This weekend, two daughters will return to the spot where their mother’s body was found, marking the 13th anniversary of an unsolved killing that has weighed on Cleveland’s East Side for more than a decade.
Christine Malone, 45, a mother of eight, was found dead on March 28, 2013. Her family says she had been missing for 11 days before she was discovered in a vacant lot behind a gas station at East 93rd Street and Bessemer Avenue. Relatives say she had been beaten and strangled, and the case remains open as her children keep pressing for answers.
In an interview with Cleveland 19, Malone’s daughters, Angelique Malone and Shana Johnson, said they are determined to keep the case in the public eye rather than let it fade into the background. “We don’t know what happened. Why [it] happened? Why [it] have to be her? She didn’t bother nobody,” Johnson told the station. Angelique said the family plans to release balloons on Saturday at the site, both as a memorial and as a public plea for anyone with information to come forward.
Other bodies found near East 93rd
As reported by News 5 Cleveland, at least half a dozen women have been found within roughly a two-mile stretch near East 93rd Street since late 2012. That cluster has included Jazmine Trotter and Ashley Leszyeski along with Malone, and neighbors have long raised concerns about abandoned lots and vacant homes in the corridor. Community groups and family members have periodically held vigils and rallies at the intersection where Malone’s body was found, trying to keep the pressure on and the memories alive.
Police say investigation remains active
Cleveland police told Cleveland 19 they have no new updates to share on Malone’s case but say the investigation remains active and that they are committed to resolving it. “If anyone has any leads, any information, no matter how big or small, please call our homicide unit,” the department said in a statement to the station.
Malone’s daughters say they will keep showing up for anniversaries and rallies until someone steps forward with information. Activists and neighbors argue that public pressure is one of the few tools available in long-unsolved cases. As News 5 Cleveland has chronicled, residents hope memorials like Saturday’s will keep attention on the East 93rd corridor and on cold cases that continue to hang over the community.
