A Franklin County Court of Common Pleas judge sentenced 24-year-old Tyler Stiers to life in prison without parole for at least 25 years on August 26, nearly 20 months after he fatally stabbed 39-year-old Kylene Young inside her southwest Columbus home. Stiers pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in Young's death a day before the sentencing. Judge Karen Held Phipps imposed the sentence following a case that stalled for more than a year after Stiers was found mentally incompetent to stand trial.
According to The Columbus Dispatch, Columbus police were dispatched to Young's residence in the 2000 block of Harrisburg Pike at 1:03 p.m. on December 16, 2024, for a well-being check. The Columbus Division of Fire forced entry into the home, and Young was pronounced dead at 1:05 p.m. She had died from a stabbing that occurred December 7, 2024, according to the outlet's reporting.
Per the probable cause affidavit cited by the Dispatch, Stiers admitted to detectives that he punched Young, and that she stabbed him in the arm with a knife during the altercation before he took the weapon from her and repeatedly stabbed her, killing her. He also struck her several more times, the affidavit states. Detectives said a bloody palm print found at the scene belonged to Stiers.
A Frantic Search Ends in a Neighboring County
Once Young's body was discovered, police filed a stolen vehicle report for her missing car. Officers located the vehicle the next day in Athens County, Ohio, with Stiers inside, according to 10TV WBNS-TV. Stiers, who previously lived in Dayton, was charged with murder in Young's death and was extradited to Columbus to face charges.
His arrest happened to coincide with a wave of social media rumors claiming an active serial killer was operating in Columbus, after three women were found dead in a separate south side home the same week. Columbus Division of Police Deputy Chief Smith Weir held a press conference on December 17, 2024, to dispel the panic, reporting Stiers' arrest and stating that Young's killing was a domestic incident unrelated to the other deaths.
A Mother's Public Dispute Over the Domestic Violence Label
Young's mother, Kelli Schobelock, publicly pushed back on that characterization in an email to the Dispatch, saying Stiers was someone her daughter knew but was not her boyfriend, and that Young was murdered by an acquaintance rather than a partner. Schobelock maintained that Young was not a victim of domestic violence, and told the outlet that Stiers had beaten Young before and was obsessed with her. She died at age 62 on July 1, 2025, according to a notice on Legacy.com, over a year before her daughter's killer was sentenced. Memorial records from Newcomer Columbus describe Young as a mother of one son, Braylon, who was remembered by family for her generosity in helping people through hard times.
A Court Case Stalled by Mental Health Treatment
The case took an unusual turn in April 2025, when a Franklin County judge declared Stiers incompetent to stand trial following a psychological evaluation and ordered him admitted to Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare for treatment, the station's report notes. The facility, a $128 million, 208-bed state psychiatric hospital, opened in May 2024 to replace the aging Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare facility, according to the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission. Stiers remained there until doctors deemed him fit to understand the proceedings and assist his own defense, a process that pushed his case well past a year in the system.
His stay reflected a broader strain on Ohio's mental health infrastructure. As of late 2024, the state's six psychiatric hospitals were running at 96% capacity, driven almost entirely by criminal court-ordered admissions for competency restoration and insanity evaluations, per WOUB Public Media. That crunch prompted Governor Mike DeWine to establish a statewide Work Group on Competency Restoration and Diversion.
Sentencing and the Statute Behind It
Under Section 2929.03 of the Ohio Revised Code, an aggravated murder conviction without aggravating specifications carries mandatory life imprisonment options, including life with parole eligibility only after an offender serves 25 full years. Judge Held Phipps' sentence of life without parole for at least 25 years falls within that statutory framework.
Young's death also became part of a citywide reckoning with domestic violence homicides. While total homicides in Columbus dropped 17% in 2024 to 122 cases — the lowest annual count in five years — domestic violence-related homicides rose to 23 cases, representing 18.5% of all slayings in the city, per 10TV's reporting. Police Zone 3 recorded the highest volume of domestic violence incidents that year. In response, Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther announced new municipal initiatives in January 2025, appointing Ronnette Hairston to lead dedicated domestic violence intervention efforts within the city's Office of Violence Prevention.
The Columbus Division of Police Homicide Unit can be reached at (614) 645-4730, and Central Ohio Crime Stoppers can be contacted at (614) 461-TIPS (8477) for anyone with information related to open cases.
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