Columbus homicides dropped by considerable numbers in 2024, with the city experiencing a 17% decrease in killings over the previous year. The downward trend has continued in 2025 with homicides and shootings down through the first several months of the year.
The Dispatch tracks all homicides to get a sense of where violence is happening in the city and Franklin County and to remember the victims. This list is preliminary, and the number of homicides can change as law enforcement investigates each case and decides whether the killing was criminal, justified, accidental, or the result of suicide.
The Dispatch excludes fatal overdoses, accidents, suicides and unintentional hit-and-run deaths. The information we compile comes from Columbus and Franklin County law enforcement, court records and interviews with family and loved ones of homicide victims and is subject to change.
Franklinton man facing murder charge in blunt force trauma death
May 30, 2025: A Franklinton man has been charged with murder after a man he assaulted died from his injuries three days later.
Arthur Cahoon, 41, is accused of causing the death of 37-year-old William J. Woods after assaulting him on May 27 at Woods’ home on the city’s West Side.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Columbus police homicide detectives, at around 1 a.m. May 27, Cahoon went to the 2700 block of Ottis Court and encountered Woods, challenging him to a fight. Detectives said that Cahoon struck Woods “with a closed fist” on his face or head, causing him to fall to his knees. Cahoon punched Woods again, causing him to fall to the ground.
Cahoon then fled the area, according to detectives. Throughout the assault, Woods did not defend himself, the complaint states.
Columbus police arrived on the scene at around 1:34 a.m. and found Woods unresponsive. Columbus Division of Fire medics transported Woods in critical condition to Ohio Health Grant Medical Center, where he died from his injuries on May 30.
Detectives stated in the complaint that an autopsy showed Woods suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage due to the blunt force trauma of the strikes, causing his death. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office, which conducted the autopsy, ruled his death as a homicide.
Cahoon was arrested on June 17 by a Columbus police SWAT team, police said in a media release.
East Side man accused of killing convenience store owner arrested by U.S. Marshals
May 26, 2025: The suspect in the May 25 shooting of a Driving Park convenience store owner, who died hours later on this date, was arrested June 12 by U.S. Marshals.
Joshua Norfleet, 21, of the city’s East Side, was arrested without incident by the U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) in Coshocton, nearly 80 miles east of Franklin County. Norfleet has been charged with murder for fatally 47-year-old Jehad Alzaben, the beloved owner of a Driving Park convenience store.
On May 25, police responded around 11:45 p.m. to Alzaben’s market to investigate reports of gunshots. When police arrived, they found Alzaben suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Columbus Division of Fire medics transported Alzaben in critical condition to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, where he was pronounced dead at 12:30 a.m. May 26.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Columbus police homicide detectives, Norfleet is seen on camera both inside and outside the Livingston Market and made several purchases prior to the shooting. At one point, detectives allege, Norfleet again enters the store and shoots Alzaben several times before stealing Alzben’s firearm from his holster.
After shooting Alzaben, detectives say that other surveillance cameras captured Norfleet fleeing northbound on Fairwood Avenue.
Alzaben, who came to America some two decades ago from Jordan, was well known among residents and businesses in the community. A memorial vigil for him was held outside the store on May 26 that was attended by dozens of people from the Driving Park area, the East and South sides.
Reynoldsburg man, 20, charged in fatal shooting on Columbus’ Southeast Side
May 25, 2025: A Reynoldsburg man has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting on Columbus’ Southeast Side that killed a 22-year-old man.
Columbus police said they responded just before 2:30 p.m. to a shooting in the 3100 block of Harshman Drive. On arrival, they found Trayven Thompson suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, according to a news release. He was pronounced dead at 2:37 p.m.
Talen Trago, 20, has been charged with murder in connection with Thompson’s death. Columbus police said that Trago surrendered himself on May 29.
U.S. Marshals arrest 26-year-old homicide suspect who was in U.S. illegally
May 17, 2025: A 26-year-old undocumented immigrant wanted for fatally shooting another man was arrested on May 21, in western Ohio by U.S. Marshals.
Francisco Vallejo-Arevalo has been charged with aggravated murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 31-year-old Erik Alcauter-Huitron. Vallejo-Arevalo was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Southern Ohio Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team (SOFAST) in the 7000 block of Main Street in Camden, a village in Preble County, according to a news release from the marshal’s office.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Vallejo-Arevalo is not a U.S. citizen and is not in the country legally. U.S. Marshals identified Vallejo-Arevalo exiting a business in Camden after he bought new clothes, the marshals said. He is currently in custody at the Preble County Jail.
Columbus police said they responded to a report of a shooting at 3:49 p.m. on May 17 in the 3000 block of Kane Drive. On arrival, they found Alcauter-Huitron suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Columbus Division of Fire medics transported Alcauter-Huitron in critical condition to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, where he died at 4:26 p.m., police said.
