Few police investigations have as many unanswered questions as the death of Kurt Sova. On October 28, 1981, the seventeen-year-old’s body was discovered in a ravine not far from his home in the Cleveland suburb of Newburgh Heights, Ohio.

Kurt had been missing for five days, but an autopsy determined he had been dead for only twenty-four to thirty-six hours. It is unknown where he was for the two-and-a-half to three days between when he was reported missing and when his body was found. Complicating matters even further, it cannot be said with certainty that a crime had been committed because it could not be determined how Kurt died.

Forty-three years after Kurt Sova’s death, authorities are still searching for a multitude of answers.

Kurt Sova

The youngest of Ken and Dorothy Sova’s four sons, Kurt left his home in the late afternoon of October 23, to meet his friend Sam Carroll. The two boys went to a Halloween party at a duplex less than two miles from the Sova home. The party was hosted by a young woman named Debbie Sams. She lived in the duplex with her brother, Clayton, and friend, Misi. Sam knew Debbie but Kurt did not; neither boy knew most of the dozen or so people at the party, the majority of whom were at least a couple of years older than they.

Party attendees say Kurt became ill after drinking Everclear, a high alcohol content liquor banned for sale in several states then and now. After taking Kurt outside for some air at approximately 9:30 p.m. on the cool evening, Sam says he returned to the duplex to retrieve Kurt’s jacket. When Sam went inside, he says Kurt was leaning on a fence. After not finding the jacket, Sam returned after no more than two or three minutes, only to find that Kurt was gone. Sam assumed his friend had been taken home by other party attendees, but, not wanting to disturb the Sova’s, he did not call the residence to inquire.

No one, however, had taken Kurt home and he was not there when Ken and Dorothy awoke the following morning. They called his friends and learned of the party.

Kurt Disappears From the Party

Dorothy went to the duplex where Sam said the party was held. Debbie was not home; Misi, who had been out of town the evening before, told Dorothy she would have Debbie call her when she returned. Misi had also found Kurt’s jacket.

Shortly after Dorothy returned home, Debbie phoned her. She told Dorothy she was mistaken in that the party was held at the duplex next door. Sam insisted it was held at her duplex, and his claim was corroborated by other attendees as well as a pizza delivery man. Debbie then admitted to playing host and said she had lied because of the underage drinking occurring at the party.

The Duplex Where the Party Was Held

After searching all day for Kurt and failing to find him, Ken and Dorothy Sova reported their son missing.

Reported Missing

Kurt’s friend, David Trusnik (some sources spell his surname as “Trusnick,” others as “Trisnick), believes he saw Kurt on October 26, three days after the party.

David said he saw Kurt and another boy, whom he did not recognize, walking along a busy street, less than a mile from the Sova home. David pulled to the side of the road to offer Kurt a ride; as he did so, a van pulled along the other side of the road. David heard Kurt yell out ‘Franko’ and watched as Kurt and the other boy both entered the van.

David had previously been out of town for several days and did not know Kurt had been reported missing.

David Trusnik

Two days later, at approximately 3:30 a.m. on October 28, Debbie called the Sova home. She told Dorothy she believed Kurt was sleeping on a cot in her basement.

When Ken Sova arrived at Debbie’s duplex, no one was in the basement. A cot in the basement appeared to have recently been used. DNA was not commonly collected at the time, and it was not taken to determine if it had been Kurt who had most recently slept on it.

Dorothy and Ken Sova

That afternoon, three boys playing in a ravine behind a warehouse discovered Kurt Sova’s body lying in a puddle of trash and displayed in a Christ-like crucifixion. Because children frequently played in the ravine, police believe Kurt’s body was left there for discovery.

The locale was only five-hundred-yards from the duplex where the party had been held five days earlier. Ken had searched the area three days earlier but found no sign of his son.

The Ravine Where Kurt’s Body Was Found

Police found Kurt’s left shoe wedged in rocks roughly twelve feet from his body; his right shoe was never found. A sock was on his right foot but not on his left.

Other than some small bruises and scratches on his cheek and shins, Kurt’s body showed no sign of injury resulting from a fall or recent physical altercation.

Only One Shoe and Sock Are Found

Cuyahoga County Chief Deputy Coroner Dr. Lester Adelson ruled out drugs, a physical beating, or a preexisting medical condition as the cause of Kurt Sova’s death.  He also ruled out over-consumption of alcohol. Even though Kurt had become sick from drinking at the party, Dr. Adelson did not believe his blood alcohol level of .11 was enough to cause death.

Dr. Adelson determined Kurt had died between twenty-four and thirty-six hours before his body was found, meaning he had been alive for at least two days after he left the party.  The Coroner ruled out several manners in which Kurt Sova had died, but he was unable to determine the specific cause of his demise.

Kurt Sova was ruled to have perished from “instantaneous physiologic death.” On paper, the manner of death was listed as ‘probable accidental,” the cause of which is undetermined.

