Columbus domestic violence homicides up 200% in 2023. How one family is finding hope

It was a simple question that popped into Lana Hiott's head in early September.

"Who am I going to make fun of my parents with now?" she asked herself.

Hiott's sister, Shannon Hiott, 29, died Aug. 29 after being stabbed more than 30 times in her home on Berkeley Avenue home in Columbus' South Side. Her ex-boyfriend, 26-year-old Chance Donohoe, of Powell, pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges against him.

Shannon Hiott was one of at least 21 people killed in Columbus in 2023 whose deaths investigators determined were a direct result of domestic violence, according to Columbus police. That number is a 200% increase from the seven domestic violence-related homicides reported in 2022.

Shannon was 14 months older than Lana. The sisters, who spent most of their childhood and teenage years in Delaware County, were not necessarily close despite their narrow age gap. With a half-sister who is more than 10 years older and lives out of state, though, the bond between Shannon and Lana was special.

"I was always really jealous of her, probably in a little sister type of way," Lana Hiott said. "I always wanted to be next to her doing something and she was annoyed by me."

But as sisters do, they would poke fun about their parents and collectively roll their eyes via text message. Now, Lana is working to move on, and fill the hole Shannon's death has left behind.

'Not all pain and hurt … is physical' in domestic violence situations

Shannon and Donohoe dated for about a year and a half, prosecutors said, before Shannon ended the relationship this summer.

Lana Hiott said her sister, who had a psychology degree from Ohio State University and just started her dream job as a fraud investigator for Nationwide Insurance, never mentioned physical abuse in her relationship. But there were other things about the relationship that made Shannon wary, she said.

"Not all pain and hurt that somebody can inflict on you is physical," Lana said.

According to court records, Donohoe was convicted of felony safecracking and felony theft in 2019 in Tuscarawas County.

"It's really hellish because she found out that he had been stealing from her, and she had broken it off," Lana said. "She was really proud of herself and (was) telling people she was in a much happier, much better place."

Two days before her death, Shannon posted on Facebook that she "stopped trying to be the catalyst for change in (her) relationship and the truth was revealed."

Lana Hiott said her sister did everything right. Shannon blocked Donohoe on all social media platforms, as well as his phone number and email address. She changed the locks on the doors to her Berkeley Avenue home and had security cameras. Shannon even had other people facilitate the return of some of Donohoe's belongings to avoid any face-to-face interaction.

On Sept. 20, Donohoe first appeared in Franklin County Common Pleas Court after a grand jury indicted him on multiple charges, including aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse and aggravated burglary. Prosecutors alleged during the hearing that Donohoe attacked Shannon on Aug. 29, after forcing his way into her home — all because he thought she had another man there after they broke off their relationship.

"Sometimes you want to look at things and think maybe she should have done this or that," Lana Hiott said. "There's no single thing she could have done differently. If somebody wants to hurt somebody else, they're going to find a way to do it if they're set on it."

In court records, Columbus police accuse Donohoe of taking Shannon's phone and keys after killing her, then driving to Powell. Detectives claim he confessed to police and was wearing shoes covered in Shannon's blood when officers arrested him.

Ohio domestic violence resources strained as cases stay steady

Lisa DeJeeter, director of systems advocacy and policy council for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network, said statewide, the number of domestic violence cases remains steady, albeit still at a higher rate than before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.

She said increases in the number of homicides in a particular community are difficult to explain because each community has different levels of resources available for those experiencing domestic violence, and each individual case is unique.

"We can look at cases and know that when people leave, they're at higher risk. The factors tend to be specific to the family that's experiencing the violence," DeJeeter said.

There also were at least 56 nonfatal strangulation cases reported in Columbus, which are often part of domestic violence, and 48 other domestic violence-related felonious assaults, according to police. A state law enacted in April makes nonfatal strangulation a felony offense. DeJeeter said a nonfatal strangulation incident increases the risk of lethal violence by 700% in a domestic or intimate partner situation.

