Unsolved murder of veteran haunts family and police

CANTON, Ohio - This Saturday will mark four years since an 87-year-old Canton man, beloved in the community, was murdered inside his home.

Bennie Angelo, who was a Pearl Harbor survivor, was beaten, robbed and then shot four times on Jan. 8, 2007. His house was set on fire in an attempt to cover up the murder.

He was found in his bedroom in the 1800 block of Endrow Avenue NE.

A $15,000 reward remains for information leading to Angelo's killer or killers. His daughter, Rebecca Angelo, will not rest until justice is served.

"At this point, it's been four years. We don't know who these people are. We don't know where they are," Rebecca said.

Sgt. Victor George, who coincidentally went to high school with Rebecca, said the case file is always on his desk. George follows up on any new leads, but he said at this point, the case is "stagnet."

Like the Angelo family, Sgt. George was deeply disturbed by the brutal crime against a veteran.

Angelo's 32-caliber revolver was used by the intruder or intruders to kill the senior citizen, Sgt. George said.

"He survived adversities in his life, probably some of the greatest adversities we would ever go through in our life and that's war time. To have his life end like this, it's just a shame," George said.

As Rebecca walked by her childhood Canton home on Thursday afternoon, thoughts raced through her head.

"It's a house that there are so many good memories that we've had here. A lot of good memories and then you think of that one moment that happened and it just takes everything away," Rebecca said.

The Angelo family and Canton police are urging anyone with possible information on the cold case to call Sgt. George at 330-438-4419.