Carnal Mixon, a 17-year-old Black male described by those who knew him as smart, funny, and intelligent, was shot and killed in the Hilltop neighborhood of Columbus, Ohio, on the afternoon of October 4, 2024. Just before 3:40 p.m., the Columbus Division of Police received a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Lechner Avenue. Officers arrived to find Carnal suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Medics with the Columbus Division of Fire transported him to OhioHealth Grant Medical Center in critical condition, but he was pronounced dead at 4:04 p.m.
The investigation led homicide detectives to a home on East 4th Avenue in the Milo-Grogan neighborhood on October 17, 2024. There, they arrested 15-year-old Robert Clark III in connection with Carnal’s death. Police also arrested the teen’s father, 34-year-old Robert A. Clark II, who was at the home with his son.
Robert Clark III was charged with murder and taken to the Franklin County Juvenile Detention Center. According to a probable cause affidavit, his father was charged with obstructing justice. Detectives alleged that Robert Clark II fled with his son after the shooting and harbored him from authorities.
On October 7, 2025, Robert Clark II pleaded guilty to the charge of obstructing justice in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court. Judge Michael Holbrook sentenced him to three years in prison for his role in the events following the homicide.
The murder charge against Robert Clark III remains pending in juvenile court, where prosecutors were considering whether to seek to have him tried as an adult. As of October 2025, his case was still making its way through the juvenile justice system.
