Human remains identified after 40 years as O'Jays guitarist

(December 15, 2021) A cold case for four decades has been partially solved, as partial human remains found in 1982 have now been identified, via DNA analysis, as belonging to former O’Jays band member Frankie Little, Jr.

According to a statement from the Twinsburg, Ohio Police Department, the human remains, showing signs of blunt trauma, were found in a garbage bag on February 18, 1982, behind a now-closed business. But thanks to the DNA Doe Project and a DNA sample provided by a relative of Mr. Little, a positive identification was made nearly 40 years later. And now the local police are reopening the case in the hopes of finding the killer.

Little was a Cleveland native who performed as a guitarist and songwriter for The O’Jays during their early years. He served in the US Army for two years, including service in Vietnam. He returned Ohio after his tour was done, but disappeared in the mid-70s, years before the remains were found.

The O’Jays issued a statement to CNN that Little "came with us when we first ventured out of Cleveland and traveled to Los Angeles, but he also was in love with a woman in Cleveland that he missed so much that he soon returned back to Cleveland after a short amount of time."

We pray that this discovery provides comfort and closure to Mr. Little’s family all these years later, and we commend those officers, justice advocates and researchers who continued to work on solving this case decades after the case appeared to turn cold.