Grieving mother is hopeful that police spotlight on her son’s murder will help solve the case

CLAIRTON, Pa. — At the corner of Reed Street and Wylie Avenue in Clairton, Roni Martin stands.

“My son literally died right there. Left him on the street for three hours before anybody found him on Christmas Day,” Martin said.

One year has passed since that day and she still grieves her son Ryan Main; but to add to the pain, his case still remains unsolved.

“It needs to be solved; people need to speak up and come forward. Everybody talks about how bad Clairton is and the police don’t do anything. But in actuality when you see something this serious, say something. It’s not about the town of Clairton or the police, it’s about everyone coming forward,” Martin said.

That’s just what the Allegheny County Police Department is trying to do. Since June, detectives have compiled information on unsolved homicides and on the first of every month, the department posts a new video to social media with new elements to highlight a case. This month the case was Ryan’s.

>>> Allegheny County police asking for information on unsolved homicide on Christmas Day 2023

“We always knew there were three people involved but up until that video, we were not sure who that third person was. Until that video was released, I had never even seen it. I knew there was video but I had never seen it,” Martin said.

That video has already been viewed nearly 20,000 times across social media, higher than the average post — which is around 10,000.

“I’m glad that it’s out there, and I’m hoping the community will do the right thing,” Martin said.

The program is growing as ACPD told Channel 11 tips are coming in as each case is highlighted at the beginning of the month and the hope is to use this tool to close one of these cases. Martin is hopeful it’s her son’s.

“He left behind a child that did not deserve this, literally did not deserve this. Everybody makes mistakes in their lives and you took away that chance for me to see what Ryan could have been,” Martin said.

The Martin family is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. If you do know any information on any information on any case that ACPD has highlighted you are asked to call their tipline at 1-833-ALL-TIPS.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

©2025 Cox Media Group