MARION, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW)—Marion County Prosecutor Ray Grogan announced today that he will seek the death penalty against Donald Alan Adams following a Grand Jury indictment on multiple counts of aggravated murder and related felonies.
Under Ohio law, the death penalty is available in this case because the Grand Jury determined that Adams’ actions formed a course of conduct involving the purposeful killing of one woman and the attempted killing of a second woman, with prior calculation and design.
The Marion County Grand Jury charged Adams with aggravated murder, murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and felonious assault stemming from a knife attack on August 19, 2026, inside an apartment on Twin Lakes Drive in Marion County. Adams is 41 years old, and his most recent address was on Parkwood Avenue in Columbus, but last week, he was staying in the apartment where the crimes occurred.
According to the investigation, Adams and the woman who was killed were in a romantic relationship. Around 9:27 p.m., multiple neighbors heard loud screams coming from the unit where Adams and two women were inside. Neighbors called 911.
Investigators believe Adams stabbed the first victim, then repeatedly stabbed the second woman, causing life-threatening injuries. He then returned to the first victim and inflicted a deep fatal wound to her neck. She died at the scene. The second stabbing victim suffered multiple severe stab wounds and was transported to a Columbus hospital for emergency treatment, where she is still under care.
Security cameras captured Adams fleeing the scene minutes before law enforcement arrived. Following the trail, Delaware City Police later apprehended Adams at a gas station in the City of Delaware.
The indictment also includes a repeat violent offender specification based on Adams’ prior conviction for felonious assault in Muskingum County in 2016.
Grogan will prosecute the case along with Assistant Prosecutor Allison Kesler and Assistant Prosecutor Mark Weaver. Weaver previously served on the Ashland County prosecution team that successfully sent a notorious serial killer to death row.
Prosecutor Grogan said the decision to seek the death penalty reflects the calculated and extreme nature of the attack.
“This brutal and deliberate attack left one woman dead and another fighting for her life,” Grogan said. “Ohio law permits the death penalty when someone engages in a course of conduct that kills or attempts to kill two or more people. That’s what happened here and I won’t rest until justice is done in this case.”
Adams remains in custody at the Multicounty Corrections Center. He will be arraigned on the indictment on August 31, 2026.
Grogan thanked Marion County Sheriff Matt Bayles’ office, Marion Police Department, Delaware City police, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for their rapid response and thorough investigation that led to the indictment.
Like all defendants who are criminally charged, Adams is presumed innocent until and unless convicted in court.