A Columbus man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend.
Travis Milton, 44, of the Far North Side, faces one count of murder in the death early June 24 of 41-year-old Shauda Starks, according to Columbus police.
At around 1:11 a.m. June 24, officers responded to an apartment in the 900 block of Cameron Crossing Drive in the Polaris Crossing apartment complex off Sancus Boulevard on a report of a female who was not breathing, according to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives. On arrival, officers found Starks unresponsive and began rendering aid.
Medics with the Columbus Division of Fire arrived on scene and also began rendering aid, but Starks was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m., according to the complaint. Officers noted that Starks’ body bore evidence of an assault, including two black eyes, swelling on her face, scratches on her neck, and lacerations to the back of her head and shoulders, according to the complaint.
Homicide detectives said in the complaint that it was Milton who called 911 about the woman not breathing. According to the complaint, when police arrived, Milton made comments about cleaning blood off of Starks in the shower after she became unresponsive while the two of them were having sex.
Police also noted they smelled a “strong odor” of bleach. Milton allegedly told police that they were at a bar prior to the incident. Police went to the bar and reviewed security video footage there and did not see either Milton or Starks inside, according to the complaint.
Milton was taken to Columbus police headquarters, where courtr documents say he denied assaulting or choking Starks, and allegedly changed his story from going to a bar to stating that the two of them had stayed in the apartment all night drinking.
An autopsy was later performed on Starks by the Franklin County Coroner’s office, which police said determined that Starks had several internal injuries from trauma that caused her death.
Milton was arrested and charged with murder. A bond amount has not been set.
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: Columbus man charged with murder in death of girlfriend
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
