Enraged Ex-Boyfriend Broke into Woman's House and Stabbed Her 30 Times, Then Called Police and Confessed

Mar. 15, 2025

Shannon Hiott.Photo:Adam Granata/GoFundMe

Adam Granata/GoFundMe

On Thursday, Aug. 8, Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Kim Brown also ruled that 27-year-old Chance Donohoe would have the possibility of parole after at least 31 years served, according to theColumbus Dispatch,CBSaffiliate stationWBNSandABC 6.

Donohoe, who pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and gross abuse of a corpse, perFranklin County prosecutors, admitted to murdering his ex-girlfriend Shannon Hiott, then 29, in August 2023.

Prosecutors said that on Aug. 29, 2023, Donohoe broke into Hiott’s home in Columbus, attacking her and stabbing her because he thought she may have been seeing someone, the outlets reported. Soon after, Donohoe called police to tell them he had killed her and eventually admitted to breaking in and stabbing her.

Chance Donohoe’s mugshot.Franklin County Sheriff’s Office

Franklin County Sheriff’s Office

According to theDispatch,Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Dan Lenert said in court that Donohoe had been hanging around outside of Hiott’s home when he saw a car belonging to another man he knew parked outside.

Lenert also said that Donohoe had abused Hiott’s body after the murder and screwed her front door shut to prevent the body from being found, the outlet reported.

Hiott and Donohoe had previously dated for about a year and a half before she ended the relationship, the 29-year-old’s family told theDispatch,and she eventually installed security cameras and had her locks changed.

Hiott’s sister, Lana, told the outlet that she had also blocked Donohoe’s phone number and social media accounts, and the family added that she even had friends take his belongings to him after their break up so that she could avoid seeing him.

Donohoe eventually turned himself in at a gas station in Liberty Township, Ohio, theoutletsreported, just under 100 miles outside Columbus.

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Initially, Donohoe was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, aggravated burglary and abuse of a corpse, but the other charges were eventually dropped, per WBNS.

During sentencing, Hiott’s family gave victim impact statements, and spoke to the judge and the rest of the packed courthouse about what she must have felt like in the moments before her death.

“How scared she must have been. You are a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier,” Hiott’s mother, Jamie Hiott, said in court, per theDispatch. “You had all that time to change your mind, but you’re a monster.”

AGoFundMecampaign started last year in the wake of Hiott’s death described her as “a beloved friend, community member, music lover, co-worker and human being.”

Judge Brown also directly addressed Donohoe as she sentenced the 27-year-old, telling him: “The crime that you committed is a heinous one. What you did to Shannon is unspeakable.”

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go tothehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com