Marissa Marie Saultz, a 44-year-old woman from Columbus, Ohio, tragically lost her life on March 16, 2023. The incident occurred around 3 a.m. at a duplex on the first block of Rodgers Avenue in the Franklinton neighborhood of Columbus. When Columbus police officers responded to the scene, they found Saultz with gunshot wounds. She was officially pronounced dead at 3:10 a.m.
The shooting also resulted in injuries to another woman, aged 30, who was seriously wounded but survived the attack. Fortunately, a baby present in the home at the time of the incident was unharmed. The surviving victim was shot in the forehead but managed to recover from her injuries.
Following the shooting, law enforcement quickly identified a suspect. On March 22, 2023, 30-year-old Erich Barbee was arrested by SWAT officers in connection with the crime. Barbee was charged with murder for the death of Marissa Saultz and felonious assault for the injury to the other woman.
In a significant development on October 28, 2024, Erich Barbee admitted to the shootings. He pleaded guilty to fatally shooting Marissa Saultz and injuring the other woman. The court proceedings revealed that Barbee had entered the 30-year-old woman's home before committing the violent acts. He shot Saultz in the back of the head and then shot the other woman in the forehead.
As a result of his actions, Erich Barbee received a life sentence in prison for the 2023 Franklinton shooting. This sentencing brought a measure of justice for the victims and their families, concluding a case that had shocked the local community.
Marissa Saultz is remembered as a woman who was "taken from us too soon." She was born on February 27, 1979, to Bette Rose Saultz. Marissa was the third-born child in her family. She was preceded in death by her daughter Sha'mya Ajamarie Saultz, her mother Bette Saultz, and her father Robert Hammond.
