CINCINNATI -- A Hamilton County grand jury indicted a man earlier this month on charges of shooting and killing a Millvale man in July.
Austin Duncan, 19, is facing two counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and one count each of improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation and tampering with evidence.
Police previously said Duncan fatally shot 50-year-old Ralph Whitehead, who was found dead early on July 26 in the 2300 block of Millvale Circle, just a few doors down from his childhood home.
According to the indictment, Duncan also intended to shoot two other victims. Only Whitehead was killed.
Edna Whitehead, Ralph's mother, said she wants justice and answers.
"I will would like to know why," she said. "I think that's what all mothers want to know, everybody wants to know, when somebody kills their loved ones."
She recalled her son as "the comedian in the family."
"We get together and he was always the one cracking jokes, making people laugh," Edna Whitehead said. "He was helpful when he needed to be helpful."
Back in July, police said shootings were down about 20 percent in Cincinnati but Millvale was seeing an uptick. At that time, Millvale was on pace for a 75 percent increase in violent crime compared to the previous year.
Things have changed since then. According to a Cincinnati Police Department database, there have been no reports of violent crimes in Millvale in the last seven weeks. There have been 26 violent crimes reported year to date, which is 10 percent less than 2017 year to date.
Duncan is being held in the Hamilton County Justice Center with bond set at $1 million.
