On the morning of October 31st, 2001—Halloween—friends of Cleo Philip Aska went to check on him at his small business in Jacksonville, Florida. What they found was devastating: the twenty-five-year-old entrepreneur had been shot to death inside his locked store, Spiritual Heights, located at 1705 University Blvd North.
Cleo Aska was a dedicated father of two young boys (ages four and one-and-a-half at the time), a licensed carpenter who had worked hard to turn his dream into reality, and a man remembered by loved ones as charismatic, kind, and generous. His store, which opened in 2000, sold music and clothing. He had recently replaced a door to meet building code standards and, on October 30th, mentioned he was going to fetch a key and lock it.
His fiancée and mother of his children, Kyra Kean-Payne, woke up early on October 31st and realized something was wrong when Cleo didn’t come home and didn’t answer his phone. She asked friends to check the store. Police responded around eight forty-three a.m. and found his body behind the locked door. There were no signs of forced entry and no evidence of burglary, leading investigators to believe Cleo knew his killer and that the perpetrator had familiarity with the store.
Marijuana was found at the scene, and there appeared to be some indication of buying or selling, though Cleo’s exact involvement remains unclear.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) investigated the case, but more than two decades later, it remains unsolved.
Crime Immemorial 