What's going on there? >> I'm with my girlfriend. >> What is the other weapon? >> It's a knife. >> Police! >> Yep, she's she's right here. We got her. Columbus police! Couple rooms back here, Joe. >> Officers have just responded to a family's home after a horrifying 911 call came in from Chance Donahue admitting he had his girlfriend. But nothing could prepare them for the disturbing confession and chilling behavior that would follow. >> He went up there saying that he killed her and was coming back here and wanted us to kill him. >> I ordered him to kick the door and I kicked the door and she was laying right there right in the front door. >> I mean, it's too evident to know, you know. >> Oftentimes whenever I'm experiencing episodes of psychosis, I think that I'm a god. I don't know how to stop and now I've >> On August 29th, 2023, officers in Columbus, Ohio responded to an emergency call that immediately stood out from the ordinary. The person on the line sounded unsettled and insisted on handling things a certain way, which only added to the urgency. Dispatchers stayed with him step by step, but what officers were about to uncover would push this call far beyond a simple welfare check. >> 911, what's the address of your emergency? >> My name is Chance. >> Okay. And what's going on there? >> I'm with my girlfriend. You'll need to use forceful entry to get into the house. I plan on taking myself to the police station after this phone call. >> Do you want the police to come to you? Can they come to you? >> I would like to turn myself in because I'm very mentally unstable and I'm worried that I'm going to commit by cop if the cops come and pick me up. So I need to go into the station for my safety and the police officer's safety. >> What's um do you want to go ahead and get in your car and go ahead and drive to the police department and I'll stay on the line? >> Yeah. >> Do you have any weapons on you, Chance? >> I have the weapon with me. >> Are you able to leave that in your apartment? >> Uh >> I want you to leave that in your apartment, okay? I don't want you to take any weapons with you. >> Okay. >> What is the weapon? >> It's a knife. Is there any way that I could put it somewhere where there's a in the home and I don't want him to see it. >> There's a in your apartment? >> Yeah, I live with my mother and she's standing right next to me holding me accountable for making this phone call and I just don't want my little brother to see it. He's only 7-years-old. >> Okay, can we put the knife on top of the refrigerator? >> Yeah, that's fine. >> Okay, I want you to put it on there, not your mother. I don't want your mother to touch it. >> Okay, I'm going to put the knife on top of the fridge. Don't touch it at all, okay? I'm going to give my mother one last hug before this all starts. >> Okay, all right, go ahead and do that. >> I'm going to go to prison now. >> Chance had already confessed and admitted the weapon was still with him, but as the dispatcher tried to pinpoint his location, his disturbingly calm responses made the situation even more unsettling. >> Are you in your car? >> Yes, I just turned off my car. Give me a second. >> Stay there right now. >> move my hand very well. >> You're fine. Stay there right now. For right now, I just want you to take a couple deep breaths, all right? >> Okay. >> How's your finger doing? >> I can't really move it. >> How How deep did it go? >> I'm pretty sure it sliced the ligament. >> It did? >> Yeah. >> Okay, do you want me to send a medic to you first? >> No. I'll receive all my treatment at the jail, please and thank you. >> Yeah, not a not a problem. Where are you at in the lot? Just parked right in front of your apartment? >> I'm going to be completely honest with you. I need to bring myself to you and I don't want to be tricked into being picked up and so I'm going to refuse to answer that, but I'm in my car, the car is started and you all will not disconnect this call until I reach the jail cell and you have spoken with an officer. >> Okay. >> Verify that. I am not safe. >> Okay. >> I am not a safe person right now and I did the safest thing is for me to turn myself in at a jail. >> Okay. >> Not be picked up because if guns get drawn on me, I don't know what I'm going to do. I left the apartment complex, but I need to pull over real quick and put the address in. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Where are you at? >> There's a cop right behind me and I know Yeah, I know that I'm being followed and everything. If you have this officer on dispatch, I need you to tell him to just follow me to the police station. >> Can you just pull over and let him put you in the back so he can take you to the police station? It It'd make it so much easier chance. >> How? >> It would just make it be done right now. >> Okay. >> Okay. Can you just pull over right now? >> At the end of that call, 28-year-old Chance Donahue had left officers with a clear destination and a growing sense that time was already working against them. He was driving himself in, refusing a roadside pickup and warning he was too unstable for guns to come out. Units closed on the Berkeley Road address, bracing for whatever they might find inside. >> Right here. >> This here? >> Yep. Come on, Bedoy. Over here. >> What? >> They said it was 1405. >> No, 11. >> No, the address is 1411. >> A- for 1411 Berkeley. >> All