Profile

Name: Derek Shutt
Age Range: 45 - 47
Wanted for: Aggravated Murder, Akron, OH; Feb 04, 2005
Kidnapping, Akron, OH; Feb 04, 2005
Tampering With Evidence, Akron, OH; Feb 04, 2005

Locations

Last seen: Unkown
Possible location: Akron, OH
Last known: Unkown

Traits

Case Story

Fire Ignites Murder Investigation

On the morning of February 5, 2005, the Wood County Sheriff's Office received a disturbing phone call requesting help. The caller reported seeing what appeared to be a person's body on fire at a secluded farm. Officers raced to the scene and discovered the dead body of a young man engulfed in flames. They quickly extinguished the fire and began searching for clues.  Detectives say the farm wasn't the primary crime scene, that the Parkersburg John Doe had been murdered somewhere else. Police say the killers shot the victim in the back of the head with a small caliber gun then decaptitated the young man. Cops say the killers wrapped the body and head in a tarp-like plastic sheet. The remains were then stuffed into a heavy duty trash bag. Police believe the body bag was then placed in the trunk of a car and driven to the farm. Cops say the killers chose a small clearing near a wooded area on the property to dump the body. Police believe the killers tried to destroy the evidence by pouring an accelerant on the victim and lighting him on fire.

Burned Beyond Recognition

Police say a witness reported seeing several individuals in a vehicle leaving the farm shortly after the fire was started. Police say the vehicle was described as a dark-colored, older model sedan, perhaps a GM Monte Carlo or Buick Regal. Officers weren't able to find any identification on the victim and they say the body was burned beyond recognition. A forensic artist from the National Center of Missing & Exploited Children created a computer generated sketch of what the young man may have looked like. Detectives were hoping that once they learned the victim's identity, they would be able to find the killer.