Cause of Death Unknown

On October 29, the day after the finding of Kurt’s body was published in area newspapers, Newburgh Heights police were contacted by Judy Oros, the manager of Slavic Village Records, a local record store. She told them on October 26, the same day David Trusnik had seen Kurt get into the van, a young man who had noticed Kurt’s missing poster on the store’s window told her Kurt would be found dead in two days. Judy said the young man appeared to be mentally challenged.

The following day, as Judy was preparing to open her store, she found an ominous note awaiting her. In front of the store’s door lay a bouquet of flowers and a note reading, “Roses are red, the sky is blue. They found him dead, and they’ll find you too.”

Police questioned the man who had told Judy that Kurt would be found dead. He was homeless, had previously lived in Detroit, and had been arrested in Cleveland after leaving a threatening message with an unspecified person. Police concurred he was mentally unstable but found no evidence he had any involvement in Kurt’s disappearance or that he had left the threatening note at the record store.

When Kurt’s body was discovered two days later, police attempted to question this man again, but they were unable to find him. Acquaintances of the individual said he had told them he had access to bodies flown into Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and that he frequently removed shoes from the bodies.

This man was never located and, as far as I can tell, he has never been publicly named by police.

As The Vagrant Said, Kurt is Found Dead

On February 1, 1982, three-and-a-half months after Kurt Sova’s death, the body of thirteen-year-old Eugene Kvet was found in another ravine, only two-and-a-half miles from where Kurt’s body had been discovered.

Kurt and Eugene were casual acquaintances and their deaths had two notable similarities: Both boys were missing for a few days before they died, and, when their remains were discovered, each was missing his right shoe.

An autopsy showed Eugene died from falling into the ravine, but it could not be determined whether he fell accidentally or was pushed or thrown.

Eugene Kvet

Some reports say “Franko,” the name David Trusnik heard Kurt yelling before getting into the van, may refer to Craig Franko of Cleveland. The twenty-year-old was shot to death in a robbery at the Sohio (Standard Oil of Ohio) convenience store where he worked in downtown Cleveland on December 4, 1981, six weeks after Kurt’s death.

I could not find much information, but it appears Craig Franko’s murder has not been solved.

Craig Franko

As if the circumstances of Kurt Sova’s death are not complicated enough, it is further hindered by an inadequate police investigation. Shortly before his body was found, a woman reported seeing two young men dragging an unconscious boy down an alley toward the ravine. The boy appeared to be a teenager and one of his feet was bare. At the time, she believed it was a group of drunk teenagers. After Kurt’s body was found, the woman said she wanted to tell the police of the sighting but that her husband dissuaded her.

Approximately a year later, after a chance encounter with Ken Sova, Kurt’s father, she told him of the sighting. He passed the information to the Newburgh Heights police, but the woman was never interviewed.

In addition, the Cleveland Police Department says they offered their assistance in the investigation but were turned away by Newburgh Heights authorities. When he was finally granted access to the case files, one Cleveland detective described the crime scene investigation of his Newburgh Heights counterparts as a “joke,” citing the few pictures taken of Kurt’s body when found, the failure to search the duplex where the party was held, and not taking written statements from the party attendees.

Robert Carras, the lead detective in the investigation into Kurt’s death, was convicted on drug and corruption charges as well as several instances of police brutality in 1991. He was sentenced to six-to-fifteen years in prison.

Newburgh Heights Chief of Police James Lukas also encountered legal troubles, as he was found to have falsified documents to a police dispatcher and to have lied about not having a previous conviction for dereliction of duty. He was given a suspended jail sentence.

Several other Newburgh Heights police officers were arrested on a litany of charges ranging from falsifying credentials to drug trafficking.

                                                    Lieutenant Robert Carras                          Police Chief James Lukas

In November 2019, the Newburgh Heights Police Department announced it was partnering with criminal justice students at Tiffin University, a small college ninety miles southwest of Cleveland, to take another look into Kurt’s case.

In February 2020, Kurt’s case was featured in the CrimeCon event “CrowdSolve”. At this event, nearly three-hundred attendees worked together in examining the case. Members were given access to many of the police files of the investigation into Kurt’s death as well as access to information not released to the public. It is hoped that the fresh eyes and new perspectives will trigger something overlooked that could potentially provide answers to the case.

CrowdSolve members signed non-disclosure agreements, so it is unknown what specific information was gleaned from the convention. Investigators say, however, they have cleared a now-deceased person of interest of any involvement in the death of Kurt Sova as a result of the gathering.

CrimeCon Takes a Crack at the Cold Case

The questions remain forty-two years after Kurt Sova’s death. The answers remain elusive.

If you believe you may have information relating to the death of Kurt Sova, please contact the Newburgh Heights, Ohio, Police Department at 216-641-5545 or CrimeStoppers at 216-252-7463.

Different Newburgh Heights investigators, dedicated and competent, are now handling Kurt’s case.

Questions Remain, Answers Elude

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/107948299/kurt-eugene-sova

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/75314523/craig-h-franko#

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/250131192/eugene-cecil-kvet#

SOURCES:

• Cleveland Plain-Dealer
• Neighborhood News (Newburgh Heights, Ohio)
• Trace Evidence
• Unsolved Mysteries