The Akron Beacon Journal is tracking each homicide reported in the city of Akron in 2026 to provide readers with verified, up-to-date information about the victims, the causes of their deaths and the status of police investigations.
This monthly tracker compiles details released by the Akron Police Department and the Summit County Medical Examiner, and will be updated as new information becomes available.
Lenard Owens, 29, shot and killed on Middlebury porch
Akron police are investigating the fatal shooting of 29-year-old Lenard Owens, who was found on a porch in the 1000 block of Elwell Court in the Middlebury neighborhood just after 10:10 p.m. on Jan. 4. Officers responded to reports of gunfire and located Owens suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:30 p.m.
Police recovered shell casings at the scene. No arrests have yet been made in this case.
Sharleen Kohnke, 60, killed; Robert Kohnke, 39, dies in Highland Square murder-suicide
Sharleen Kohnke, 60, was killed Jan. 6 in what investigators say was a domestic-related shooting inside a home in the 200 block of Casterton Avenue in Highland Square. Officers conducting a welfare check found Sharleen and her husband, 39-year-old Robert Kohnke, both suffering from gunshot wounds…