According to family and friends interviewed by homicide detectives, Alcauter-Huitron and Vallejo-Arevalo were “competing for the affections of the same woman” and had an ongoing dispute that resulted in Vallejo-Arevalo shooting Alcauter-Huitron.
Columbus man, 14-year-old boy charged in fatal Franklinton shooting
May 12, 2025: A Columbus man and a teenage boy have been charged with murder in connection with a shooting in Franklinton that left a 19-year-old man dead.
Joseph Johnson, 18 and a 14-year-old male are accused of shooting and killing Richard Murphy on May 12 in the first block of South Princeton Avenue. Columbus police initially said they were searching for a third male suspect, but said on May 30 that Johnson and the 14-year-old are the only two suspects in the shooting.
According to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives, Johnson and the 14-year-old confronted Murphy just before 5:30 p.m. on South Princeton Avenue while they were armed with handguns. After a “brief commotion,” homicide detectives said Murphy was shot multiple times.
Columbus Division of Fire medics transported Murphy in critical condition to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, Downtown, where he died just after 6 p.m., police said.
Johnson and the 14-year-old boy, whom The Dispatch is not identifying at this point in the criminal proceedings, were arrested by a Columbus police SWAT team on May 27, according to a police news release. Columbus police homicide detectives said they believe an argument was a motive for the shooting.
Johnson was ordered held in lieu of a $1 million bond. The 14-year-old is in custody at the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center.
Man, woman died in murder-suicide on city’s East Side
May 12, 2025: The Franklin County Coroner’s Office ruled that a man and a woman found dead with gunshot wounds May 12 inside a home on the Columbus’ East Side died in a murder-suicide, police said.
Columbus police received a call from a family member of one of the victims saying they found the man and woman dead with gunshot wounds at 3:21 p.m. in the 400 block of South Hampton Drive, according to Columbus police Sgt. Joe Albert. The scene of the shooting is across the street from Fairmoor Elementary School and one block away from Eastmoor Academy.
Renita Hilson-Ziegler, 58, and Anthony Martin, 64, were pronounced dead at the scene at 3:33 p.m., police said. Martin shot and killed Hilson-Ziegler before turning the gun on himself, according to a news release from the police division.
According to Albert, the family member was checking on one of the victims after they had not heard from them for some time.
Columbus man, 32 charged in fatal shooting in North Linden
May 10, 2025: A Columbus man has been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of another man in North Linden.
Devon McCallister, 32, of the Southeast Side, was arrested on June 10 by a Columbus police SWAT team. McCallister is accused of shooting and killing 43-year-old Matthew Selman, who was found with multiple gunshot wounds on May 10 in the 1400 block of Briarwood Avenue.
Columbus Division of Fire paramedics pronounced Selman dead at 10:50 p.m.
City homicide detectives said that surveillance footage captured a man, later identified through cell phone records as McCallister, arrive in a dark SUV and enter Selman’s house on Briarwood Avenue. According to police, gunfire can be heard from the video’s audio, and McCollum left the residence a short time later.
Detectives did not state a possible motive for the shooting.
Father charged with stabbing his 24-year-old son to death
May 9, 2025: A Columbus man is facing a murder charge after he confessed to police that he stabbed his son to death, according to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives.
Columbus police responded on Saturday, May 10 at 10:47 p.m. to the 1100 block of Barlowe Run Drive in the Blacklick neighborhood on a report of a stabbing, according to a police news release.
There, they found Vincent Wilburn, 24, suffering from stab wounds, according to police. He died at the scene. Columbus police arrested Christopher Wilburn, 54 without incident.
In an interview with detectives, Wilburn allegedly admitted to stabbing and killing Vincent. The complaint does not say what Wilburn’s motive was in stabbing his son.
Wilburn has been charged with murder and is being held in the Franklin County jail lieu of a $2 million bond, according to Franklin County Municipal Court filings.
Police: 19-year-old found dead from gunshot wound on city’s Northeast Side
May 8, 2025: City homicide detectives are investigating after a 19-year-old man was found dead with a gunshot wound on Wednesday, May 8 on the city’s Northeast Side.
Prophet Thomas-Applin was found with a gunshot wound in the 4800 block of Manitoba Road, according to a news release from the police division. Columbus Division of Fire medics arrives and pronounced Thomas-Applin dead at the scene at 5:26 a.m., police said.
Detectives believe Thomas-Applin may have been shot just before midnight on Wednesday, May 7. Detectives are asking anyone with doorbell footage in that area between 11 p.m. and 12 a.m. to contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730.
Whitehall man, 18, charged in reckless homicide case
May 8, 2025: An 18-year-old man was killed May 8 in an accidental shooting on the East Side, police say.
Columbus police arrested Donnie Pernell Walls Jr., 18, and charged him with the reckless homicide of Terrance Spellman, 18, after an incident in an East Side apartment.
