COLUMBUS, Ohio — A murder suspect accused of killing his pregnant girlfriend in Columbus has a history of being violent in his relationships.
Devon Blair is being held on an $11 million dollar bond at the Franklin County Corrections Center after he was charged with murdering his pregnant live-in girlfriend, 19-year-old Brooke Devinney.
At the time of Devinney’s death, Blair had two active warrants for his arrest.
The Columbus Division of Police was looking for Blair after Devinney made a report for domestic violence, just days before her death.
He was also wanted for theft charges in Oak Hill in Jackson County, where Blair racked up a lengthy criminal record before moving to Columbus.
Between 2019 and 2021, Blair was arrested in Jackson County numerous times, including for domestic violence.
“He is just a real violent person and he doesn’t have good control over himself. It is not safe for other people,” said Blair’s ex-girlfriend, Abbie.
She dated Blair for several years as a teenager. She says the abuse started slowly but escalated.
“He would choke me out until I would pass out. He put cigarettes on me, just he has knocked me out on multiple occasions, black eyes. He carved his name into my leg before,” she said. “Any type of physical abuse you could think of.”
Abbie said neighbors would call police, but when they arrived at their house, she was too afraid to speak up. If she told the truth and Blair was released, she was afraid he could retaliate.
“All those times that something had happened and police showed up and I didn’t go through with it, I probably should have, but then when I think about that, what if I would have, he would have bonded out and something could have happened to me,” she said.
Finally in 2021, Abbie said she had her chance to get help. According to a report from the Oak Hill Police Department, Blair and Abbie were visiting her grandmother’s grave, when he pushed her and bit her face. Abbie was pregnant at the time and said Blair asked her not to tell anyone what happened. When he went to a friend’s house, she went to the police department and filed a report.
Blair pleaded guilty to two felony charges of domestic violence and was sentenced to 22 months in jail.
Abbie did not know what had happened to him since he was released until she heard about Devinney’s death this weekend.
“I have cried for hours for this girl. I just could not believe that that had happened and then when I looked and saw she asked for help multiple, multiple times and still ended up losing her life. It just amazes me in an awful way,” she said.
Abbie sees a lot of parallels between her and Brooke’s relationship with Blair.
“I definitely understand probably how she was feeling, just lost and like, there was no one there to help protect her,” Abbie said. “She looks so small and so sweet, just to think about what he did to her, it just brings me chills.”
Abbie said she knows firsthand how difficult it can be for victims of domestic violence to get help.
“I know there are other people going through this now or who have, or something worse it is just a really scary situation especially if you don’t have any type of help to get out of it, I don’t know why I let it go on so long that really was not smart at the time I did not know what else to do,” she said.
Devinney’s death is the fifth domestic violence death in Columbus in 2024, according to Columbus police. Since January, there have been more than 3,000 reports of domestic violence in the city.
If you or someone you know needs help to get out of an abusive situation call the free National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or LSS CHOICES 24/7 hotline at 614-224-4663.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Columbus Police Detective Jude at (614) 654-4503, the Homicide Unit at (614) 645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at (614) 461-TIPS (8477).