COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man accused of stabbing three people near Blacklick this summer appeared in Franklin County Municipal Court for the first time on Friday.
Benjamin Kelch, 66, was charged with murder and felonious assault. He was given a $600,000 bond for the incident that happened on June 25.
Officers were dispatched to Hoskins Way in the Waterford Park neighborhood for reports of multiple people being stabbed at a house.
Arriving officers found Kelch on the front porch of the house holding a knife near a victim who was sitting in a chair.
The officers were heard on body camera videos telling Kelch to drop the knife multiple times. In one of the videos, Kelch could be heard telling officers to shoot him.
Two of the officers fired their weapon and one officer deployed his Taser, but Kelch did not go down. The officer with the Taser deployed it again and struck Kelch, who fell to the ground. Officers got the knife away and handcuffed him.
Officers were heard on body camera video saying Kelch had a gunshot wound. The bodycam video shows he had blood on the front of his shirt before officers approached the house.
Once the officers detained him, the video showed he had a deep cut on his arm as well as a wound on his stomach.
Three stabbing victims and Kelch were taken to a hospital for treatment. Court records state that one of the victims, James Kelch, died from his injuries on Aug. 1. He was Benjamin’s father.
No officers were injured.
A prosecutor asked that Kelch be held on at least $1 million bond for murder and at least $750,000 bond for felonious assault. The judge gave him a $500,000 bond for the murder and $100,000 for felonious assault.
The judge has also ordered Kelch to stay away from the victims.