Body found that of missing South Side man
Columbus police homicide detectives have identified a body found in a parked car April 13 on the South Side as that of 23-year-old man reported missing in March from an apartment complex about a half-mile away.
Homicide detectives on Wednesday also identified the victim in a fatal shooting Sunday morning that is believed to have resulted from “road rage.”
Tymar Orlando Whitsett Jr. was originally reported missing on March 15 from an apartment in the Marion Square Apartments on the 1500 block of Marion Road.
Police at the time suspected foul play because of evidence found there.
On April 13, police responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle that had been parked for about a month in the parking lot of a townhouse-style apartment building on the 1500 block of Smith Road.
Responding officers found a body in the rear of the vehicle covered with a blanket. Investigators and the Franklin County coroner's office have identified the body as that of Whitsett.
His death is being investigated as the city's 58th homicide committed this year.
On Wednesday, police also identified a 59-year-old man who was shot and killed during what detectives believe was a “road rage” incident on the city's West Side Sunday morning.
Police said 59-year-old Gregorio Cruz, of the West Side, was found inside a car on the 500 block of South Richardson Avenue around 8:10 a.m. Sunday. Cruz had been shot by a person in a silver car that pulled alongside his own vehicle, firing into Cruz's vehicle before speeding away.
Cruz was taken to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries. His death was the 60th homicide committed in Columbus this year.
Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Section at (614) 645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS. bbruner@dispatch.com @bethany_bruner