Police say they responded to reports of a gunshot victim around 8:20 p.m. on May 8. Spellman was transported to Mount Carmel East where he succumbed to gunshot wounds at 8:53 p.m.
During the investigation, police discovered that Spellman, Walls and another adult were in possession of multiple firearms while together in an apartment. Walls was allegedly recklessly handling a firearm, and accidentally fired it and fatally wounded Spellman, police said.
After the shooting, Walls and the other adult allegedly took Spellman out to a parking lot and left him there, according to police. They then returned to the apartment where Walls called 911 and gave false information about the shooting, police said.
Walls was charged with reckless homicide and was taken to the Franklin County Jail.
Columbus man, 19, charged in fatal shooting of 18-year-old woman
May 7, 2025: A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old woman on Wednesday, May 7 at a park on the city’s Northeast Side.
Carson King, 19, has been charged with murder in the shooting death of Au’jai Davenport. According to a criminal complaint, detectives identified King though cell phone and surveillance video and interviewed multiple witnesses to the shooting.
At around 9:35 p.m. May 7, Columbus police officers responded to a report of a shooting at the 2000 block of Mock Road. While officers were on the way, they received information that a vehicle involved in the shooting was stopped in the area of Joyce Avenue and Minnesota Avenue, according to a news release from the police division.
Davenport was found along with another person suffering from gunshot wounds inside of a vehicle the area of Joyce and Minnesota avenues, Columbus police said. Davenport was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, where she later died at 10:05 p.m.
There were three other people, including two juveniles, in the vehicle at the time of the shooting but they were not injured, according to the release.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730.
Detectives: Woman assaulted, killed other woman with baseball bat
A Columbus woman charged in connection with the beating death of another woman in South Linden turned herself in to the police.
Ericka Carr, 31, faces a murder and felonious assault charge in connection with the death of 54-year-old Yolando Vaughn. Columbus police said she turned herself into the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office on June 16.As of June 17, she remained imprisoned at the Franklin County Jail.
Police said they received a call about a woman, later identified as Vaughn, lying unconscious on the ground with visible injuries next to a white vehicle in the 2300 block of Hiawatha Park Drive. Columbus Division of Fire paramedics arrived and took Vaughn to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center Downtown, where she was pronounced dead there at 1:54 p.m.
According to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives, Carr repeatedly struck Vaughn with a metal baseball bat in her head, torso, and arms. Vaughn fell to the ground, and Carr continued to hit her with the bat. Detectives allege in the complaint that when Vaughn eventually got back on her feet, Carr pushed her from behind and caused her to fall onto the sidewalk, hitting her head when she struck the pavement.
Detectives did not say what Carr’s motive was for assaulting and killing Vaughn.
Teen male killed, another male wounded in early morning shooting on Columbus’ North Side
May 4, 2025: Two Columbus teens, each 17, were arrested in a shooting May 4 on the city’s North Side that killed another teen and wounded a second person.
Ariyaun M. Burton, 17, and another male were found with gunshot wounds at about 4 a.m. in a Toyota Rav4 SUV at the Sheetz on the 900 block of East Dublin-Granville Road (Route 161), Columbus police said. Officers rendered aid until Columbus Division of Fire medics arrived and transported the two victims to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital.
Burton was pronounced dead at 4:38 a.m. at the hospital, police said in a news release several hours later. The other victim, whom police did not identify, was in stable condition and is expected to survive his injuries.
A 17-year-old boy and girl were arrested and charged with murder and felony assault in the shooting, Columbus police said May 21.
A police dispatcher said the driver of a Toyota Rav4 SUV called 911 on May 4 saying that he and his passenger had been shot and were fleeing the scene of the shooting. They were advised to drive into the Sheetz parking lot a short distance away to wait for first responders, who were also dispatched there.
Police investigating the shooting had placed at least 17 evidence markers around shell casings found in the street on East Lincoln near Roche, video footage from a local TV station at the scene showed.
At the Sheetz, the area around the Toyota SUV parked close to the convenience store was enclosed with crime scene tape. The rear window of the vehicle appeared to have been shot out.
Police have not said what led up to the shooting.
Central Ohio man, woman held on $2 million bond in connection with beating death of man, burglary in Prairie Township
May 2, 2025: A central Ohio man and woman have been charged with murder in connection with the beating death of a man while burglarizing his home on May 1 in Prairie Township.
Anthony Kuhn and Nichole Adkins, both 42, each face one count of murder in connection with the beating death of Phillip Baldwin, 62, according to Franklin County Municipal Court filings. In addition to the murder charge, Kuhn also faces one count of aggravated robbery.
According to a news release issued by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Baldwin’s brother reported finding Phillip unresponsive and possibly dead at their home in the 6500 block of Hall Road in Prairie Township. Baldwin’s brother told a Franklin County dispatcher that he believed Phillip had been assaulted.
