Human Remains Found in 1982 Identified as Guitarist for RnB Group The OJays

The identification of remains of Frank ‘Frankie’ Little, Jr. is made following years of failed attempts which included the state crime lab making a clay model of the man’s skull.

AceShowbiz -Human remains which were discovered in Twinsburg in 1982 have been identified as those of Frank “Frankie” Little, Jr., a guitarist and songwriter for R&B group The O’Jays. The discovery was a result of genealogical research from the DNA Doe Project.

According to police, the artial remains were recovered in a garbage bag behind a now-closed business on Cannon Road in Twinsburg. At the time, a worker found a skull in the snow behind the business. Later, police found the other body parts in the garbage bag. The manner of death has been ruled as a homicide.

The breakthrough was made following years of failed attempts which included the state crime lab making a clay model of the man’s skull. “I’m very excited we were able to put a name to these remains and to get him back to his family and give his family that piece of closure,” Summit County Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler, who assisted Twinsburg detectives with the investigation, said.

Twinsburg Detective Eric Hendershott added in a separate statement, “It’s definitely nice that we can give some answers to the family and hopefully they have some sense of closure.” He went on to say, “He had a life, and ultimately he ended up here in Twinsburg, with his life taken by another.”

“Frankie was a member of the band in the 1960s,” Hendershott said, referring to The O’Jays who made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “He played guitar with the band in the studio and on tours.”

The O’Jays also issued a statement regarding the matter. “He came with us when we first ventured out of Cleveland and traveled to Los Angeles, but he also was in love with a woman in Cleveland that he missed so much that he soon returned back to Cleveland after a short amount of time,” the band said of Little, who was raised in Cleveland. In the statement, the band also wishes “his family and friends closure to what appears to be a very sad story.”

As for the family, they were pleased to finally got closure. “It’s amazing,” Margaret O’Sullivan, Little’s cousin, who lives in Cleveland. “We’re glad that we have closure now. We know he’s deceased.”

Source: Read Full Article