DeJeeter said part of the reason for a potential increase in domestic violence homicides could be that better training and knowledge about domestic and intimate partner violence allowed detectives to better identify homicides or felony assaults that are domestic violence.

"Sometimes it's a function of increased knowledge, and that’s not a bad thing," DeJeeter said. "These increases might not be an actual increase in numbers; it’s just doing a better job of connecting the dots."

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Ohio Domestic Violence Network will release its annual lethality report Oct. 11 at the Ohio Statehouse.

"We talk about the cases (in that report) where we know there’s a history of violence, but we don’t assume there wasn’t violence in others because we can’t know," DeJeeter said. "Survivors are the experts on their situation and the level of risk they’re facing."

DeJeeter said financial resources have become less abundant over the past two years, which directly affects the number of people able to get help to get out of dangerous situations.

"When we looked at 2021, we knew that one in every five people who were seeking shelter was being turned away," she said of domestic violence victims. "When we looked (for 2022), it had risen to one in three. The need for services is staying consistent and the federal funding to provide services, which is the bulk of the money, is being reduced."

The Department of Justice funds grants for most domestic violence programs based on fines collected in certain types of federal court cases, DeJeeter said. That funding decreased the past two years, which in turn decreases the pool for grants. The state budget provided $20 million for 2023, which does help close the funding gap, she said.

Moving toward acceptance after domestic violence deaths

For families that have experienced a death related to domestic violence, the aftermath is devastating. For Hiott's family, there was shock, anger, frustration and a feeling of being overwhelmed.

How were they going to prepare for a funeral? What was the family going to do with Shannon's seven rescue cats? And what about the custom artwork from local artists that adorned nearly every spot on the walls of her home?

The community of people Shannon curated and cultivated stepped up, however, planning a memorial for her at Summit Music Hall, where Shannon did promotional work years ago. Tickets sold out within about a day, Lana Hiott said, and there was overflow at the bar next door and outside — exactly what Shannon would have wanted.

"It was wonderful. I got to meet and see all these people celebrating her … an amalgamation of love and good vibes," Lana Hiott said.

With the joy at meeting those who knew Shannon and experienced her life is also the regret for Lana about not having enough time to go to the music festivals Shannon loved — and kept a sticker, magnet and T-shirt from — or having Shannon watch Lana's children grow up.

In the weeks since Shannon's death, her family coaxed out of hiding all the cats and found new, loving homes for all but one. They're also trying to remember the positives of their favorite hype girl.

"She was always there holding your hand. She even had a bag of someone's clothes that she was going to fix for them," Lana said. "It wasn't because there was an expectation of anything in return. It was because she truly just loved everybody like that."

Shannon also loved going to other people's homes for meals, even though she'd bring her own silverware and napkins and was always willing to go the extra mile. If you wanted information about a concert or festival, Shannon would give you the information, as well as her personal suggestions about favorite songs, tricks about parking or anything else that would make the experience the best possible, Lana said.

"She was always authentically herself," Lana said. "It takes a lot of confidence to do that."

Lana hasn't attended any of Donohoe's court hearings. The details of Shannon's death are a lot to process, and the anger and hurt aren't what she wants to focus on as she moves forward.

"I can't put my energy toward somebody who does things like that," Lana said. "I'm worried about my family and her friends, which are basically our family, and everybody else that's been affected by this. If I give my energy to that person, it's not going to help me."

"Nothing that happens moving forward is ever going to bring her back," she said. "It was cold. It was wrong. I don't think he'll every sleep soundly again."

If you or someone you know is looking for resources for domestic violence survivors in Franklin County, contact the CHOICES crisis hotline 24 hours a day at 614-224-4663 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

The Ohio Domestic Violence Network also offers online resources, including a web-based chat service to connect survivors with resources at www.odvn.org. The Network can also be reached at 800-934-9840.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus domestic violence homicides have increased 200% in 2023