James Bennett, a 41-year-old male from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, was the victim of a homicide in February 2022. His body was discovered on February 22 of that year, buried several feet beneath the basement floor of a home on West 49th Street in Cleveland's Brookside neighborhood.
The investigation began after a sergeant in the Cleveland Division of Police's Homicide Unit received a tip.
The information suggested that an inmate at the Cuyahoga County Correction Center had killed a man and buried the body in the basement of his residence. Acting on this, police obtained a search warrant and went to the home in the 4000 block of West 49th Street around 1 p.m.
Cleveland firefighters were called to the scene to assist with the difficult recovery effort. A neighbor later recalled seeing investigators in hazmat suits using shovels to excavate the remains. The body was transported to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office, where an autopsy was performed. The victim was identified as James Bennett, and his death was officially ruled a homicide. The medical examiner determined that he had died from gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
The inmate mentioned in the tip, 28-year-old Andrew Douglas Smith, was already in custody on an unrelated matter when police found Bennett's body at his home. Following the discovery and the medical examiner's findings, Smith was formally charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, in connection with Bennett's death. As of late February 2022, Smith remained incarcerated while awaiting further legal proceedings.
