Ohio homicide victim identified as member of the O’Jays band after 39 years

After 39 years, police in Ohio have identified a homicide victim whose remains were found in 1982.

This week, Twinsburg Police revealed the remains were identified as Frank “Frankie” Little Jr., a guitarist and songwriter for the band the O’Jays, WAVY reported.

“His identity remained a mystery for almost 40 years,” a release from the Twinsburg police states, according to WAVY. “In Oct. 2021, the DNA Doe Project provided the names of potential living relatives, who were able to provide Frank’s name.”

A close relative provided a DNA sample, which was analyzed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations Crime Lab, WAVY reported.

Little’s identity was confirmed by Dr. Lisa Kohler of the Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to WAVY.

The victim’s partial remains were recovered in a garbage bag behind a now-closed business in Twinsburg, Ohio, WAVY reported.

The remains were that of a Black man, 20 to 35 years of age, approximately 5-feet-6-inches tall, according to WAVY. He may have had adolescent kyphosis, a curvature of the spine.

Little’s cause of death was ruled a homicide by Kohler, WAVY reported. A killer has not been named.

Little was born in 1943 and raised in Cleveland, according to WAVY. He served in the U.S. Army for two years, including a deployment to Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

The release from police states Little had a daughter who died in 2012 and a son who has not yet been located or identified, according to WAVY.

“Not much is known about his disappearance and death. Our sympathies to the family during this difficult time,” the police release stated, according to WAVY.