On December 28, 1964, 12-year-old Carol Jarosz Bartos’ life abruptly and irrevocably changed.
On that day, Beverly Jarosz, her 16-year-old sister, was killed.
Carol is still in the dark about what happened to her sister and who killed her, sixty years later.
For the two sisters, it began as a typical day. To visit their grandmother, they walked to her home.
Carol told Dateline that after leaving our house together, we went for what seemed like about thirty minutes to my grandmother’s place, where we had lunch. I stayed with my granny while my sister cleaned her hair and styled it in little curlers since she had plans for the afternoon.
Beverly returned to their home in anticipation of meeting two pals. Beverly would have been waiting for her pals alone at home because both of their parents were at work.
Carol claims that she was unable to enter the house when the first friend showed there. She saw that a door that was usually left open was closed, and another door that was usually closed was open. Additionally, the friend heard loud music coming from upstairs, which was not typical of Beverly.
Carol stated that she believed Beverly might have been upset with her due of her slight tardiness. She then returned home.
The first buddy then explained what had transpired to the second friend, Carol added. The second friend called the grandma of Carol and Beverly. According to Carol, their grandmother recognized the problem right away. According to Carol, she called my dad, who arrived home from work sometime between 4:00 and 4:30 after receiving the call from my grandma.
At that point, their father learned that Beverly had not been home by herself.
Naturally, he discovered her dead when he got home—stabbed and strangled, according to Carol.
On December 28, 1964, 16-year-old Beverly Jarosz was stabbed and strangled to death in her bedroom at her Garfield Heights residence, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s website.
Dateline was informed by Detective Mark Menary of the Garfield Heights Police Department that Beverly had been slain at approximately 1:30 p.m.
According to him, strangulation was the cause of death. Numerous pieces of evidence were found. Above all, he pointed out, the rope that killed Beverly.
Carol recalls listening in on the heartbreaking phone conversation between her grandma and her father.
He was shouting, “Murder, murder, murder,” while he contacted my grandmother. “I knew then,” Carol informed Dateline. After that, my grandmother made me visit her neighbor next door. She also visited my father’s home.
It took Carol years to come to terms with the tragic occurrence that occurred when she was just 12 years old. She remembers that time as a fog, saying, “I feel like I have so few recollections from the time that happened to me, until even through high school.” I have no idea how I managed to survive those six years. After attending college, I felt as though my life had returned to normal.
Carol claims that the murder of Beverly had a lasting, significant impact on her personality. I’ve always been a really gregarious person. I had many friends and all that. “And I just feel like I got to be an introvert when this happened,” she said.
Carol recounts that she and her parents were questioned by the police, and that they were asked who Beverly spent time with at school and in the community.
The investigation into this crime has yielded a number of potential suspects, but no one has been charged, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s website. Even now, the case is still unresolved.
Additionally, Detective Menary gave an update on the progress of Beverly’s case. According to the statement, Beverly’s case is still being actively investigated and is a key priority for the Garfield Heights Police Department. These have been some of the recent activities: Advanced M-Vac DNA testing on important pieces of evidence has led to surveillance, witness interviews, and the discovery of fresh DNA.
According to Menary, the Garfield Heights Police Department has been in constant contact with Beverly’s sister, Carol, as new information arises, and it has collaborated extensively with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities during this process. We want to provide the answers she and her family deserve, as well as the society at large.
Detective Menary concluded his interview with Dateline by stating that we would never give up on pursuing justice since the horror of Beverly’s death still weighs heavily on our hearts. He later retorted that the development of DNA testing has altered the way Beverly’s case is being examined and that there are currently suspects in the case, though he did not identify them.
Carol is hopeful that she will finally receive justice and answers for her older sister after sixty years of waiting. Beverly was a poet and aspiring Latin teacher, and she still remembers how much she admired her.
Carol remarked, “I just thought she was so sophisticated.” She didn’t like the Beatles, which was popular at the time, and instead preferred classical music. Additionally, one of her Christmas wishes was to receive a copy of Shakespeare’s whole body of work.
Beverly may have paused on the following passage in those works: Murder cannot be concealed for very long; truth will be revealed. The truth will eventually come out.
A memorial liturgy for Beverly was celebrated in the Jarosz family church, St. Therese in Garfield Heights, on Saturday, December 28. The murder of Beverly had occurred sixty years prior. The time for the truth to be revealed is long gone.
The Garfield Heights Police Department’s Det. Mark Menary can be reached at 216-475-5686 [email protected] if you have any information.
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