CANTON ‒ The number of homicides in Canton more than doubled last year compared to 2024.
And the overall number of people killed by others in Stark County increased by one in 2025 compared to the previous year.
“Even one homicide is too many,” Stark County Sheriff Eric Weisburn said in a prepared statement. “That’s why it’s heartbreaking to acknowledge that Stark County experienced 16 homicides in 2025 — each one representing a lost life and grieving families and friends.”
Canton saw 12 of the county’s 16 homicides. Two others occurred in related incidents in Alliance. Canton Township and Plain Township each had one homicide.
Canton Police Chief John Gabbard said in a prepared statement that it is unfortunate that the city’s homicides increased last year after just five in 2024.
“However, Canton had a fourth consecutive year of decreased crime overall and 2025 homicides were lower than the five-year average,” the Canton police chief wrote. “Evaluating homicide rates in any city as a measure of safety is frustrating as homicides account for the smallest category of violent crime but can have the greatest impact to the reputation of a community.
“Domestic violence, by contrast, is generally the largest statistical category of violent crime in any city. In fact, the majority of the 2025 homicides in Canton were related to domestic relationships; either intimate partnerships or parent-child relationships. These occurrences are very difficult to prevent as they involve a number of factors out of the control of the police,” Gabbard said.
Violent crime trends across the U.S.
The rise in Canton homicides differs from the nationwide trend.
The number of homicides in 35 large U.S. cities declined 21% from 2024 to 2025, according to a report released by the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan think tank.
Violent crime in major U.S. cities continued to fall in 2025 and nationwide homicides are expected to drop to the lowest level seen in more than a century, according to the analysis.
Not all of last year’s Stark County homicides were murders resulting in criminal charges against a suspect.
Homicide refers to the killing of one person by another. Murder involves intentional killing. Stark County grand juries declined to charge the people who fired fatal shots in three Canton cases. Countywide, guns were used in most cases.
The Stark County Coroner’s Office said there were a total of 15 homicides across Stark County in 2024, including five in Canton, a near-record low for the city.
Countywide, murder-suicides involving domestic partners fell from two in 2024 to one in 2025, the Nov. 19 death of 82-year-old Margaret Salvino, who was shot by her husband Ralph Salvino in their Plain Township home.
Weisburn said that the circumstances of the two homicides handled by the Sheriff’s Office could not have been more different.
“One involved a long‑married elderly couple in a tragic murder‑suicide,” he said. “The other was a shooting at a bar, reportedly following a fight. These cases do not share a common pattern, which makes it difficult to draw broad conclusions from them alone.”
Weisburn said several factors contribute to homicides in general.
“Alcohol and drug use, domestic violence, and untreated mental health challenges frequently play a role,” he said. “Many tragedies also stem from moments of intense anger — situations when someone becomes enraged, acts impulsively, and makes a decision that forever alters lives.”
He said homicides often follow a simple, yet tragic formula: Anger, plus alcohol and other drugs, equals life‑changing consequences.
Homicides cases in Stark in 2025
In addition to the Salvino murder-suicide, here’s a brief rundown of the homicide cases from last year, listed in alphabetical order by victim:
Can homicide be prevented?
Weisburn said there is no single solution to preventing homicide, but said these steps can help to reduce violence and support safer communities:
USA Today contributed to this story.
Reach Nancy at 330-580-8382 or nancy.molnar@cantonrep.com.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: ‘Even one homicide is too many.’ Canton homicides more than doubled last year
Reporting by Nancy Molnar, Canton Repository / The Repository
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