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.
Man killed in reported robbery attempt identified by police
Columbus police have identified a man who was fatally shot during a possible robbery attempt at a business on the city’s Northwest Side near Dublin
Columbus police were called to a shooting at about 11:35 p.m. Jan. 5 at Tobacco Plus in a shopping plaza on the 2900 block of Hayden Run Road. According to a Columbus police news release, responding officers found 20-year-old Kenneth Grace suffering from at least one gunshot wound.
Grace was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:08 a.m. Jan. 6.
Police said the shooting happened inside the tobacco shop. Two people were detained after they told police they shot Grace in self-defense while Grace was attempting to commit a robbery, according to the release.
Police are still investigating the shooting. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730.
Woman, 55, charged in death of 82-year-old man
A Columbus woman has been charged with murder in the death of an 82-year-old man in what was the first city homicide of 2026, according to Columbus police.
Police responded Jan. 2 at around 9:25 a.m. to the 2600 block of Caralee Place on Columbus’ Northeast Side on a report of a deceased person, according to a police news release. On arrival, they found James Simpson, 82, lying unresponsive and wounded on the kitchen floor, police said. Medics with the Columbus Division of Fire pronounced Simpson dead at 9:34 a.m., according to a criminal complaint filed by a city homicide detective.
Officers detained Portia Martin, 55, at the scene, where police allege she admitted to her role in Simpson’s death. According to the criminal complaint, Martin and Simpson were involved in a dispute when Martin “stabbed and bludgeoned” Simpson, causing his death.
Police did not say what relationship existed between Martin and Simpson.
Martin is currently in custody at the Franklin County jail.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Homicides in Columbus and Franklin County in January 2026
Reporting by Shahid Meighan and Bailey Gallion, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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