Suspect unknown decades after Columbus woman strangled, scalded and killed in fire

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A fire that broke out at a Columbus apartment 34 years ago left a young woman dead, leading law enforcement to uncover a disturbing scene an unknown suspect was presumably attempting to cover up.

At the time of her death, Yvonne Norris was 26 years old and the mother of Shavonne, 8, Myka, 4, Darrell, 6, and Michael, 2. She was living in the 1300 block of Summit Street while attending nursing school and working for a catering company.

“She loved to dance, so she would always have music playing and stuff, she was just a fun mom, like, we always did stuff,” said Norris’ daughter Shavonne Anderson. “She was very outdoorsy. … She was a believer, she loved Jesus, so we were at church all the time.”

On  Aug. 26, 1989, Norris’ children were at their grandmother’s home while Norris was in class. After her class, she came to pick up her kids at about 11 p.m., Anderson said. Eight years old at the time, Anderson was tired and did not want to leave her grandmother’s, so Norris returned home with her two sons and planned to pick her daughters up in the morning.

Anderson said she woke up around 2 a.m. and called her mom wanting to be picked up because she missed her, but Norris insisted on picking her up later that morning.

Just a short time later, a horrific struggle took place. 

“The intruder came in, literally, 10 minutes later,” Anderson said. “Like around 2:15 a.m. … We do know someone kicked the door in, my brothers were there, my two younger brothers were there, and they were in the far, far back room with the door shut.”

Norris attempted to fight off her intruder, and the two ended up in a scuffle. The intruder attempted to choke her and then placed her in her upstairs bathroom, Anderson said.

“So they put her in the bathroom, and they thought that they had killed her, but she didn’t die by them trying to choke her, so they bound her hands and her feet and then they put her in scalding hot water,” Anderson said. “They thought that she, like I said, that she was gone, but what happened after was, they set the house on fire, and that is what killed her: the smoke.”

Norris’ two sons were rescued by firefighters and survived. After the fire, Norris’ children were placed in separate homes. Her other daughter, Myka Jones, said the separation was another traumatic experience her family had to endure after Norris’ death.

“Of course, there’s always the question that’s in the back of your mind, like, what would my life be like if Mommy were still here?” Jones said. “So, growing up, that was pretty tough.”

Anderson said she believes her mom’s employer, who had also become a family friend, was involved in her death. She claims he, who was in his 50s at the time, was romantically interested in Norris, but the feelings were not reciprocated. 

“I remember my mom ends up getting engaged to [another] guy,” Anderson said. “When [her employer] found out, he was not happy, and right before my mother passed away, I think it was a week, he told my grandmother, he said, ‘If I can’t have her, no one can’ and a week later, she was gone.” 

The man Anderson believes was involved has since died. She claims police suspected the man as well but were never able to get DNA confirmation. 

“[The detective] told my sister, ‘We know who did it, but we don’t have DNA,’ and so he reached out to the son, and the son said, ‘No, I’m not giving my DNA because I don’t want my dad listed as a murderer,’ and that was the end of that,” Anderson said.

Norris was close with her brother, Brian. Over 30 years later, he said he still struggles to talk about his sister.

“There’s times I still think about her, I start crying,” Brian said. “ I still won’t look at pictures of her. … All of my siblings have passed away. I'm the last one, so it really hurts that this is still hanging over us. I’m in my 50s, and it still has an impact on me.”

Being young at the time of their mother's death, Norris' son, Michael Hudson, and Jones said the hardest part for them is having few memories of their mom.

“Even though she’s my mother and I know that I was deeply loved, it’s tough not being able to say that I actually knew her,” Jones said. “I think probably the hardest part has been not being able to really truly share with my kids who my mother was.”

Norris’ family pleads with anyone who may have any information to reach out to law enforcement. 

“I don’t know how many people [were involved], right, but I have forgiven them, I truly hope that they come forward, and they say, you know, ‘I made a mistake, and I did this,’ and they do the time,” Anderson said. 

Anyone with any information on the killing of Yvonne Norris may contact Columbus police at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers‘ anonymous tip line at 614-461-8477.

If you’re a family member of an individual with an unsolved missing persons or homicide case in Ohio, reach out to aboldizar@wcmh.com.