Four murders in Columbus, Delaware County

COLUMBUS – A Powell woman allegedly strangled by an acquaintance with a history of domestic violence and an 18-year-old shot to death while driving on the East Side of Columbus were among four people murdered in central Ohio over the weekend.

The total includes a West Side woman whose body was found in Delaware County five days after she was reported missing.

Brandon Ivy, 27, was scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge in Delaware County Monday morning in connection with the death of 53-year-old Stephanie Hunter of Powell, Sheriff Russell Martin said.

National Domestic Violence 24-hour hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Delaware County 24-hour hotline: Call 2-1-1 or text the word “Helpline” to 898211
Delaware County domestic violence shelter: Call Turning Point at 1-800-232-6505

The incident occurred early Friday evening at Hunter’s home in the Bear Pointe Apartments in Liberty Township, Martin said.

Brandon Ivy, 27, was scheduled to be arraigned Monday on a murder charge in connection with the death of 53-year-old Stephanie Hunter of Powell. (Delaware Co. Sheriff’s Office)

Ivy notified the Powell Police Department “vaguely” of an incident at his Hunter’s apartment shortly after 6:00 p.m. and Martin says, while Ivy was detained, deputies arrived at the residence and discovered Hunter deceased from apparent strangulation.

Ivy was arrested and taken to the Delaware County Jail.

He had a history with both the victim and law enforcement, including domestic violence charges, Martin said.

Columbus homicide detectives are looking for clues in the death of Brendan Brown, who was shot to death – possible by a passenger in his vehicle – while driving in a memorial vigil in the area of Shady Lane Elementary School on Shady Lane Road Friday night, Homicide Unit Sgt. Jeffrey Strayer said.

After being wounded, Brown, 18, accelerated south on Shady Lane Road, eventually crashing into utility poles near Livingston Avenue, Strayer said.

Officers who responded to the reported shooting found Brown inside the crashed vehicle suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Columbus fire personnel.

Witnesses told police that Brown was operating his vehicle near the scene of a memorial vigil that was being held near the school when he was shot by an unknown person, possibly a passenger inside his own vehicle, Strayer said. The motive for the shooting is still under investigation.

Brown’s death occurred a few hours after a 22-year-old man was shot to death in the parking lot of a Northeast Side apartment complex, the result of an argument that had apparently begun the day before, Sgt. David Shimberg of the Homicide Unit said.

UPDATE: This article has been edited to reflect the arrest of a suspect in the following case.

Muhsin Yusuf was found lying in the parking lot in front of 4648 Northtowne Boulevard, in the Northtowne Apartments and Townhomes complex at 1:58 p.m. by officers responding to a reported shooting, Shimberg said.

Yusuf was taken to an area hospital and was pronounced dead at 2:42 p.m.

The initial investigation indicated that the incident stemmed from a fight that originated on the previous day and carried over, resulting in the shooting, Shimberg said.

Detectives filed an arrest warrant on a murder charge for Mahdi Mohamed, 24, who turned himself into the Franklin County Jail, police said.

Anyone with information regarding either incident, is asked to call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.

Yusuf and Brown are the 94th and 95th homicide victims in Columbus this year.