Over a 12-month period, 134 people were killed in Ohio in domestic violence cases, a 15% decline over the prior year, according to a new report from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network released Oct. 21.
Despite the decline, it still marks the second-highest number of intimate partner-related fatalities in the 11 years that the organization has been collecting annual statistics.
The Ohio Domestic Violence Network's annual fatality report collects news stories, police reports and public records on fatalities involving intimate partners. It examines deaths for a 12-month period, ending June 30. There were 157 deaths in 108 cases in 2024-2025 and 134 deaths in 101 cases in 2025-2026.
In three of
four fatalities, the victims were shot to death and in 49% of the fatal cases, the victim was trying to leave the relationship.
In November, Ryan Eagon shot and killed his baby boy, the child's older brother, the father of older boy and then himself. Tiffin Police said the ambush took place as his wife tried to move out of her home.
"People ask, ‘Why don’t they just leave?’ In nearly half of these cases, they were leaving," said Maria York, spokeswoman for Ohio Domestic Violence Network. "These homicides are not random. They are the final act of control."
Here are some key data points from the Ohio Domestic Violence Network report:
- the victims ranged in age from 7-months to 88-years-old;
- 53 children witnessed their parent’s murder;
- five children were killed, all by a parent or stepparent, and three teenagers were killed by someone they were dating;
- 24 cases involved murder-suicides;
- 43% of the victims were people of color.
An investigation by The Columbus Dispatch and Cincinnati Enquirer found that one-third of domestic violence gun deaths were carried out by people who were prohibited by law from possessing firearms. State law prohibits certain felons from owning guns, and protection orders can require abusers to surrender their firearms.
Officers can and do seize those guns. But they rely on information from the courts, victims or gun owners themselves. They can't know if all of the guns have been taken. State law does nothing to prevent abusers from buying another one from unlicensed sellers at gun shows or online.
In Ohio, a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction or active protection order does not bar gun ownership, unlike the federal law. Experts in domestic violence law say Ohio should just codify federal law and prevent people who have been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge from owning a gun.
State government reporter Laura Bischoff can be reached at lbischoff@gannett.com and @lbischoff on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Domestic violence deaths decline but remain high in Ohio, report says
