Girlfriend fi nds 80-year-old man dead in Hilltop home
Columbus police are investigating the fatal shooting of an 80-year-old man who was found Monday morning in his Hilltop home.
Officers were called at 9:52 a.m. to the house in the 900 block of South Roys Avenue.
Richard Cardwell was found by his girlfriend, who told police she was out running errands when the shooting occurred, said Columbus police Sgt. Eric Pilya. She found him bleeding heavily from a gunshot wound at the back of the head and called police.
There weren’t any signs of forced entry to the home, she told dispatchers in a 911 call. The door was unlocked, which was unusual, she added.
In the call, she said Cardwell’s gun was missing. “He always had his gun on the table,” she said.
His girlfriend also told dispatchers there was a pillow laying on the floor next to him. “It’s off of my bed,” she told dispatchers. “I don’t know why it’s in here.”
Cardwell was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:02 a.m. His death is the 59th homicide this year in Columbus.
Charlie Seevers, who lives two houses down, said he was home when the shooting occurred but didn’t hear anything.
“He kept to himself,” Seevers said of Cardwell. “It’s just horrible that this happened.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the Columbus police homicide unit at 614-645-4730.