Newly released 911 audio and police dispatch records provide more details about the moments after a suspected murder-suicide on Columbus’ Southeast Side, including the involvement of two children and relatives’ accounts of how the couple died.
A child called 911 at 4:48 p.m. Sept. 14 and told a dispatcher that their mother was dead, according to audio released by the Columbus Division of Police.
A man who then took the phone identified the two adults as his sister and brother-in-law. He told dispatchers that the woman was bleeding in a bedroom and the man was in the garage.
The relative said the woman appeared to have been attacked with a hammer. He was too frightened to approach either person or attempt CPR, according to the recording.
Those details
reflect what callers reported to dispatchers and are not official findings about the causes of death.
Columbus police previously identified the woman as Monu Rijal, 33, and the man as Bhim Mishra, 41. Police listed Mishra as the suspect and Rijal as the victim.
Based on their preliminary investigation, police believe their deaths were a murder-suicide. Sgt. Joe Albert previously told The Dispatch that Rijal and Mishra were domestic partners and had not been shot.
What do the 911 call and police records reveal?
The caller told dispatchers that the children at the home were not injured and had been moved away from the adults. The recording does not establish whether either child witnessed the deaths or who discovered the bodies.
Police dispatch records indicate officers responded at 4:49 p.m., about one minute after the call began, to the 2000 block of Bannon Court. They arrived at 4:52 p.m. and reported that the home was clear two minutes later.
Medics entered the home and pronounced both adults dead at 5:02 p.m.
The dispatch log later indicated that one child was with a neighbor. A school principal called police shortly before 7 p.m., asking officers to check on one of the children and was told that the child was safe in the back of a police cruiser.
The records also reference a second child and show that officers spent several hours coordinating with Franklin County Children Services about both children. The log does not clearly identify where each child ended up.
An officer also requested a therapy dog at the scene shortly after the bodies were discovered.
Police previously said the child who called 911 was later with family. Authorities have not publicly disclosed the children’s relationships to both adults.
Albert said police had not previously responded to emergencies at the home.
Anyone with information about the deaths may contact the Columbus police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or submit an anonymous tip to Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 911 call reveals new details in Southeast Columbus murder-suicide
