Columbus homicides dropped by a considerable number in 2025, with the city finishing out the year with 84 homicides – a 33% decrease from 2024 and the lowest number of killings in Columbus since 2007.
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 hit-and-run deaths deemed unintentional by law enforcement. 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.
Woman’s death in March stemmed from assault, police say
A Columbus woman’s death has been ruled as a homicide that stemmed from an assault in March, according to Columbus police.
The Columbus Division of Fire responded just before 6:30 p.m. March 4 to a report of an ill woman in the 1700 block of Holburn Avenue on Columbus’ Southeast Side, according to a media release from the division of police.
The woman, identified as Thomasena Crowder, 63, was transported to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center for treatment, police said. While Crowder was being treated, either police or hospital staff determined that Crowder sustained injuries from an assault, police said. Over a period of days, Crowder’s condition declined.
Crowder died two days later on March 6 just after 3 p.m., according to Columbus police. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office ruled her death as a homicide.
A GoFundMe created by Crowder’s family says that Crowder’s injuries were sustained from a domestic violence incident.
The Columbus police Homicide Unit is investigating Crowder’s death. A suspect has not been publicly identified.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Homicide Unit at 614-645-4488. Information can also be provided anonymously to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
18-year-old dies days after shooting on Columbus’ East Side
Columbus police responded to a report of a shooting on the 1600 block of Elaine Road at 10:40 p.m. March 31.
Christopher Cooper-Patton, 18, was transported to Mount Carmel East Hospital in critical condition, police said. He died April 4.
Homicide detectives began investigating the shooting the day occurred due to the “catastrophic nature” of Cooper-Patton’s injuries, according to a news release.
Police said the motive of the shooting remains unclear. Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or provide an anonymous tip to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Columbus man initially cleared in fatal shooting at lounge now charged
First, Columbus police said he was a person of interest.
Then police said he was cleared as a person of interest.
On April 10, police charged that Columbus man with murder.
Ladarius Alexander, 35, of the city’s Southeast Side, faces one count of murder in connection with the fatal shooting of 36-year-old Dekevin Louis at what city authorities say was an illegal after-hours lounge on Columbus’ Southeast Side.
Officers responded to the shooting at about 7:30 a.m. March 25 at the Pressure Lounge, located at 1620 Lockbourne Ave., which was operating as an illegal after-hours club. A business owner discovered a man, later identified as Louis, had been shot inside the building, said Sgt. Joseph Albert, a Columbus police spokesperson.
Louis was pronounced dead at the scene by medics at 7:40 a.m., Albert said. Police did not receive any calls reporting a shooting or disturbance before the business owner called police, according to Albert.
On April 6, Columbus police said detectives identified Alexander and a second man as persons of interest in the case and asked for the public’s help in locating them. Detectives later announced that neither of the men were persons of interest after interviewing both of them in connection with the shooting.
But on April 10, city homicide detectives announced that following an outpouring of tips from community members, Alexander was detained, interviewed again, and charged with murder.
According to a criminal complaint filed by city homicide detectives, Alexander and Louis got into a fight over a Black and Mild cigar when Alexander pulled a handgun from his pants and shot Louis. Witnesses told detectives that in the process of the shooting, Alexander injured his left hand, according to the complaint.
Detectives also noted in the complaint that Alexander was seen on CCTV at Walmart with gauze wrapped around his hand after the shooting.
During an interview with detectives, Alexander said that when he and Louis got into the fight, Louis was the one who pulled a gun. Alexander then grabbed the gun and shot Louis with it, according to the complaint. Alexander somehow shot himself through his left hand at the same time, the complaint reads.
Alexander is currently in custody at the Franklin County jail, police said.
Anyone with information about the shooting can contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Man killed, another charged with murder in stabbing on Columbus’ West Side
A stabbing at an apartment complex on Columbus’ West Side killed a man, and another was charged with murder, police said.
Columbus police Sgt. Joe Albert said officers responded to a report of a stabbing at 11:47 p.m. March 10 on the 1700 block of Sullivant Avenue. A man was found with at least one stab wound, Albert said.
The man was transported to a local hospital in critical condition, and he died at 12:57 a.m. March 11, Albert said.
A witness told police the man had gotten into a fight with another man, according to a probable cause affidavit filed int he Franklin County Municipal Court. He said he broke up the fight, but saw a knife in the hand of one of the men, who fled down an alleyway.
Police arrested James Jacob, 63, near an RV at the back of a business there, and officers found a knife and a lighter under the front of an RV, according to the affidavit.
Police have not identified the man who was killed or said what lead up to the stabbing. Jacobs lives in the same apartment complex where the stabbing was reported.
18-year-old dies at North Side shooting scene
Nathaniel Joseph Kerby, 18, died at the scene of an apparent shooting about 1:35 a.m. March 7 in the 1100 block of Mediterranean Avenue, Columbus police said.
Officers responded about 1:30 a.m. to a report of a shooting, where they said they found Kerby with an apparent gunshot wound. Medics declared Kerby dead at the scene.
Columbus police continue to review evidence to determine what led to the shooting, they said. Authorities ask anyone with information to call Columbus police at 614-645-4925 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Homicides in Columbus and Franklin County in March 2026
Reporting by Nathaniel Shuda and Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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