It was a humid, summer night and many seniors were out celebrating the ends of their college careers. Bernie’s Distillery, located on North High Street, was the choice for many students that evening. As the night came to an end, several people exited the back of the building into Pearl Alley, when they noticed something was terribly wrong.

Police had taped off an area at 16th Avenue and Pearl Alley just behind Bernie’s on the night of June 6, 2002, where they believed Ohio State senior David Slater Jr., 22, was shot and killed.

Slater’s death is the most recent of five unsolved murders and one missing person in the University District dating back to 1994.

The original investigation — aided by key witness Amit Pandya — led Columbus police to believe Slater was shot near the intersection of East 16th Avenue and Pearl Alley. The witness later recanted that statement and said the shooting occurred somewhere else.

“The shooting actually happened around East 11th Avenue and North 4th Street,” said Detective Gravett, one of the detectives who worked on the Slater investigation.

According to police reports, Slater was involved in an argument with the suspect or suspects just before he was killed. Police said they believe he was sitting in his friend’s car when a bullet was fired through the back windshield and struck him in the chest.

On the way to the hospital, the driver of the car waved down a Columbus Division of Fire vehicle around West 10th and Neil avenues, who then transported him to the emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.

This is one of many murders in the campus area that remain unsolved.

On March 5, 1994, OSU freshman Stephanie Hummer left the Evans Scholars House at 52 E. 14th Ave. with her friends on their way to another friend’s house on East 10th Avenue. On the way, one of Hummer’s friends cut her hand on a chain link fence and had to be accompanied back to the Scholar house.

Hummer walked her back, then walked down Pearl Alley to catch up with her friends, but never made it.

Hummer was found murdered the next day. She was partially clothed, in a field off River Street on Columbus’ west side. She had been raped and beaten to death.

In a June 10, 2000 Lantern article, then-Detective Pat Barr said he thinks the investigation was made more challenging because of two major events going on in Columbus the weekend of Hummer’s murder — the Arnold Schwarzenegger Classic and a Civil War reenactment at the fairgrounds. The events brought thousands of extra people to Columbus that weekend.

Barr said he thinks Hummer’s killer was passing through town and is still out there to do it again.

Another unsolved murder occurred on March 18, 1997, when Kyle Schaulin, 19, was shot and killed inside his 11th Avenue home.

According to police, three males entered his house and went to his bedroom, where a fight broke out. Schaulin was shot once and was pronounced dead 20 minutes later at the OSU Medical Center.

Schaulin had been dealing marijuana prior to his death.

“The motive for the robbery was definitely marijuana,” said Amy Morris, the detective in charge of the case.

Morris said cases like this remain open forever.

“We are hoping that more info will surface for this case,” Morris said. “There were three perpetrators involved, which gives us more of a chance of getting info, as compared to a murder with only one perpetrator.”

One such murder occurred Feb. 9, 2000, when Charles “Chico” Ballard, 22 and a senior at OSU, was found dead in the basement of his 328 E. 17th Ave. home.

Ballard was shot in the head, chest and abdomen. His body was found lying on partially-burned paper and the bottom half of his body was severely burned.

At first, police thought it was possible the fire had been set to conceal the crime, but they later learned otherwise.

“The fire may have been accidentally set by a candle,” said Detective Dana Farbacher.

A gun was discovered beneath Ballard’s body, which Farbacher said was Ballard’s and was not used in the murder.

The detectives said in cases such as this it is very frustrating for the detectives because they believe the information is out there.

“It is always difficult when you think people have information and won’t come out with it,” Farbacher said. “You can only go as far as the info will take you.”

On June 7, 2000, Kohler Barker, 25, was found dead in his Harrison House apartment, located on Lane Avenue. It was determined he had died as early as four days prior to the discovery of his body.

Autopsy reports show he bled to death because of a cut on his upper torso.

A call was placed to police on June 3, 2000 regarding the noise coming from his apartment. When police arrived, the noise stopped, so they left.

According to an Aug. 7, 2001 Lantern article, Sgt. Earl Smith said police only request entry to an apartment when they are making an arrest, when they have a search warrant or when they are concerned for a person’s well being. None of those applied to the Barker situation.

Barker is believed to have been released from a drug rehabilitation center just two months before he was murdered. Barker was also involved in drug trafficking.

“Any drug-related homicides are frustrating,” said Detective Michael McCann. “No one wants to cooperate or tell us anything, because most people who know something are hiding something themselves.”

“It’s tough to put all of your energy and emotion into a case and get nothing at all,” he said.

Although they are unable to inform the public of any new information because it may jeopardize the investigations, Columbus police remain ready to jump on any new leads or names that may surface.

Missing persons are sometimes treated the same way as homicides, as the person may be dead.

Stacey Colbert was last seen on March 21, 1998, at her Governour’s Square apartment. Colbert was a member of Alpha Delta Pi while attending OSU.

The last person to see Colbert was a pizza delivery man bringing breadsticks to her apartment. The man was later ruled out as a suspect.

Whether Colbert is alive or not remains a mystery, but the case will not go cold until four of the original detectives on the case leave the Homicide Division of police.

“It was suspicious from the beginning, so it was treated as a homicide,” said Morris, who knew Colbert.

Morris said it is never too late and that she tries not to lose hope because something may still come up.

“Of course it’s frustrating,” Morris said. “There are always family or friends of the victim who want closure on the issue.”