A popular Dayton disc jockey was dead in her Harrison Township apartment. Now, 17 years later, many have been questioned, but the case remains unsolved. On the radio, she was Nikki Brooks, but to her family and friends, she was Kelly Dee Wilson.
"Finally she was getting to do what she loved to do," said Kelly's sister, Jamie Powell.
NOW WATCH: Nikki Brooks’ brother talks about how her death affected his family’s lives
Kelly, as Nikki Brooks, had the number one show on the radio Friday, from 6 until 10 at WROU FM
"Everybody loved her. A smile that we could actually hear on the radio," said Ro Nita Hawes-Sanders, of Hawes-Saunders Broadcasting Properties Inc. "She was not an African-American announcer, but she immediately related to the audience and connected to our music and connected to our listeners."
Family and friends are still uncertain about all the details of that tragic weekend in March, 2000, when Kelly died. They do know she attended a picnic and then had some friends over to her apartment. On March 27, Kelly did not show up for work. That was very unusual so her co-workers called the Montgomery County Sheriff''s office to have a deputy do a welfare check. Kelly was found dead slumped over the bathroom tub.
"She was very intoxicated," said Ken Betz, of the Montgomery County Coroner's Office. " Leaning over a tub, an obstruction of the airways may have caused the death."
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However, Kelly's death was ruled a homicide.
"We can only speculate that whoever was with her at that scene, did they do harm to her or not? Or were they helping her and panicked? That's up to the investigators, " said Betz.
"The ultimate thing is it's never going to bring her back no matter what you do," said Kelly's brother Craig Powell.
The family is holding out hope that either new technology or a witness, will come forward and help solve this case.
If you have any information about the death of Kelly Dee Wilson, also known as Nikki Brooks, please call CrimeStoppers at 222-STOP.
