Bloody, naked body found in Ohio shed
Police in Columbus, Ohio, investigate the discovery of a bloodied, naked man in a garden shed Monday.
January 18th, 2011
11:22 AM ET

Bloody, naked body found in Ohio shed

Police in Columbus, Ohio, are trying to identify and retrace the final hours of a naked, bloody man found dead in a backyard garden shed.

Someone had knocked on neighbor Dennis Hoover's door at midnight, but Hoover refused to open the door because he couldn't see the man, he told CNN affiliate WBNS-TV.

Hoover called 911 but police could not find anyone, the station reported. Bloody handprints were visible on Hoover's door in the morning.

After daylight, Hoover followed footprints in the snow into a neighbor's yard, where he discovered the bloodied body in the shed.

"He was covered (in blood). It looked like he went through a briar patch," Hoover told WBNS. "Just scratched all up."

Investigators were hoping an autopsy would tell them who the man was and how he was injured.

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Filed under: Crime • Ohio • U.S.
soundoff (333 Responses)
  1. John Watson

    If the neighbor could follow the man's tracks in the snow, why couldn't police? The tracks would have been fresh and easy to follow, and I presume the cops had flashlights. Score one for the lazy and/or dumb Columbus police! They might have saved a life but didn't even try.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:21 pm | Report abuse |
    • Sherlock Holmes

      I perceive you have been in Afghanistan.

      January 18, 2011 at 2:52 pm | Report abuse |
  2. Renart

    How much did they investigate this guy Hoover? Seems he was the last one to see the guy alive and had motive, being angered at having to get up in the middle of the night to answer the door. Probably had a guilty conscience in the morning and came up with the footprints story.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:21 pm | Report abuse |
  3. Baltimore

    ..so the guy calls 9-1-1 and goes back to bed, no worries? Who does that?!?! The local Columbus papers report the injured guy went to several homes asking for help..they all ignored him.
    Reminds me of Kitty Genevese (1964) where she was killed in NYC while 38 people heard her yelling for help but did nothing..
    Such a shame.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:22 pm | Report abuse |
    • Columbus Resident

      You are correct . Remember if you are from Columbus, you will know that area of town isn't the best, Some of those areas , the newspaper guy has to deliver the paper out of an armored truck.

      January 18, 2011 at 1:46 pm | Report abuse |
    • MrsFizzy

      Wow ... it isn't even clear from this article that he even asked for help from one person.

      January 18, 2011 at 1:54 pm | Report abuse |
  4. talk no more

    why dont you all stop and pray for the death man and his family.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:24 pm | Report abuse |
    • Realistic

      You are right, lets keep the man family in our prayers

      January 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Realistic

    I do not think the man is a coward because he did call the cops. I believe we should hold the police responsible for not going beyond the call of duty. We all know that if someone knocks on someone elses door and the police is called, there is something that needs more investigation. The police should of known that there was a person in distress or should of looked further into the call. How can they miss blood on the door handle or the blood stains, remember snow is white and blood should be visible. And how about the foot prints in the snow, the blood and etc. No this is case of assumption first and duty second...I feel horrible for the man who died and dying that way, horrible. The man needs closure and we as citizens need to make sure that no cover up occurs.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:25 pm | Report abuse |
  6. bes

    What a bunch of du@#^&&%s those cops are....who ever lives in Columbus is doomed....scary!

    January 18, 2011 at 1:26 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Realistic

    @ Talk no more: You are right, lets keep the mans family in our prayers...

    January 18, 2011 at 1:27 pm | Report abuse |
  8. oranges

    He is not a coward, he did the right thing, he called for help. How many of us would even do that or just shrug it off and not called anyone. He did what needed to be done. To go out to find a stranger who knocked at midnight??? Give me a break-you wouldn't have done it either. Yes the man died but not because of Hoover but by something else that hopefully will be discovered. A tragedy but not Hoover's fault.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:28 pm | Report abuse |
    • Jenn

      Agreed. I honestly would not even get up to answer the door after midnight. If I heard someone yelling, I'd call 911. It's just too dangerous. There have been MANY instances in my area where someone simply knocked on the door, and then attacked the home owner who answered the door. The homeowner absolutely did the right thing.

      January 18, 2011 at 1:55 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Tom, Long Beach, California

    CANNOT BELEIVE ALL THESE GENIUSES ARE NOT WORKING AS CSI INVESTIOGATORS.......not enough info to draw conclusions yet.....

    January 18, 2011 at 1:30 pm | Report abuse |
    • Crime solved

      We all know a certain Representative from Ohio who has what 'appears' to be a tan, yet he has never been seen in sunlight. His home is in Reading, Ohio, which is less than 100 miles away. He has no alibi for the night in question. OK, let me just go ahead and say it, John Boehner is a vampire and this man was his victim.

      January 18, 2011 at 1:54 pm | Report abuse |
  10. MFH

    Damn ZOMBIES!

    January 18, 2011 at 1:32 pm | Report abuse |
  11. JimmyKerr

    There is a lot of evidence here that the cops can use. Most likely they staked the place out after the 911 call and watched Hoover clean up his trail. The only real question is how he got the body from his porch to the shed but probably could have carried it if it had been dismembered.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:40 pm | Report abuse |
  12. DNA

    There was blood all over the place but they couldn't see any of it until daylight? I know all this new technology is hard to use and everything... but don't these cops have things called "flashlights"??? These are not very good cops in my opinion.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:41 pm | Report abuse |
    • Columbus Resident

      http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/18/man-who-begged-entry-found-dead.html?sid=101

      There is the local paper so some of you can get your facts correct about the story.

      January 18, 2011 at 1:49 pm | Report abuse |
  13. sjperry

    Sorry to say but in this day I am reluctant to open the door to strangers during the daylight hours. Call 911 that is the best thing to do if you have any doubt about who is on the other side of the door.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:49 pm | Report abuse |
  14. Jenn

    So sad. It appears that the police really dropped the ball on this one. How could they miss bloody hand and foot prints? It's a shame to think this man may have been able to be helped if found that night. I don't blame the homeowner at all. Opening doors to strangers is dangerous, especially in the middle of the night when you can not even see the person through the window. He did the right thing by calling the police.

    January 18, 2011 at 1:49 pm | Report abuse |
  15. Dave the Great One

    I like turtles

    January 18, 2011 at 1:50 pm | Report abuse |
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