Franklinton man wanted in shooting that killed woman

A Franklinton man is wanted after Columbus police identified him as the gunman who is suspected of shooting two women in the early hours of Thursday, severely wounding one and killing the other.

Columbus police announced Friday that they have charged Erich O. Barbee II, 30, with murder and felonious assault and issued a warrant for his arrest. Barbee’s last known address is listed in court records as being on the 700 block of Bellows Avenue, two blocks south of Sullivant Avenue west of Ohio 315 on Columbus’ West Side.

Police also on Friday identified the woman who was fatally shot as Marissa Saultz, 44.

Police suspect Barbee of shooting Saultz and another 29-year-old woman at a home on the 40 block of Rodgers Avenue, which is less than a mile north of his residence.

The shooting was reported at 2:58 a.m. Thursday at the Franklinton address, police said.

When police officers arrived, they reported finding the 29-year-old woman on the top of the house’s roof with multiple gunshot wounds, according to a probable cause affidavit in Franklin County Municipal Court. The woman told officers that another victim had been shot inside the house, court records state.

Officers found Saultz inside the home, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. The 29-year-old woman was transported to Ohiohealth Grant Medical Center, where she remains in critical but stable condition, police said.

A child was also at the home but unharmed, police have said.

Witnesses who detectives interviewed and other information they gathered indicated that Barbee was the suspected shooter who had fled the scene prior to officers’ arrival, according to the affidavit.

Anyone with information can call the Columbus Police Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-8477. elagatta@dispatch.com @Ericlagatta

Columbus police announced Friday that they have charged Erich O. Barbee II, 30, with murder and felonious assault and issued a warrant for his arrest.