A Columbus man now accused of killing his wife and her daughter was not prosecuted in a previous domestic violence case due to insufficient evidence, including a lack of testimony from his wife, according to the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.
Derrick Green, 35, is accused of killing his wife, Shalimar Green, 33, and her daughter, 11-year-old Alive’eyah Chandler, on May 27 at a home on Columbus’ Southeast Side. Shalimar and Chandler were found with what police say were stab and gunshot wounds. Derrick fled the scene after the killings but was apprehended by Columbus police SWAT officers later that night.
Derrick faces two murder charges and was ordered held in lieu of a $5 million bond, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.
Derrick had previously faced domestic violence-related charges against Shalimar in 2023, but a grand jury declined to pursue further charges, also referred to as a “no bill.” Years before that case, Derrick had also been charged with murder in a fatal New Year’s Day shooting in 2021 that killed 31-year-old Kenneth Palmer. That case also resulted in a “no bill,” according to court records.
Both incidents occurred before Shayla Favor was elected as Franklin County Prosecutor.
Nya Hairston, a spokesperson for the Prosecutor’s Office, said the charges from the July 2023 incident were not pursued due to a lack of physical evidence.
“Strangulation often doesn’t leave marks despite the damage it does,” Hairston wrote in an email to The Dispatch. “Unfortunately, this was the case here, leaving prosecutors with a lack of evidence.”
Shalimar also did not want to provide testimony against Derrick in that case, Hairston said.
“Many victims and survivors are terrified to testify against their abuser,” Hairston explained. “This was also unfortunately the case for this incident, and we were unable to get testimony from the victim.”
Hairston said that in the 2021 homicide case, the investigation is still ongoing and will be presented to a grand jury once the investigation is complete.
Hairston also clarified that the charges in both incidents were “No Billed to Toll Time,” meaning investigators need more time than what the speedy trial clock allows. Once the investigation is complete, prosecutors are able to go back and present the case to a grand jury, Hairston said.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Why were past charges against Derrick Green dropped? New details revealed
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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