right. All right, we'll go to the back. We're good to go for century. >> She's >> He's saying she's >> All right. Can I kick the door? I'm good? >> Kick the door. >> Police! >> Yep, she's there. right here, we got her. Clear the house, let's go. Columbus police. >> Officers had just walked into a deeply disturbing scene. Their first priority was to ensure anyone inside was safe, clear the house and confirm Chance was no longer there before beginning the search for the murder weapon. >> Let's go, come on, come on. I got here, hold that, go. Basement. Somebody come with me in the basement. There's a door here. Police. Go. Police sound off. Yeah, I got here. I got here, you're good. We got a door here. >> Anybody out here? >> We're down. Columbus police. Couple rooms back here, Joe. We got I got two rooms in here, Joe. We got here. Here. Police. Uh that goes back to where you were. Okay. Bathroom. Right behind you. All right, coming. >> Does that go upstairs? All right. >> Bouncer's clear. >> Bouncer's clear. >> Copy, bouncer's clear. Powell has suspect in custody. >> South B D? >> Yeah. >> While officers outside pieced together Chance's confession, those inside searched for anything that could help the investigation. >> You say Powell's behind this dude? >> Yeah, Powell's chasing, I guess. >> How do we even get >> called out here? >> He called. >> Oh. >> here and he wants to be He He's not going down. He's going to be wants to >> Got you. >> All right. >> She have an idea, anyone? >> What? >> Do we know who she is? >> Yeah, he said it was his wife, Sharon. >> Oh, Sharon. >> What was the call? Was this car anything? Or was this came from Powell? >> Because he went up there saying that he was coming back here and wanted us to him. >> You want to stay in the back, guard the back? >> Sure. >> No, no. You stay with Heidi. Guard the front. You got Is anybody with you? Okay. What do we got for uh back here? Hey, do cut it off at the street down there. Cuz we're going to end up having this We're probably going to have this fill the street. You know what I mean? >> I was just saying you want to start it out here at this street, sir? >> I I I would go right across the street down there in front of that cruiser, in front of the van. Just take the street there. You want So, you want to get with your partner, he's in the back, and secure the back. >> Yeah. >> Do what you need, but Are you getting more scene tape? >> I got you, sir. >> Yeah. Cut it off there. This guy's in Pal. >> I wonder if she lives here. They both live here. >> No, her address was uh on the Did you hear that update where she was >> his address. >> And his address was here, too. >> And it said that she You left here and drove to some address in Pal. >> Right. >> kid? Something about Oh, wait. It says >> I I didn't catch that part. Well, I don't know how Pal got involved. I kind of learned about that when I came on scene here. >> He's staying with his mom and kid in Pal. >> guys looking for? You need to get >> Just the name. Just Just get the name. >> It's uh >> You want to You want to see if he can find a piece of mail or something? >> Shannon H I O T T >> Okay. >> So, when we look at make sure >> If she's got it. >> Well, let me just make sure. >> What uh How you doing, sir? >> I'm trying here. >> I was looking for the fire guy. What How much information do you need? >> I I looked >> Yeah. >> immediately the same address. >> You want to see? >> No, we're good. >> Well, house is clear. We cleared the house. So, we had to I ordered them to kick the door, and they kicked the door, and she was laying right there. Right right in the front door. I mean, it was it's it's too evident to know, you know. And then we cleared the house. There's cameras in the house. >> Okay. >> Like um >> Surveillance cameras >> Huh? >> Surveillance cameras look like >> Yeah, so I don't know if they have uh uh cloud or or if they have an SD card. >> That'd be interesting. >> But I'm not sure. >> As officers taped off the area and worked to secure the neighborhood, they noticed cameras that might have captured the critical moments before anyone arrived. The rush to get inside had even forced the wrong door nearby, pulling a neighbor into the chaos by mistake. Those small details were about to tighten the timeline of Chance's movements that night. >> Excuse me, ma'am. >> Look at that dog. I'm taking us up to the wrong address. >> Yes. >> But when you're out there seeing all this, looking at my camera and this is at 11:57 p.m. It's just very weird to me. I don't know if that helps or anything. >> It It probably does. >> And then a little bit later it shows him coming back out and the car was down here somewhere. >> Okay. Is that as much of the video? Okay. So uh I think Say again? Is that him leaving? >> Yes. Yes. >> How much later is that? >> That's at 12:03. >> Okay. >> But his car is right there. >> Mhm. His car was right up here? Was here? >> Yeah, it looked like it was like right in front of that that big house right there. >> Okay. >> So I don't >> Is there a way to uh Well, we'll have um We'll check this girl. She She's She's >> Is it the owner? >> I don't know. It's a It's a lady. She's quite young lady in her early 20s, maybe early 30s. >> How old was she? >> Maybe >> in her 20s? But not the owner of that store. She's very young looking. >> Yeah, she is. So we're we're guessing 20s, but I