11 years later, 19-year old Carlos Hardiman Jr.’s killer unknown

The Central Ohio Crime Stoppers are seeking information that could help solve a more than decade-old murder on Columbus’ South Side that claimed the life of a 19-year-old.

On March 20, 2012, Columbus police were dispatched at approximately 11:17 p.m. to Nationwide Children’s Hospital on a reported shooting victim. When officers arrived, they discovered through witnesses the shooting occurred in front of a home on the 800 block of Forest Street on the South Side.

The victim, Carlos M. Hardiman Jr., 19, had suffered a gunshot wound to his head while he was a passenger in his sister’s car with three other people, including a baby girl, The Dispatch previously reported. Before the shooting, he had spent the night hanging out on the front lawn of his cousin’s place at the Forest Street home. Due to the severeity of his injuries, Hardiman was transferred to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, where he died at 1:43 a.m. March 21, 2022. Hardiman graduated in 2010 from Columbus City Schools’ Mifflin High School, where he played for the Punchers football team. A cash reward was previously offered in 2019 in the hope of generating new information about Hardiman’s killing.

Crime Stoppers is again offering a cash reward for any information leading to the arrest and/or indictment of the person responsible for Hardiman’s murder. Anyone with information is asked to call Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS, use the free P3 Tips mobile application or provide tips online at www.stopcrime.org. All tips to Crime Stoppers are anonymous and a special coding system is used to provide the reward.