Prairie Township Fire Department medics arrived on scene and pronounced Phillip dead at 4:38 p.m., according to a criminal complaint filed by a detective with the sheriff’s office. The detective noted that Baldwin had “substantial” head injuries, including an open skull fracture and that his right ear was nearly severed from his head, according to the criminal complaint.
Detectives later interviewed three witnesses, one of whom was Adkins. Baldwin’s brother, who lives at the residence, said that he left the home at 12:53 a.m. on May 1 to take a roommate to the hospital. When he returned nearly three hours later, he said he found the house ransacked with several items missing. Baldwin’s brother told detectives that he called the sheriff’s office to report the crime, and that he did not see Phillip on the ground when he made the call.
Detectives interviewed the second witness, who stated that he was with Kuhn in his trailer, which was parked in the driveway of the Hall Road residence, the complaint reads. The witness stated that Adkins returned to the trailer from work at around 12:30 a.m., then she went inside the Hall Road residence to take a shower at around 2 a.m. Kuhn went inside the residence a few minutes later. The witness told detectives that Kuhn returned to the trailer 30 minutes later and that he was “frantic,” and said that he “couldn’t believe what he had just done” and that they needed to leave. Kuhn never said what it was he did, according to the complaint.
The witness told detectives that he, Adkins and Kuhn left the trailer and traveled to the Wedgewood Village Apartments to buy drugs, the detective wrote in the complaint. The trio then went to a sewer drain basin where Adkins allegedly threw away Baldwin’s wallet and work hat. The three of them then drove to an apartment complex on Fisher Road, where the witness said that Kuhn threw away the victim’s baseball cards and his bottles of medication, according to the complaint.
Detectives later interviewed Adkins and confirmed much of what the previous witnesses said in their statements to detectives, according to the complaint. Adkins reportedly told detectives that while she was in the shower, she heard a “commotion” inside the house. When Adkins exited the bathroom, she said that Kuhn was inside the house and that Baldwin was dead.
According to Adkins, Kuhn had blood on his face and was wielding a baseball bat. Adkins allegedly told detectives that Kuhn handed her the bat and told her to stand watch at the front door. While standing at the door, Kuhn brought her several items from inside the house to hold. Adkins also detectives that Kuhn told her that he would have to kill one of the other witnesses to cover up Baldwin’s killing, according to the complaint.
Adkins admitted she threw away Baldwin’s wallet and work hat in the sewer drain and that she and Kuhn threw away the bottles of medication, baseball cards, and clothes that Kuhn was wearing when he robbed and assaulted Baldwin, according to the complaint. Detectives later retrieved all of the items, including Kuhn’s clothing, which had blood on it, the complaint states.
Detectives interviewed Kuhn, who confirmed that they were in the trailer on Hall Road and that they went to Wedgewood Village Apartments to buy drugs. Kuhn also told detectives that he knew something had happened to Baldwin, and asked detectives if he had died. When the detective said that Baldwin died, Kuhn reportedly invoked his right to a lawyer, the complaint reads.
Kuhn and Adkins are currently being held at the Franklin County jail in lieu of a $2 million bond, according to Franklin County Municipal Court filings. They have a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 12.
Columbus police identify estranged couple, man in double murder-suicide
May 1, 2025: Columbus police have identified two men and a woman killed in what investigators are calling a double-murder and murder suicide on Thursday, May 1, on the city’s Southeast Side near Canal Winchester.
Aiden David, 19, Giannh Viars, 21, and Michael Hughes, 23 were all pronounced dead at an apartment complex in the 3000 block of Esquire Drive, Columbus police said in a news release. Police were called to the complex at around 12:20 a.m. on a report of a shooting.
According to relatives who spoke with police, Viars and Hughes were married, but had been separated. In the meantime, Viars and David had started dating. Viars and David were inside of Viars’ apartment when Hughes arrived and fired one shot into the apartment before forcing his way in and fatally shooting David, police said.
Viars attempted to escape, but Hughes shot her right outside of the front door of the apartment, where she collapsed. Witnesses who spoke with police said that Hughes shot her one more time and killed her before turning the gun on himself.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, at ShahidMeighan on X, and at shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
Previous homicide coverage: April 2025, March 2025, February 2025
Anyone with information on a Columbus homicide can contact the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730. People with information on a Franklin County homicide can contact the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Bureau at 614-525-3350. Franklin County Crime Stoppers Anonymous accepts anonymous tips at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
Are we missing details or other information from a homicide case? Email the Dispatch newsroom at newsroom@dispatch.com.
Public safety and breaking news reporter Bailey Gallion can be reached at bagallion@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus and Franklin County homicides in May 2025
Reporting by Bailey Gallion, Shahid Meighan and Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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