Garfield Heights stabbing victim identified, suspect still on the loose

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio - The woman found stabbed to death in the backyard of a Garfield Heights house has been identified.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said the woman is 25-year-old Danielle S. Coleman, of Oakwood. The exact cause and manner of death has not been determined, the medical examiner’s office said.

Garfield Heights police were called to a house on Grace Avenue just before noon on Monday when Coleman’s remains were found near the back porch. Police are still looking for the suspect and Coleman’s boyfriend, Marlon Ricks, 41.

“I’m calling because I think my brother committed suicide. I think his body is in my backyard,” Ricks' sister said in a 911 call on Monday. “I pulled up in my driveway and there’s like a lump in the back of my yard. There’s a black tarp over it. My chairs and bench is outside on top of this lump.”

The woman told 911 dispatch that she had not been home since Friday, and there was tons of blood in a hallway and on the porch. She also mentioned broken glass.

Coleman’s mother filed a report with the Oakwood Police Department, asking for a welfare check on her daughter on Saturday. Coleman’s mother told police that Danielle was supposed to be in Ashtabula that afternoon, but never arrived.

“(The) Dispatcher asked her if there has been any history of violence or suspicion that her daughter might be in trouble. She stated not that she was aware of. She did state that her daughter’s boyfriend’s name in Marlon, but she does not know his last name,” the report said.

On Sunday, an Oakwood police officer went with Coleman’s mother to check Danielle’s apartment. The police report said Danielle Coleman’s SUV wasn’t there and the apartment was still in order.

According to the Ohio Department of Corrections, Ricks was released from prison in April 2011 after serving time for killing a Euclid man in 1990. Ricks also has convictions for aggravated burglary, kidnapping and felonious assault.

“My brother, he was recently released from prison. August 1, he was released after 21 years,” Ricks' sister told 911 dispatchers.

Ricks is considered armed and dangerous. Police said they believe Ricks driving Coleman’s maroon Chevrolet Trailblazer, with the Ohio license plate DFJ 4455. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should call the Garfield Heights Police Department at 216-475-1234.