Can YOU help solve the mysterious death of Kurt Sova?
Police Chief John Majoy weighs in on the value of citizen detectives in solving Kurt Sova's unexplained death
When the concept of CrowdSolve first emerged, a small number of people responded with skepticism and concern. Newburgh Heights Police Chief John Majoy was not one of them. “Any good administrator will not turn down free help as long as it meets confidentiality and procedural requirements, which I’m confident this event does,” he says. “If it helps us steer closer to closing this case, mission accomplished.”
CrowdSolve offers everyday citizens and armchair detectives the opportunity to do just that. CrowdSolve participants will have access to the unredacted case files plus a bevy of law enforcement experts and the victim’s family to aid their three-day investigation.
The case is the mysterious death of 17-year-old Kurt Sova , who was found in a Newburgh Heights ravine in 1981. He had been missing for five days, yet the medical examiner placed his time of death within 24-36 hours. Kurt was wearing one shoe; the other was found in a nearby rock pile. His blood alcohol content was just .11 percent - enough to cause intoxication but not enough to kill a generally healthy teenage boy. The medical examiner was unable to establish a clear cause of death, labeling it as “instantaneous physiological death.”
Chief Majoy has spent thirty years in various positions in law enforcement and became Newburgh Heights Police Chief six years ago. He is also a professor of Criminal Justice at Tiffin University, where he earned three degrees. Tiffin is known and respected for its excellent Criminal Justice program.
In 2018, Tiffin University professor Mike Lewis approached Chief Majoy to discuss the Kurt Sova case. “Professor Lewis thought the case was still solvable and asked if he could assemble a group of studentsto re-examine it,” says Chief Majoy. Professor Lewis and the Newburgh Heights PD have been combing through the case and fielding tips, but like any good administrator, he wasn’t about to turn down the help of hundreds of CrowdSolve Investigators with new perspectives and a passion for justice. We recently spoke with Chief Majoy about the CrowdSolve event and his hopes for the ultimate outcome.
CCI: Why did you choose the Kurt Sova case to bring to CrowdSolve?
CJM: We’ve been working on and discussing the Kurt Sova case with the Tiffin University program for the better part of a year. With the limited resources we have, we’re not able to devote 40 hours a week to the case, so having the Tiffin group and CrowdSolve look at it is great. We also met with the medical examiner about a year ago. He agreed to help us take another look at things.
Our goal was to have a formal kickoff, so on December 3, 2019, we held a press conference. We had all four major news stations, the Plain Dealer, and news radio channels in attendance. It blew the case open in that Kurt Sova was back in the public consciousness.
The following day I was contacted by the Marshal’s office in Cleveland and they introduced me to [retired U.S. Marshal and CrowdSolve Chief Investigator] Art Roderick. Art invited us to CrowdSolve, explained the concept, and asked if there was a particular case we needed help with.
CCI: How has your department approached the the Kurt Sova case now that it's been reopened?
CJM: We needed to pick up where the initial investigation left off. The initial investigation was not as detailed as it should have been and not handled as well as it should have been. The time is right; two persons of interest in the case have already passed away. Public memory is fading. We’re turning over every stone possible. The good news is that we don’t have to wait on medical reports or lab reports, so it’s all on us to start talking to people and shake something loose.
We reached out to Kurt’s only surviving family, his brother Kevin Sova, and asked if we could have a conversation. He didn’t hesitate to help and was able to produce a couple of documents that his mother had kept over the years. She'd kept copious notes and logged a lot of details.
We started slow with it and we build up momentum each time we’re able to put a piece of the puzzle together. Today, Professor Lewis at Tiffin gets credit for recognizing that the case is solvable and starting the conversation again. Most of time I’ve spent on it is outside of work hours, and many of my officers are doing the same thing and taking assignments off-hours.
CCI: Any concerns about opening up the Kurt Sova case file to a group of civilians?
CJM: I didn’t say yes right away. I did my homework and have no concerns about confidentiality. When I spoke with Art, I felt very comfortable with the process. A person of his accolades and experience in Marshal’s office - who spoke highly of him - boded well with me. Participants must sign an NDA and the CrowdSolve organizers tightly control the information. If I had an ounce of reservation, we wouldn’t be doing this.
CCI: What has the history of the investigation looked like? What has moved it forward or held it back?
CJM: There’s no other way to put it: this investigation wasn’t handled well in 1981. I can’t change that, but I can try to make it better now. The detective who handled the case in 1981 went to prison on prescription fraud and civil liberties violations. The former chief’s career ended on a less than favorable note.
I’m not sure how the case ended up with the Sheriff’s Dept. I assume Kurt’s mother Dorothy Sova was persistent enough to get their attention and I’m glad she did. This office did a decent investigation in 1989 but unfortunately reached an impasse. The case sat dormant until 2018 when we had the conversation with Tiffin University.
CCI: In your opinion, what are the factors that make the case solvable?
CJM: Someone knows something. Perhaps it’s been eating away at someone. I believe someone put Kurt’s body in that ravine and more than one person knows who it was.
The Kurt Sova case also shares a couple of commonalities with the case of Eugene Kvet. For example, Kvet was found deceased with only one shoe on. Coincidence? Hard to say. Also, the death of Lisa Combs, whose body was found in an adjacent county, stirred up some names that also came up when we were investigating the Kurt Sova and Eugene Kvet cases. There could be some substance to it.
CCI: What outcomes will make CrowdSolve a success for your department?
CJM: I hope CrowdSolve Investigators can take a comprehensive look at the case and perhaps offer a new perspective that proves helpful in getting closure for Kurt Sova’s family. I’ve researched the case thoroughly and there has to be one piece of information that will break the camel’s back. Just one piece of the puzzle could make all the difference.
Kurt didn’t leave home, disappear for five days, and die from a .11% blood alcohol content, only for the medical examiner to place his time of death within 24-36 hours. Could the ME have been mistaken in 1981? Possibly, but even if that’s the case, it doesn’t explain where Kurt was for five days or how he died and ended up in plain sight in a ravine that was searched thoroughly just two days before he was found.
Only a small number of police investigators have seen the full, unredacted Kurt Sova case file. Your perspective could be the missing piece needed to solve his mysterious death. Click hereto learn more about CrowdSolveand register to help find answer for Kurt's remaining family.
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