Two dead in apparent murder-suicide

HOMICIDE

A man killed his girlfriend in a home they shared on the Southeast Side before driving a mile away to a city park and ending his own life, according to Columbus police.

When 31-year-old April N. Caleodis failed to show up Monday morning for her job as a veterinary assistant at Gahanna Animal Hospital, co-workers called the father of her child, Joseph Blankenship, to check on her.

Blankenship, 37, drove over to the home Caleodis shared with her boyfriend, 31-yearold Jason E. Kaufman. When Blankenship went inside just before 9 a.m. with a key, he found Caleodis unconscious in an upstairs bedroom, according to a police report. Blankenship called 911 for help.

Responding medics pronounced Caleodis dead at 9:06 a.m. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Police say Kaufman was found dead of a selfinflicted gunshot wound at 8:10 a.m. at Retreat at Turnberry Metro Park at 11680 Refugee Road.

There were no outward warning signs and it’s unclear what led to the killing, interviews with neighbors and public records show.

Nearby neighbors told The Dispatch they never heard the couple argue. Just days earlier, Caleodis was seen cutting the grass, one neighbor said.

Columbus police had not been dispatched previously to the home in the Park Place subdivision, call records show. Kaufman had an assault charge in 2008 but it was dismissed, according to Franklin County Municipal Court records.

After word of her death on Monday, Caleodis’ co-workers came to get her pets, which included a few dogs and at least one cat.

Caleodis’ death marks the 52nd homicide this year for the city.

Anyone with information about the case can contact the Columbus Homicide Unit at 614645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477.