For the families of victims killed in unsolved murders, life is at a standstill.
The Enquirer is highlighting a series of cold cases, summarized and analyzed by the journalists whose careers largely focus on unsolved murders: the creators of Cincinnati.com's Accused podcast. If you have any information on any unsolved case, please reach out to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Suggestions for cases to highlight can be sent to [email protected].
The crime: Shaquila Mathews lived so close to her brother that when she learned police were at his Hamilton home Sept. 16, 2016, it took her just minutes to arrive. Barred from entering, she stood outside with her aunt – who also lived close – and tried to make sense of what was happening.
Mathews' first thoughts were medical, not criminal. Calvin Simmons Jr., called C.J. by his friends and family, had lifelong asthma and had been recently battling a cold to boot, so his sister figured he was having trouble breathing or reacting poorly to an antibiotic.
But then she watched as a police officer pulled caution tape from his vehicle.
"That's when I knew this was more than an asthma attack," Mathews said.
Simmons had been fatally shot inside of his home during a robbery. Nearly five years later, his killer remains at large.
The victim: Simmons' sister Shaquila Mathews, 41, is well known in Hamilton, having founded a youth organization, served on the school board and worked as a church pastor. (She's known to most as "Pastor Shaq.") She was always tight with her brother – so tight, in fact, that when he died, she lived just two blocks away from him.
"I always considered myself the little big sister," said Mathews, who was born a year after Simmons. "Even though I was the younger sister, it was like I was the oldest."
It wasn't that Simmons was immature. It's more that Mathews felt protective, especially because of her brother's asthma. She recalled one time catching him in the midst of an attack that he wanted to hide from the adults in the family so they wouldn't keep him home from the local Boys & Girls Club, where he liked to hang out.
"He had Vicks (VapoRub) on his chest and a fan on him," she said with a laugh. Mathews was the voice of reason.
But Simmons was clever and creative, making him a natural entrepreneur. As an adult, that translated into owning rental property, but his knack first surfaced in childhood. He'd pay neighbors nominal fees to borrow rakes and brooms, then recruit his sister and friends to help him cut grass and shovel snow.
"He was really good at earning money," Mathews said. "We'd walk to McDonald's and eat or buy snacks. He was always entrepreneurial-minded."
His family: Simmons was father to five children, four biologically and a fifth he embraced when dating the girl's mother. His biological children range in age from 13 to 20, while the fifth is now 23. ("She graduated from NKU," Mathews proudly said. "I know he would have been ecstatic with her graduating college.")
Simmons was "super family-oriented," his sister said. When family gathered for summer barbecues or holidays, it was usually at his house.
Extra effort went into Thanksgiving.
"I promise you, however you could prepare a turkey, he had prepared one," Mathews said. "Every year, there'd be four or five different turkeys – fried, smoked, traditional. I'd be like, 'Why do we need so many turkeys?'"
Mathews laughed, then added: "He always thought he was a better cook than he really was."
Because Simmons was killed in September, the family was immediately thrust into the holiday season without their go-to host.
"That part was super tough for beyond the obvious," Mathews said.
Why him? Mathews is certain her brother was targeted in the attack that took his life, though she isn't sure why.
"As far as we knew, there were no disagreements, no red flags, nothing that we knew of," she said.
The family doesn't get much by way of updates from detectives, she added, though she doesn't fault the police for that.
"If it were up to the family, we think the police should be working this thing 24 hours, but we know it's not realistic," she said. "There are cases that had piled up before my brother's."
She hopes that reminding the public about the case might jog a tip or two loose.
"We know somebody knows," she said. "There are individual citizens in this community who know something, people that could help bring pieces of the puzzle. We want closure."
Got tips? People with information about Simmons' slaying can visit the Ohio Attorney General's website or call the Hamilton Police Department at 513-868-5811.
Accused, reported by Enquirer journalists Amber Hunt and Amanda Rossmann, is an award-winning podcast investigating cold cases with three seasons available on all mainstream platforms such as Apple Podcasts and also at www.accusedpodcast.com.
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