Six Year Rememberance of Amelia Roman; 92-Year-Old North Braddock Woman's Death Still Unsolved

This story first appeared in the Feb. 17, 2022 issue of The Valley Mirror.

What do you call the anniversary of a tragedy? The word anniversary seems most fitting, but most associations of the word are celebratory, such as a wedding anniversary or life marking event. Whatever words we choose, the practice of keeping certain events and people alive — remembering — is one of the ways communities decide what is important. As such, it is the sixth anniversary of the murder of Amelia Roman.?

"I called my mother every day," said Michael 'Mickey' Roman, son of the late Amelia Roman. Roman moved to Titusville, Florida, in 1985 after losing his job at the Westinghouse and moved out of his mother's home around 1977. "I checked on her. She was a widow in 1970, and I worked the third shift for a company. A lot of people don't check on their parents, but I did," said Roman. "I owed that to her. When I called her that day, there was no answer."

On February 15, 2016, 92-year-old Amelia Roman was found dead in her home on Jones Avenue in North Braddock, with duct tape on her mouth, hands, and feet. Her son says that it was very unusual for her not to answer her phone and that the only time she wouldn't answer her phone would be if she wasn't home, like at a doctor's office or store. Amelia had no appointment that day, which concerned him. He asked a neighbor and uncle to check on her. When they went to Amelia's home, they found her body on a bed covered in blankets.

Allegheny County police officers were called to the house on Jones Avenue around 4 p.m. for a medic call. The medical examiner ruled Roman's death a homicide, saying she died from a heart attack due to heart disease and physical restraint. "We don't know what was taken at this time, but by her living conditions, she didn't have much in there. It wasn't worth what happened here today," Assistant Police Superintendent James Morton said to the press at the time. To this day, it's still largely unknown what may have been taken. "They ransacked the house, and she didn't have much. She had no cell phone, not even a flat-screen, just a regular tv. They took her checkbook, which was worthless. I wasn't aware of any money she had put away." said Roman.?

Roman said that the house next to his mother's home was empty, but she had previously mentioned to him that she had heard movement coming from inside the abandoned home next door. The back window to Amelia's was broken, and the break-in most likely happened overnight. There was evidence of a small struggle in the home, suggesting that Amelia may have put up a fight. "I drove for two days," said Roman. "I had to take the crime scene tape off the house; they had just released the house to my uncle when I had got there." Where Amelia lived on Jones Avenue was down the street from a cellphone store, notorious in the area for the illegal activities that occured within its vicinity. "She promised her mother she would never leave that house so long as she lived. Her mother left her that house," said Roman.?

Amelia Roman lived alone, and the most foot traffic neighbors would see at the house were caretakers and Meals on Wheels. "She was a very caring woman, and she would help anyone that asked for help. She was outgoing," said Roman. He detailed that his mother used to work in a hospital and would often attempt to translate for non-English speaking patients if she could. "We used to talk about the Steelers every Sunday. You'd think she was in the locker room, the way she knew everything that was going on," he said. "She was deaf as a stone and couldn't hear anything, but she somehow knew." Roman says that when he went to his mother's house after she died, there wasn't a book there. No mail, no papers, no extra trash. "She was a neat person. She would keep everything clean."

Roman also says that his mother was an avid reader. "My mother would read a paperback book a day. Her brother Tom would get her books from the library." At one point, Roman suggested to his mother that she get a large print bible. A week later, she asked him if he needed a bible. "I asked her if she read it; She read that whole bible. "She told me, 'once you start reading it, it's interesting,'" said Roman.?

Amelia was known for her written correspondence to friends and family. "She would write to everybody all the time; that's how she would communicate since she couldn't hear well," said Roman. James Bost, a family friend, posted a letter on social media in 2021. It was sent to him by Amelia on December 31, 2010. "Over the years, she sent me letters, gave me postcards for my collection, wrote out the Steelers' schedule, and called me now and then to see how I was after retirement," Bost wrote. "I can't say enough about this wonderful lady."

"Micky's Mom was an angel. I knew her from when she worked at the House Of Cards on Braddock Avenue many, many years ago," remembered friend Nick Dankovich.?"I was around ten years old then, and I would want to buy my Mom a birthday card or a Mother's Day card. She would always take the time to help me pick that very special card out. She was as kind and gentle person as you would ever find."

Currently, there have been no advances in Amelia's case. "The detectives told us they have DNA samples, but nobody matched," said Roman. Unfortunately, at the time of publication, The Valley Mirror was unable to reach Detective Kaspryszyn, who worked on the case in 2017. No Allegheny County detectives returned calls to comment on this story. The family of Amelia Roman is relying on a witness to come forward or for advancements in the DNA evidence. The Valley Mirror was also unable to reach Marty Griffin through 'Get Marty' to find out if the $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a responsible individual was still available. " I just hope someone has a guilty conscience and says something to give closure to this," said Roman. According to the Office of Justice Programs at the U.S. Department of Justice, our nation currently has 250,000 unsolved murders, a number that increases by about 6,000 each year.?

Until something changes in the case, Amelia's murder will likely remain unsolved, but her family still has hope for Justice. "I love her," says Roman, who told his mother he loved her every day. He isn't giving up hope. "The bond between a child and his mother is unforgettable. Your mother is your mother."?