Family hoping for justice after podcast covers decades-old central Ohio cold case

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A podcaster has wrapped up her investigation into a decades-old central Ohio cold case, giving the victim’s family hope of finally receiving justice. 

John “Bernie” Burnside, 32, was found dead in his Marysville home on Dec. 11, 1993, just 10 hours after reporting a break-in to police. Burnside, who had cerebral palsy, was discovered with a plastic bag placed over his head and taped around his neck. His death was originally ruled a suicide, but was later determined to be a homicide. 

“He had worked for Honda for quite a while,” said Paula Troyer, Burnside’s sister. “He had gotten a good job and he excelled there. … He was kind and quiet and just not a violent-type person at all. He had a small build and stature and just kind of an older soul.”

Burnside’s homicide caught the attention of Melissa Sandberg, a civil investigator from Florida. While her review of Burnside’s case marked the first season of her podcast “Dog with a Bone,” she has been examining cold cases for more than three years, recently as part of an independent group of investigators sponsored by American Military University. 

Sandberg works in the healthcare industry and investigates cold cases on the side. She spends her own money to fly to places where victims lived, and talk with their family, friends and law enforcement. 

Sandberg said Burnside’s case sparked her interest when she came across a Facebook group named “Who killed John ‘Bernie’ Burnside," which had 22 members. She felt like Burnside had been forgotten and reached out to his family to offer her free services and coverage on her upcoming podcast. 

“I was surprised at first and then I was so thrilled as nothing else had happened all these years,” Troyer said. “My dad just passed two years ago, and he had so hoped this would come before he passed so that part is sad. I would have loved him to see this cause he worked on it so much.”

Before his death, Burnside's father had also independently investigated his son’s homicide. He left behind a plethora of his findings, which helped Sandberg in her own search for answers.

“His dad had dug and dug and dug for information, and was really trying to solve his son's own murder, and so I had all of that information,” Sandberg said. “Everyone in Marysville seems to know what happened, but yet nothing was ever done.” 

Sandberg investigated the homicide from February to November, traveling to Marysville twice to meet with family members and interview people of interest in the case. Dog with a Bone’s first season consisted of 10 episodes, uploading once a week from Sept. 12 through Nov. 14. 

Troyer said she learned new information about Burnside’s life and death through Sandberg’s investigation, however, none of Sandberg’s suspects came as a surprise to her. 

“We already know who did this in our minds,” Troyer said. “So she's just confirmed timelines and everything and just brought in more evidence for what we already knew.”

After Sandberg began to look into the case and reach out to different law enforcement agencies, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation decided to review the case. Sandberg has kept in contact with the agency and sent them all of her findings. The bureau told NBC4 they have no updates on the investigation to share at this time. Troyer said she is hopeful the review will result in an arrest and closure for Burnside’s family after 30 years. 

“It's finally time that people do the right thing,” Sandberg said. “Bernie's family, they deserve an apology and they deserve justice.”

The first season of Dog with a Bone racked up over 25,000 listens from people all over the country, according to Sandberg. Episodes can be found on Apple and Spotify. 

“To me, this is a very important podcast,” Troyer said. “For the people that get into just trying to solve murders and trying to find missing people, what a wonderful thing those people are using their voice for.”

Sandberg said she is currently looking for another case to investigate for her second season, but she will continue to follow Burnside’s case and update listeners. Sandberg said she does not have a release date for the second season yet, and updates can be found on the podcast’s Facebook page. 

Anyone who has information on Burnside’s homicide may contact the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation’s tip line at 800-282-3784.