Columbus police investigating after body found inside apartment fire at Colonial Village

Bethany Bruner, Columbus Dispatch
Updated ·2 min read
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Columbus police are investigating what is being described as a suspicious death at an embattled apartment complex on the city's East Side.

Around 7:50 p.m. Sunday, Columbus fire crews received a call about an apartment on fire on the 3600 block of Allendale Drive at Colonial Village apartments.

Columbus police are investigating after a body was found Sunday evening in an apartment fire at the Colonial Village apartment complex on the city's East Side. The death is considered suspicious.
Columbus police are investigating after a body was found Sunday evening in an apartment fire at the Colonial Village apartment complex on the city's East Side. The death is considered suspicious.

The fire crews found a body inside the apartment, and that person was pronounced dead at 7:56 p.m. Sunday.

Because of the circumstances at the scene, Columbus police homicide detectives were called and are investigating the situation as a suspicious death.

Police did not elaborate on what the circumstances were or why they believe the death to be suspicious. Police also have not identified the person who was found inside the apartment on Sunday evening.

The investigation is the latest incident at the apartment complex, which has been a focus of city officials for months. All of the more than 800 residents at the complex have been told they have to vacate the premises by the end of December so the complex can undergo extensive repairs and renovations.

Those living in units without heat were forced by the city to leave by Friday.

It was not immediately known if the apartment where the fire occurred and the body was found was one that had already been vacated.

In early 2022, the complex was put under a court-ordered receivership after a litany of code violations. In October, the company who had been managing the property was banned from the premises, with court filings from the Columbus City Attorney's office alleging one of that company's employees may have been involved in a human trafficking scheme that led to more than 800 Haitian immigrants coming to Columbus and living at the complex.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS. All calls to Crime Stoppers are anonymous.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Colonial Village apartment fire leads to discovery of body