DNA prompts Cuyahoga County investigators to make arrest in cold-case murder
Forensic genetic genealogy links Euclid man to 2004 stabbing death of Naomi Fails
CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - New details were released Wednesday about the DNA testing that prompted an arrest in the cold-case murder of Naomi Fails.
19 News reported earlier this week that Angelo Smith, 68, is accused of killing Naomi Fails, 40, back in March 2004, according to court records.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office said forensic genetic genealogy helped link Smith to Fails’ murder, and now the scientists behind it are sharing more.
In a news release, private DNA lab Othram said investigators with the prosecutor’s office sent evidence connected to Fails’ case in 2025.
Othram’s team of scientists were to carry out advanced DNA testing and forensic genetic genealogy.
According to the release, the scientists sequenced genomes, developed a profile and uncovered new leads.
This all led up to July 2026, when court records show a Cuyahoga County grand jury secretly indicted Smith, of Euclid, on murder charges.
19 News previously reported that Fails was found stabbed to death in the area of Somerset Avenue and East 105th Street.
The owner of an abandoned home discovered her body inside.
According to Othram, investigators suspect that someone broke into the building through a boarded up window and attacked Fails.
Court records show Smith is charged with one count of aggravated murder and one count of murder.
A judge set his bond at $1 million during his arraignment Tuesday morning.
Smith is due in court on August 25 for a pretrial hearing.
Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved.
