Niles Police investigating new information in 2002 cold case

A murder case that's been cold in the Niles community for more than two decades, may have some new life.

The mysterious death of Jane Kleese is back in the spotlight thanks to some new information detectives are tracking down.

It was 2002 when Jane Kleese was found dead in her Niles home, found by her two children at the bottom of the stairs.

At first, police treated her death as a tragic accident. But just two months later, that changed — when the coroner ruled her death was a homicide caused by asphyxiation.

Despite the suspicious circumstances, the case went cold. No signs of forced entry. No arrest. And for 23 years — no resolution.

"Case obviously has been something that this police department has looked at over the last 23 years and wanted to get a fresh set of eyes on it," Captain John Marshall with Niles Police said. "We have had some new information come to pass, and we are following those leads."

Captain John Marshall says a new investigator is now assigned to the case and while he won't go into specifics, he says the department is actively sorting through old reports and pursuing some new leads.

"Sometimes the officers that have worked a case have worked it so much that sometimes, you know, you look past things that are there, but you may not see because you know there, you've been looking at it for so long," Marshall said. "I don't know if that's the case in this or if you know if anything will come to pass, but we have had a little bit of luck and some information that we think may be newer information. "It's a pretty voluminous case file, so we are still sorting and organizing some of the old case information, but it seems like we may have some additional information to track down."

Marshall believes someone out there may know something even if they don't realize how important it could be.

"People see and hear things every day that they may or may not think are significant, or, you know, they may dismiss as just conjecture, but very possibly, somebody has some information that they've kind of dismissed or kind of put on the shelf for themselves as being unimportant," Marshall said. "If there's anything that anybody has that you know they recall from the time of the event, or any time between then and now that could be significant or that they think we might want to know absolutely, reach out to us."

You can contact Detective Andy Hacker or reach out the Niles Police Department through email or anonymous tip line if you know anything. Your tip could be the missing piece investigators have waited more than 20 years to find.