Homicides in Fairfield
2007: 1
2008: 3
2009: 1
2010: 0
2011: 0
2012: 4*
*As of Nov. 26, 2012
Source: City of Fairfield Police Department
For the fourth time this year, Fairfield police are working to solve a homicide in the city.
Julian Slaven, 19, became the city’s fourth homicide victim of 2012, according to the results of an autopsy by the Butler County Coroner’s Office. The homicide marks the most in the city in at least the past six years.
Slaven was shot and killed Saturday night after two men entered a home in the 5800 block of Judy Drive demanding money, Fairfield police said.
“It’s not the type of place, it’s not the type of house where you’re going to kick the door in and go demanding money unless you know it’s there,” said Officer Doug Day of the Fairfield police.
The other unsolved homicides in Fairfield this year are:
- Chelsea Johnson, 15, who was found stabbed to death in April in a creek near the Creekside Village of Fairfield apartments.
- Joseph Oakley, 19, who was shot several times in the chest last August and was found near the same apartment complex as Johnson.
- Damien Taylor, 29, who was found shot to death last March in an apartment in the 5100 block of Winton Road.
Slaven was due to appear Thursday in Fairfield Municipal Court on a felony drug possession charge. His attorney, Gerald Leshner, said the charge stemmed from a search warrant police executed at Slaven’s residence last July.
“They went through a whole bunch of stuff somewhere in one of his drawers in his bedroom,” Leshner said. “They found two orange pills of some kind … they were basically Adderall, a type of amphetamine.” Slaven was charged with a fifth-degree felony because amphetamine is classified as a controlled substance, according to Leshner.
“We were scheduled to go back to court this week to either try to work out a deal with the police and the prosecutor, or to have the matter bound over to the Butler County grand jury,” Leshner said.
Slaven had two other criminal cases in the court. One was a drug abuse charge, and the other was a marijuana possession charge. There was also an eviction case that was dismissed.
The two suspects in Slaven’s death remain at large, police said. One suspect is described as a white male and the other as a black male.
“They were wearing some sort of covering on their face. We’re not sure what it was,” Day said.
The cul-de-sac where Slaven lived was quiet Monday, with three or four cars parked outside the home.
Dee Brockman, a neighbor, said she watched Slaven grow up.
“He was a sweet, polite good kid,” she said.
A Facebook group commemorating Slaven identifies him as a rapper in the local music scene, using the name “J. Kaptum.” Fairfield City Schools spokeswoman Gina Gentry-Fletcher said Monday she could not confirm that Slaven was a Fairfield graduate.
Slaven’s mother, Tamera Slaven, and a family friend were at the home during the incident and dialed 911, Day said. Slaven is a teacher at Riverview Elementary in the Hamilton City Schools district, according to Joni Copas, the district’s spokeswoman.
Neighbor Brian Bulton, 23, said he noticed that numerous people would briefly visited Slaven’s residence, then leave.
“That house had a lot of traffic in the first place,” Bulton said. “A lot more at night. It’s hard to say (how many), but it’s more than normal.”
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Fairfield police at 513-829-8201 or Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
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