Fifteen years after 18-year-old Dion Thomas was shot and killed while sitting on a bench at Grant Park in Over-the-Rhine on June 26, 2011, his family is still making the same painful trip back to the scene. This week, they returned once again to honor him, share memories, and keep public attention on a case that has yet to bring anyone to justice. Cincinnati police have moved the case onto an updated cold-case checklist, but no arrests have been announced, and loved ones say they are still waiting for answers about the teen they call remarkable.
Family Remembers Dion at Grant Park
Weldon Thomas told WKRC that the afternoon he learned his son had been shot is still burned into his memory, and that the family returns to the park every year on the anniversary. This year’s gathering brought friends and relatives together over food, balloons, and stories about Dion, alongside a homemade sign with his photo that Weldon said brought him a measure of peace. Local 12 also helped spread the word with flyers offering a $3,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest. For the family, the day is not about reopening wounds so much as refusing to let Dion’s name fade from his own neighborhood.
Police Assign Case to Cold-Case Review
Cincinnati police told WLWT that Dion’s killing is now on an updated cold-case checklist, and that at least one of the original detectives and a criminalist is still with the department. Investigators said cooperation from witnesses will likely be critical to solving the case and urged anyone with information to reach out. So far, the department has not announced any new public leads.
Records and Earlier Reporting
According to the Ohio attorney general’s unsolved-homicides database, official records list the shooting on June 26, 2011, at 23 Back Street, with 18-year-old Dion Thomas identified as a victim. Contemporary coverage from 2011 described the incident as a double shooting that wounded a child and killed Thomas, and urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
How the Public Can Help
Per the Cincinnati Police Department, anyone with information is asked to contact Greater Cincinnati Crime Stoppers at (513) 352-3040 or send an anonymous tip through the program’s app or online portal. Local reporting has noted the $3,000 reward flyers circulated after the shooting, and both authorities and the family say that even small details could be enough to push the case forward.
For Weldon Thomas, returning to Grant Park year after year is part memorial, part appeal. He is hoping that someone who knows what happened will finally speak up. Until that day, neighbors say they will keep firing up the grill, keep telling stories about Dion, and keep asking the same question they have asked for 15 years: why.
