Police say the victims were shot and stabbed inside a Chatsworth Way home.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Columbus man accused of killing his wife and her 11-year-old daughter appeared in court Friday after police said relatives requested a welfare check and found the pair dead inside an east side home.
Derrick Green, 35, is charged with murder in the deaths of 33-year-old Shalimar Green and 11-year-old Aliv’eyah Chandler. The case has drawn new attention because court records show Green had faced earlier violent allegations that did not lead to indictments.
Columbus police said officers were called to a home on Chatsworth Way around 7 p.m. Wednesday after relatives asked for a welfare check. Before officers arrived, a relative found Shalimar Green and Aliv’eyah dead inside the home. Medics later pronounced them dead. Investigators said Shalimar Green had been involved in an ongoing domestic dispute with her husband, and court records said the couple was in the process of ending their marriage. First Assistant Police Chief LaShanna Potts said the department would focus on accountability. “We have two lives lost,” Potts said. “We will do everything that we can to hold that person accountable.”
Court documents said the victims were shot and stabbed multiple times. Police said investigators found spent bullet cartridges, a bloody knife and blood-soaked clothing inside the home. Green left before officers arrived, police said. SWAT officers later arrested him Wednesday night. Authorities have not released a full timeline of the hours before the deaths, and police have not said whether anyone else was inside the home at the time. The deaths are being investigated as a domestic violence-related case.
Records from earlier cases have become part of the public discussion. In 2023, Green was charged in Whitehall with strangulation and domestic violence involving Shalimar Chandler Green. A complaint said he slapped her and strangled her. That case stalled after a grand jury did not return an indictment. Green also faced a 2021 murder case tied to a New Year’s Day shooting on Kimberly Parkway North. Investigators alleged he shot Kenneth R. Palmer during an argument, and Palmer later died. That case also did not move forward after a grand jury declined to indict.
Green appeared in court Friday, where bond was set at $5 million. The murder charges remain pending as prosecutors review the case and detectives continue gathering evidence. Police have said the investigation remains active. No plea was immediately reported in the available court coverage. The next steps are expected to include further court hearings, continued evidence review and possible grand jury action in Franklin County.
Outside the Chatsworth Way home, neighbors and classmates gathered Thursday for a candlelit vigil. Messages of love and hope covered the sidewalk. Nearly 100 children, parents, teachers, staff and classmates attended, according to local reports. Aliv’eyah had just graduated from sixth grade in the Groveport Madison Local School District. Isaiah Harris, one of her friends, said she was kind and smart and made him laugh at lunch. “Aliv’eyah was our friend and she didn’t deserve this,” Harris said.
The case stood Friday with Derrick Green jailed on a $5 million bond, two murder charges pending and Columbus homicide detectives continuing their investigation into the deaths of Shalimar Green and Aliv’eyah Chandler.
Author note: Last updated May 29, 2026.