NORTH COLLEGE HILL, Ohio -- To those close to him, he was "Papa Joe." He ran an auto shop for more than three decades. And, his daughter said, Joe Leach had the kind of personality that made you feel like you knew him for a lifetime within five minutes of meeting him.
Leach was working at his Leach Brothers Automotive on Jan. 5 when someone came inside, shot him and ran off.
"The first thing that came to my mind is, 'Who gets shot at 2 o'clock in the afternoon?' It's just crazy," daughter Carla Broshear said.
She and her siblings went to their dad's bedside; days later, they learned he died of his injuries.
North College Hill police say a shadowy figure captured on surveillance images is the would-be-robber-turned-killer.
UPDATE ON LEACH BROTHERS ROBBERY / SHOOTING
Posted by North College Hill Police Department on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Leach Brothers Surveillance Video of Attempted Robbery / ShootingLeach Brothers Surveillance Video of Attempted Robbery / Shooting
Posted by North College Hill Police Department on Tuesday, January 5, 2016
The case was slow-going at first; now, investigators are working a few leads and waiting on forensics, but still have nothing concrete.
"It's hard to sleep -- just repetitive nightmares, wanting answers," Broshear said.
The family is staying positive, she said, which is what her dad would've wanted. He was passionate about his work and hit the racetrack in his spare time. With eight grandkids looking up to him, family came first.
"My youngest is 6," Broshear said, "so my outlook is there's no way in the world I want to look in her eyes and say, 'We lost Papa, and there's a bad guy out there, and he didn't get in trouble for it.'"
Family and friends have put up a $5,000 reward for anyone with information leading to an arrest. Anyone who knows about Leach's killer should call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
