A Columbus man charged with killing his wife and her young daughter previously faced accusations of strangling and assaulting the woman, according to court records reviewed by The Dispatch.
Derrick Marcus Green, 35, faces two charges of murder in the May 27 killings of Shalimar Green, 33, and her 11-year-old daughter, Alive’eyah Chandler, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records. Columbus police said Shalimar and Chandler were found with what appeared to be stab and gunshot wounds at a home in the 2900 block of Chatsworth Way, in the Independence Village subdivision, northeast of Gender Road on Columbus’ Southeast Side.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Columbus police homicide investigators learned from relatives that Shalimar was in the process of ending her marriage to Derrick.
Detectives allege in the affidavit that the previous night, May 26, Shalimar found Derrick sleeping with a knife on the couch. They allege she took the knife away and confronted him about why he had it.
At 7:11 p.m. May 27, a 911 caller who identified herself as Shalimar’s mother told Columbus police that Shalimar hadn’t picked up her kids from school and that was unlike her, according to a police call logs. When Shalimar’s mother got to the home, she found both Shalimar and Chandler dead inside.
Shalimar Green and Chandler had multiple gunshot wounds and stab wounds, according to the affidavit. Detectives found a knife, spent cartridges and bloody clothing in the home.
Derrick Green had sometimes been sleeping in a red Dodge Challenger that was parked outside the home on May 27, according to the affidavit. Detectives allege that they found .380-caliber ammunition in the car’s front passenger seat that matched the spent cartridges inside the home.
Derrick Green left the scene before police arrived, but SWAT officers found and arrested him later that night, according to a May 28 police news release. At the scene on May 27, a police spokesperson told news media that police did not have any suspects.
Police have not said whether Chandler is related to Derrick Green. Court records state that Shalimar and Derrick shared a child, but it is unclear if that child is Chandler.
A candlelight vigil for Shalimar Green and her daughter was held outside the home on the evening of May 28, after a memorial with stuffed animals, pinwheels, flowers and balloons was created earlier in the day by the mailbox outside. Sidewalk chalk messages of love were also left outside the home.
Derrick Green was to be arraigned on murder charges on May 29 in Franklin County Municipal Court.
Grand juries reject prior domestic violence, murder charges
In July 2023, Columbus prosecutors charged Derrick with strangulation to severe risk, domestic violence and assault after Shalimar accused him of strangling and smacking her, according to court documents. He was arraigned on the charges in Franklin County Municipal Court and the case was transferred to the county Common Pleas Court.
But in October 2023, a Franklin County grand jury returned a “no bill,” meaning it determined there was not enough evidence to take Green to trial. A grand jury representative noted that the investigation was incomplete, court records show. Prosecutors then dropped the charges.
In January 2021, Columbus prosecutors charged Green with murder in connection with a fatal New Year’s Day shooting that killed Kenneth Palmer, 31.
Detectives told The Dispatch at the time that Green and Palmer had argued at a New Year’s party Green hosted. Palmer left the party but later returned, and the argument continued.
Police dispatchers said someone called 911 just after 4 a.m. Jan. 1, 2021, to say he shot someone three times outside the apartment. Palmer was taken to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, where he died.
Police arrested Green, and prosecutors charged him with murder. He was arraigned in Franklin County Municipal Court, and the case was transferred to Common Pleas Court.
But on Feb. 11, 2021, a county grand jury again returned a “no bill” in the case, declining to indict Green. The grand jury representative wrote that, similar to the 2023 case, the investigation was incomplete, and prosecutors dropped charges.
Reporter Shahid Meighan can be reached at smeighan@dispatch.com, ShahidMeighan on X and shahidthereporter.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Man charged with killing wife, her daughter faced prior murder charges
Reporting by Shahid Meighan, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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