Cold-Case Murder author Jack Swint is now offering a $15,000 cash reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of a 17-month-old baby on March 8, 1997.
On that day, Jacob Mack, of Wooster, was brutally murdered and sexually assaulted while sleeping in his crib. His father, Jerry Mack, and Clyde Griffith were the only two people in the home before-during and after the murder.
Mack was babysitting his son while the baby's mother, Faye Martin was at work.
At the time, Clyde Griffith was on bond for felony burglary and armed robbery of a female.
He was recently released on May 8 after serving a 10-year sentence imposed in Medina County.
Police are asking for the public's help. They have said not to discount the relevance of any information, that it may have a significant impact on the investigation when viewed in the context of what they already know.
If anyone has any information, they are asked to call the Wooster Ohio Police Detective Bureau at (330) 287-5730.
The Summit County medical examiner confirmed what police had already suspected. Jacob Mack was murdered and the cause of death was "asphyxia due to compression and blunt injuries to the head, chest, trunk, extremities and anus."
Swint first wrote about this gruesome murder in his 2007 book series, "Who Killed?.. Cleveland Ohio" that reconstructed 15 unsolved murders in the northeast region of Ohio.
At the time the book was published, Wooster City Police Chief Steve Thornton concurred with most people interviewed that the murder of an infant goes way over the line of decency, even in the criminal world.
The murder of anyone is unacceptable, but for someone to kill an infant child as brutally as this has to be caught and face justice. Swint is once again trying to resurrect this case and allow police to solve the murder and hopes offering a cash reward will bring someone forward with information.
WKYC-TV