Columbus man charged with father's murder in incident where police fired at him

A man arrested by Columbus police in June after stabbing several relatives will have his first appearance in court Friday.

Benjamin Kelch, 67 , is charged with felonious assault and murder in the June 25 incident that resulted in his father's death, Franklin County Municipal Court records show. James Kelch, 95, died on Aug. 1 from his injuries.

During a hearing Friday, Judge Mark Hummer set Kelch's bond at $600,000.

An attorney for the Franklin County Public Defender's office said Kelch is a retired oncologist who has undergone several surgeries since his arrest. The attorney also confirmed Kelch, who was holding a colostomy bag during his hearing, had been shot by police.

Columbus police received a call from a home on the 300 block of Hoskins Way, on the city's Far East Side, about a man stabbing family members and attempting to cut himself.

Officers who got to the home saw Kelch on the front porch holding a knife. Body camera video released by Columbus police shows officers giving Kelch multiple commands to drop the knife he was holding.

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One officer tried to use a stun gun to subdue Kelch but missed. At least one other officer fired their handgun, but it was not clear if a bullet struck Kelch. Officers used a stun gun a second time to subdue him, allowing them to help Kelch and another person on the porch with apparent stab wounds.

The body camera video showed Kelch had what appeared to be self-inflicted cutting injuries at the time he was taken into custody.

Court records say officers saw Kelch approach the person on the home's front porch with the knife. Two other people at the scene who had stab wounds were taken to area hospitals for treatment.

bbruner@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus man charged with father's murder in incident where police fired at him