Unsolved Ohio: Suspect unknown three years after woman stabbed to death in Columbus
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A night out in Columbus turned fatal when a 27-year-old was stabbed to death and placed in the trunk of her car. Despite nearby cameras capturing a person of interest, her case remains cold three years later.
At the time of her death, Infhon'e Edwards was married with three children aged 2, 3 and 10. Her mother, Rosemarie Dickerson, said she had a close relationship with her daughter, who owned a food cart where she worked to support her family.
“She started working her food cart and started building herself up,” Dickerson said. “She had three babies, and the more kids she had the more positive I think she became.”
On Dec. 10, 2020, the mother-daughter pair spent the day together running errands. It was a Thursday, which meant later that evening Edwards had a tradition to attend – going out in Columbus for “ladies night” with her close friend. Edwards left her home at 7:50 p.m. after telling her husband she was going out for a drink, according to a Columbus police report. The report did not specify when she was last seen after leaving her home.
On Dec. 11, around 10 a.m., Dickerson claims she received a call from Edwards’ husband, who said Edwards did not come home the previous night. At first, Dickerson thought her daughter may have stayed with a friend and would turn up soon – but as time went on, she began to worry.
“When I kept calling her phone and there was no answer, it was like it was off,” Dickerson said. “I [told her husband] ‘report her missing’ then I went onto Facebook and I just asked everybody ‘has anybody seen Infhon’e, we can’t find her.’”
Edwards’ husband reported her missing on Dec. 12, according to a police report, and Dickerson’s pleas for help to find her daughter quickly gained traction on Facebook.
“The whole city went crazy and they were just looking for her and we were searching for her,” Dickerson said. “We were in the woods, we were in Northern Lights, we were in just so many different places because everybody was having sightings, like ‘we’ve seen her here, we’ve seen her there.’”
On Dec. 14 around 2 p.m, four days after Edwards left for ladies night, Dickerson received a text message alerting her that a body was found at 2058 Winslow Drive. While she was not sure if the body belonged to her daughter or not, she drove straight to the address, which brought her to a parking lot of an apartment complex.
When she got there she saw an alarming scene: Edwards’ green Chevrolet Avalanche surrounded by police tape.
“They wouldn’t let me get to it, I literally almost had a heart attack out there,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson later discovered what had happened to her daughter -- Edwards was stabbed three times on the left side of her chest and twice in her face. Her remains were then placed in the trunk of her car.
“It was a pretty bad scene, like they didn’t take her out of the car, they didn’t do any of that,” Dickerson said. “They towed my baby in her car. I just feel like at least take my baby out and lay her on a stretcher and show her the respect.”
Dickerson got in contact with the apartment complex, who showed her security camera footage of the parking lot during the morning her daughter was killed. Cameras captured Edwards' car pulling into the parking lot around 5 a.m. on Dec. 11. A person of interest is seen in the Chevrolet -- the person, who appeared to be a heavy-set man, remained in the car for a whole hour before exiting the vehicle and walking away, Dickerson said.
Detectives believe the person of interest may have been cleaning up the crime scene, Dickerson said. While Dickerson feels she knows who killed her daughter, police have not publicly named any suspects.
“I [recognize] his body build,” Dickerson said. “You couldn’t see his face when he got out, he had a white towel over his face.”
With no arrests made in Edwards’ case, Dickerson lives in fear for herself and her three grandchildren.
“It has affected my life to the point where, for a long time, it’s been three and a half years, I was scared to take my trash out,” Dickerson said. “I’m scared when I go to grocery stores.”
Central Ohio Crime Stoppers stated they will offer a monetary reward for any information leading to charges or an arrest in Infhon’e Edwards’ case, but did not specify an amount. Anyone with any information 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.