A Barberton shooting has left two teenagers and their father dead in what police say was a botched robbery on New Year’s Eve.
John Kohler, the father of two teens shot dead in the robbery, was pronounced dead Thursday after the shooting two days prior. Officials had already ruled the deaths of 18-year-old Ashley Carpenter and 14-year-old David Kohler-Carpenter as homicides, and an autopsy is set for Kohler on Monday.
That same day police arrested 22-year-old Michael Dean Hendon and 30-year-old Eric Donta Hendon, charging each with three counts of aggravated murder. A Summit County grand jury is considering additional charges, including a death penalty indictment.
Eric Hendon had been paroled from prison in June after serving 13 months for sexual battery and attempted murder.
Police said information collected from inside the Kohler home led to the arrest of the Hendon brothers. They said the men targeted the home to steal money and drugs.
Details of the Barberton shooting pointed to an execution, with both teenagers suffering gunshots to the head. The teens had been visiting their father for the holiday when the home invasion took place. Kohler’s girlfriend, 38-year-old Rhonda Blankenship, was also shot but survived.
The Barberton shooting has caused a wave of grief throughout the community. The mother of the teens killed said she is struggling to find a site large enough to hold funeral services for the popular Barberton school students. A candlelight vigil held Friday in 10-degree weather already attracted crowds of mourners.
“Everybody is just shocked because it just came out of the blue,” said 18-year-old Brittany Burchett, a friend of Ashley’s since the eighth grade. “She was just one of the nicest people I have ever met.”
But there has also been help for the family in the wake of the Barberton shooting. An online fund set up to help with funeral expenses already raised $3,500.
