NILES — When police found a semiconscious Raymond Bishop bludgeoned and bleeding profusely from the head in the hallway of his Youll Street apartment building, investigators had little information to determine what happened.

“Some of the information that was left from the original case was pretty thin,” Niles Police Capt. John Marshall said.

Bishop, who was 36 at the time, had been walking up and down the hallway of the building, pounding on doors and begging for help from anyone who could hear, according to the Tribune Chronicle archives.

Niles police, notified by one of the building’s residents of the ruckus, arrived at Carnegie Arms around 3:22 a.m. April 26, 1990. Bishop managed to let officers into his apartment when they knocked, but he could not provide a statement to the police before losing consciousness.

No weapons or drugs were found at Bishop’s apartment.

Bishop was transported to Warren General Hospital and then flown to Cleveland Metro General Hospital, where he died a few hours later, according to archives.

It was ultimately determined he suffered multiple blunt force trauma injuries to his head.

At the time, former Niles police Capt. Robert Jacola said no signs of struggle were found in Bishop’s apartment.

The man’s car, a 1985 black Pontiac Sunbird, was discovered stolen and recovered at Joshua’s bar in Youngstown.

Otherwise, few leads have been reported regarding Bishop’s potential killer.

Possible lead

More than 30 years later, Niles police are still trying to determine what happened to Bishop.

While Marshall said Bishop’s car did not provide substantial leads, DNA evidence from the original investigation may provide new information for the department to pursue.

Marshall said DNA found on a piece of original evidence was resubmitted into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, and that it produced a hit.

“CODIS contains digital records of DNA collected from crime scenes, convicted felons and felony arrestees throughout the United States,” according to the Ohio Attorney General’s website.

“I’ve had one of our investigators working on it since early last year, when we got the CODIS hit on a resubmission of some of the original evidence,” Marshall said.

The CODIS hit linked the DNA to a possible person of interest.

“I feel really encouraged by the DNA coming back because it introduced us to somebody who wasn’t originally part of the original investigation,” Marshall said. “It’s opened up a new avenue for us.”

Marshall said Niles police are pursuing leads related to the DNA evidence.

The main issue plaguing the department in its investigation into the death of Bishop is the passage of time.

Marshall said many of the individuals who could have been considered witnesses in the Bishop case are dead.

“We have a limited pool of witnesses to follow up with and ask about this new potential lead,” Marshall said. “But we are still at present working on that.”

Have an interesting story? Contact Mason Cole by email at mcole@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @masoncoletrib.