Canton family marks 20 years of waiting; Michael Broad's 2003 homicide remains unsolved
CANTON ‒ The world may have moved on since Michael Broad died 20 years ago due to the actions of an unknown killer or killers.
But his widow Robin Broad-Showalter has not. Neither have their four children, who continue to tell stories about the man long after his 2003 death so that he can be known through their words to the grandchildren and great-grandchildren he never had the chance to cherish.
Surviving family members continue to live with the pain of personal loss that spans generations, knowing that the man who loved to cook for a crowd and play practical jokes is gone forever without an explanation.
What we know about Mike Broad's death
These facts about his death are known:
Cassidy Broad, then 19, drove her father to what was then the Friendly Corner Tavern at Harrison Avenue and 15th Street SW. He was gone when she returned to take him home. She tried unsuccessfully to find him on the route she thought he most likely took.
His body was found at Navarre Road and Stark Avenue SW. He had suffered massive injuries to his head, collarbones and ribs.
There was money in his wallet, but not his front pocket, where his family believes he would have kept cash to pay for drinks.
Neither the police nor the family know how Broad died. He might have been beaten; he might have been hit by a vehicle, or both.
On the day after the July 19th anniversary of his death, several of Broad's family members reflected on the life and death of the man who last supported them as a truck driver hauling steel and lumber.
Cassidy was her father's right hand
Cassidy Broad said she remains devastated by the loss. It was she who answered the door in the early morning hours when representatives of the Stark County Coroner's Office and Canton Police Department came to deliver the bad news.
She remembers being his right hand, literally. While driving his truck, he had her move the gear shift while he operated the clutch. Repair job? She gave him the wrench. Need another part? She accompanied him to the hardware store. They went to the dump together when he had a commercial trash route.
Her daughter 12-year-old daughter MyKeigh (pronounced MY-key) is named after her father. She also has a son Joshua, 16.
Cassidy's first career ambition was to drive a truck with her dad.
"But then he got murdered," she said.
Her sister, Kara Morris, was 16 when their father died. She says she struggles now with the loss more than she did when she was in her rebellious teenage years, when a parent's advice and rules may be unwelcome. Her mother walked her down the aisle at her wedding. She wore a locket containing her father's photo.
Now, she shows pictures of her father to daughter Avrayelle, 8, and son Gavin, 13. She tells them he would have loved them very much. Morris said she knows her father would have particularly enjoyed her daughter, whom she described as "a firecracker."
Everybody got a nickname, until their grandfather died
Her sister, Nikki Clendenin, says their father called her now 22-year-old daughter Kerestyn "Ladybug," and 21-year-old son Prestin "Tank" because he was a solidly built baby. Their brother, Quintin, 19, was born after his grandfather died. He didn't get one of the nicknames that his grandfather distributed freely.
Clendenin said she had hoped Quintin's birth would help her overcome her father's death emotionally. It didn't.
She had to stay away from the family home for a while because her two oldest children would get excited about seeing their "Pap" when she approached the house in the time immediately following his death.
Robin and her daughters shared memories of their beloved. Although their recollections were tinged with sadness, they smiled and laughed at their recollections about his charitable and fun-loving nature.
One night when he was at a bar, a man stabbed him with a sword. Robin said the wound was minor. Afterward, Mike brought him back to the house, built a fire in the back yard and had drinks with him.
10 years ago: Family of man killed on roadside to hold memorial cookout, balloon release
Broad's widow and daughters described him as the glue that held together the extended family, on both sides. They said there is less contact between them now.
His sister, Deborah Broad, 68, says she can't get used to her brother being dead.
Losing a second husband, remembering the first
After her first husband died, Robin married one of his friends, Phillip G. Showalter Jr. He died Jan. 4, 2022. They were married 17 years. It was a second stab in the heart for Robin, who married Michael in 1981 and raised their three daughters and son Shaun with him. They were raising a grandchild when he died.
Robin and her family keep his memory alive with a balloon release each year at the corner where he died, Navarre Road and Stark Avenue SW. As in the past, the family also hosted a day-long cookout in his memory. It was held on July 15. The balloon launch had been planned for the same day, but inclement weather forced it to be rescheduled.
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Family members hope that by continuing to draw attention to the case, they will prompt someone to remember something that could be useful to law enforcement and lead to the successful prosecution of the person or persons responsible for Michael Broad's death.
Anyone with information about the crime is asked to contact the Canton Police Detective Bureau at (330) 489-3144. Anonymous tips can also be sent through Tip411 or the Stark County Crime Stoppers. Sign up for Tip411 at www.cantonohio.gov/police.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
On Twitter: @nmolnarTR
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton resident Michael Broad's 2003 homicide remains unsolved
