars | ? police say targeted | — | — |
✗ 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 planned robbery, likely tied to who he was meeting
- The timing is tight. The hotel stop was about two hours before the shooting.
- The gunmen came armed. A rifle and a handgun suggest planning.
- His family was spared. They were home and not hurt, which suggests the gunmen wanted him, not them.
- The hotel footage may hold the answer. It is the only named lead.
Judgment, not statistics.
Missing links
Questions raised by gaps in the public record.
1. The hotel visit
Who he met, why, and the identity of the man on the footage.
2. The weapons
Whether the rifle or handgun appear in other crimes.
3. The gunmen
Descriptions and how they entered the townhome.
4. The cash
Whether $1,000 was what they were after.
5. The related case
FOX19 reports police say his wife was previously married to a man who was killed in Hamilton in 2004, also unsolved. Police have not said the cases are linked.
6. Neighborhood footage
Whether any camera near Tyler's Creek caught the gunmen.
Evidence gaps
"Not public" means we could not find a report.
| Item | Tested | Gap |
|---|---|---|
| Tested items | Sent to a lab. | What was tested and the results: not public. |
| Hotel footage | Reviewed by police. | Not public. |
| Police file | Held by Fairfield Township Police. | 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 |
|---|---|---|
| It was random | Early assumption | Police say the attack appears targeted. |
| His record caused it | Online speculation | Police say his past does not affect their efforts. Treat as unproven. |
| The 2004 Hamilton case is linked | FOX19 notes the earlier case | No link has been stated by police. |
Where
The shooting happened at a townhome in the Tyler's Creek area of Fairfield Township, Butler County, north of Cincinnati. The report gave no address.
Open in maps: Fairfield Township, Ohio. We show no photograph of the scene.
Source ratings
| Source | Type | Rating | Use with care because |
|---|---|---|---|
| FOX19 / WXIX, Jan 23, 2024 | Local news | B+ | The only detailed source we read. Quotes police. |
| Ohio Attorney General listing | Agency | A | Seen in search results; not opened. |
| FOX19 2010 initial report | Local news | B | Seen in search results; not opened. |
Records
Fairfield Township Police Department
Lead agency. FOX19 listed 513-887-4406 in 2024; please confirm before calling.
Butler County Prosecutor
Charging decisions.
Ohio Attorney General (BCI)
The state's unsolved-homicide listing.
Sample public-records request
Under the Ohio Public Records Act, I request copies of non-exempt records relating to the August 25, 2010 homicide of Joe Patterson in Fairfield Township, Butler 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
Joe was 34 and the father of three daughters.
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.
- Someone shot my husband: detectives working to solve deadly home invasion turned cold case, FOX19 / WXIX, Jan 23, 2024 (all core facts).
- Joe Patterson, Unsolved Homicide, Ohio Attorney General (seen in search results; not opened).
- Police identify man killed in home invasion as wife, children watch, FOX19, 2010 (seen in search results; not opened).
Search-result summaries mention a 9 mm handgun and a slightly different time; we use the FOX19 2024 report. The tip number is as published in 2024. The 2004 Hamilton case is mentioned only as reported by FOX19. We found nothing newer than January 2024.
Change log
- Oct 8, 2026: File published.