COPLEY, Ohio — For more than two decades, a murder in Copley, Ohio, remained unsolved.
But that finally changed following an unusual "deathbed confession" to the killing, according to police.
"It's definitely not something you see very often. It's the first time I've seen it," said Detective Mike Yovanno.
Detectives learned of the shocking revelation last November, which led to several more months of investigating. The case is now considered closed with the murder of 28-year-old Stephen Lindsey labeled as solved.
According to Yovanno, the man who shot and killed Lindsey was Neil Anderson, who was 20 at the time of the murder and 41 when he died in 2023.
"The person has been identified. We're confident that he's the one who committed the murder," Yovanno said.
On April 20, 2002, officers were dispatched to the former Red Roof Inn on Rothrock Road for a man slumped over in the driver's seat of a Chevrolet van.
Officers determined Lindsey was shot once in the head and was deceased.
It was devastating for Lindsay's family and friends, including Matt Pruszynski.
"He was the best friend I ever had. He was that to a lot of people. He gave a lot of himself and didn't ask for much in return from anyone, so it broke everybody's hearts," Pruszynski said.
During the 2002 investigation, detectives interviewed dozens of people and traveled to other states to conduct interviews.
Eventually, police identified Anderson as their "prime suspect." However, Yovanno said police didn't have what they needed to bring charges.
"Lack of an eyewitness and lack of direct physical evidence to link the suspect to the crime," Yovanno said.
A few years later, the case was re-opened but stalled again with no arrests.
As decades passed, Yovanno assumed the murder would never be solved.
RELATED STORY | Man accused of setting fire to Tesla vehicles in Las Vegas arrested, police say
But in November of 2024, there was a dramatic shift in the cold case that police didn't see coming.
Yovanno said Anderson was facing a terminal illness, but before he passed, he made a deathbed confession to his brother in March of 2023.
In November of 2024, the brother told police that Anderson admitted to shooting Lindsey instead of paying an undisclosed amount of money he owed him.
Yovanno said additional information the brother provided was something only the killer or police would know.
"The details he provided matched the evidence at the crime scene," Yovanno said.
Yovanno said the brother waited about a year and a half to divulge the confession because he wanted to spare his family from anguish. The brother died in December of 2024, about a month after he met with police.
Pruszynski never thought the killer would be publicly identified, but he's grateful to finally have answers after 23 years.
"Being able to just know, we know he did it. He's not alive anymore," he said.
Yovanno said in the years that followed, Anderson spent some time behind bars on drug and theft offenses but mostly had his freedom.
For the victim's family and friends, that's difficult to think about, but Pruszynski feels the deathbed confession helps Stephen finally rest in peace.
"It gives us all closure, including his mom."
RELATED STORY | A heart-shaped note was found in socks bound for Luigi Mangione, prosecutors say
