Deputies questioning people in murder

EAST PALESTINE — Columbiana County Sheriff David Smith said Monday that an investigation is continuing into a deadly shooting in Unity Township.

Deputies are interviewing people about the case, he said.

The body of Charles F. McKinnon, 32, of 48081 Dyke Road, was found outside that address around 8 a.m. Friday. He had been shot in the head.

A pistol was found nearby, authorities said. Smith declined to describe the type or caliber.

The address is listed in court records as the home of McKinnon and his estranged wife, Heidi L. McKinnon, 26.

Smith has said the property belongs to her relatives.

Heidi McKinnon had filed a charge of domestic violence against her husband May 30. She stated in the complaint that she and McKinnon were married in April.

She said in court records that on May 30, she was in bed at the Dyke Road home after being sick when her husband struck her on the right side of her forehead, grabbed and bruised her right arm, and forced her to have sex.

Charles McKinnon did not appear in court until late November. He told the court he did not have a job or any assets. He was eventually released from custody on a recognizance bond.

Under the terms of his release, he was not to enter her residence, threaten, harass or have any unwanted contact in person or by phone with his wife. She continued to reside at the Dyke Road home.

A pretrial hearing in the domestic violence case was to be Feb. 12. Charles McKinnon faced up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, if convicted.

The county coroner’s office said the Cuyahoga County coroner’s office had already autopsied the body and returned it to the county for burial. Test results may not be available for several months.

County Prosecutor Robert Herron said the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation is also helping with the investigation.

A neighbor had called authorities about the shooting.