Thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Ann Gross lived in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Westerville, Ohio, near the border with Franklin County. She was a mother to two young children, ages eleven and seven at the time.
On the afternoon of May 21st, 2001, Lisa’s two children returned home from school to a horrifying scene. They found their mother in the bathtub of the home’s bathroom. Water had been left running, causing extensive flooding throughout the residence. The bathroom and Lisa’s body were covered in shredded paper, which investigators later determined had been taken from an office area inside the house.
There were no signs of forced entry into the home. Grocery bags were reportedly still sitting out, suggesting Lisa may have been in the middle of everyday activities when the attack occurred.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death: a single puncture wound to the back of her head, just beneath the skull. The injury was fatal, but the murder weapon was never recovered despite thorough searches of the property and surrounding area.
The Delaware County Sheriff’s Office took lead on the case. Investigators believed Lisa may have known her killer, given the lack of forced entry and the nature of the scene. However, official summaries note there is no definitive evidence either confirming or ruling out that she knew her attacker.
The scene showed signs of staging or an attempt to obscure details, such as the running water and the shredded paper scattered over the body and bathroom, but no clear motive emerged publicly. Early leads were pursued for a couple of years, but the case gradually went cold.
In 2011, the Sheriff’s Office released new information to the public for the first time in a decade, hoping renewed attention would generate tips. Detectives highlighted the puncture wound and appealed for any information, but no major breakthroughs followed.
As of 2026, no arrests have been made, and the murder weapon has never been identified.
Crime Immemorial 