A routine welfare check turned into a horrifying discovery this week, as the Cleveland community reels from the brutal murder of 66-year-old Don Avery, a father whose life was tragically cut short in his own home.
The nightmare began when Avery’s daughter, growing increasingly frantic after not hearing from her father since August 20th, called police for a check on his well-being. On Saturday evening, officers arrived at Avery’s home on the 7700 block of Melrose Avenue. The signs were immediately unsettling: the front door was obstructed by a wagon, shattered glass littered the entrance, and personal items were scattered chaotically inside the residence.
Despite a perimeter check, officers reported nothing unusual and departed. The truth, however, was waiting to be uncovered just feet away.
The following evening, in a heart-wrenching turn of events, it was Avery’s own family who made the grisly discovery. His daughter returned to the property and found her father’s body in the backyard, bound and cruelly wrapped in a sheet. She immediately called the police, who arrived at 7:36 p.m. only to have Cleveland EMS declare the beloved father deceased on the scene.
The Cleveland Division of Police has now launched a full-scale homicide investigation. The department’s Homicide Unit is actively processing the scene and pursuing leads, though details remain scarce. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released an official cause of death, pending an autopsy.
Don Avery was a man who spoke with his daughter daily, a testament to a close family bond now shattered by an act of unspeakable violence. As detectives work tirelessly to unravel the circumstances of this heinous crime, a family is left to mourn, and a neighborhood is left grappling with fear and loss, desperate for answers and justice for Don Avery.