don't know. I mean It's a nice little house there, isn't it? >> Yeah. >> Well, you almost had a rude awakening just so you know because they had the wrong address so your door almost got kicked in. Your door almost got kicked in. >> I seen that like I heard you guys like isn't it 1405? I was like what? And they was like no it's 1411. >> Yeah so >> That's so sad to hear that. >> Yeah it's it's terrible. >> As officers followed up on possible CCTV footage others were already comparing notes on Chance and his behavior after the call was beginning to stand out. >> What's up gentlemen? >> So you guys got drug into a mess. Then we got drug into it. >> Yeah we thought it was a swotting call. >> We have no idea what's going on here so >> This is his vehicle. >> Jeez. >> Come on buddy. >> He's holding something here. >> All right ours aren't >> I was talking to him. >> So we're just >> We're just sitting here waiting. >> All right this time we're going to have to switch cuffs with you. >> He's got a cut on his pinky there. >> Yeah. >> He says it's pretty deep like you can't move it. >> Did the medics >> It's not bleeding. >> Did the medics come and check it out? >> Yeah they already checked it out yeah. >> Okay. >> If you want me to I can have them come over. >> Yes you go. >> I figured since it wasn't that we could wait till you guys >> Oh you wrapped it you wrapped it yourself? >> Yeah. Oh okay >> And I didn't want to take that dressing off without giving it to you guys so >> Got you. >> All right we're going to take a seat in the back of this car over here. >> Yeah. >> Right back here in the 72. >> Got the door open over here for you. >> Watch your head. There we go. Thanks. >> All over it, man. All over it. It's not what I thought he'd look like. You know, I thought he'd be a little bit tougher, but you know. >> think he's remorseful. >> It's all right. Well, you have to be to call and say, "Hey." Hey, man. >> Officers took stock of how willing Chance seemed to own what had happened. To them, that kind of openness meant the interview ahead could move straight into the harder questions. He was then taken into custody, where detectives soon sat down with him. And the account he began to give would tie a bitter breakup to what happened on Berkeley Road. >> I'm Detective Fallon. This is Detective Jude. I shake your hand. Well, it looks like your hand there. I'm going to ask you some questions, and they're not meant to insult your intelligence. We ask everybody. Do you speak English? >> Yes. >> Have you consumed any alcohol in the last 12 to 24 hours? >> Uh, no. >> What about including prescription? >> Yeah. >> Okay. So, I'm and I don't want to assume things, but I'm guessing that that you want to talk to us about what happened because you called. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> Right. So, why don't you just um kind of take me through yesterday leading up to last night and and today. Like, what what happened? >> Um I was basically um I had a like a major psychological break, and like kind of completely and utterly like lost control of my actions. Um which I know is not an excuse and I need to pay for my mistakes and my actions and like pay the consequences for everything. But basically me and Shannon are going through a really bad breakup right now. >> Right. >> Um because I am unable to be honest and unable to not steal and unable to not like take advantage of people that are around me. And I took advantage of her a lot. And so we broke up and like she's been just like making all these Facebook posts about like our breakup. >> I've read I've read some of them. >> She's also like come after like my mom and stuff. And like it's kind of one of those things where it's like it's one thing to drag my name through the mud. You can take all my friends. It hurts. But I just kind of lost it whenever >> That would That would be frustrating and >> my family and her >> Right. to for some of that dirty laundry stuff to kind of get aired and >> Yeah. >> which you would think would be private between you and Shannon is aired out there so I can >> I didn't really expect it to be private. But also there's another like layer to it of like all I wanted to do was like communicate about it, but I didn't have any way of communicating. >> As Chance walked detectives through the breakup between him and Shannon, the resentment underneath it became harder to miss. Public posts about their split and his sense that he could no longer reach her appeared to fuel a dangerous loss of control. But when detectives spoke with Chance's mother, she confirmed that Shannon had made disturbing accusations about their relationship, accusations Chance had previously shared with him. >> You know, obviously there's not a reason they ever murdered someone with this girl has been like messing with him pretty significantly since they split up and they've only been split up for a week, but she um she was a problem and I anticipated it getting worse before it got better with her, like socking him and just really >> [snorts] >> she no longer had control of him and I think that was making her crazy because she had a lot of control of him before. In fact, I moved back here a little over a year ago from um out in like the New Philadelphia, Cambridge area back here for Liam to go to Indian Lake schools. I I lived here. I'm originally from Columbus, but in 2017 I 2017 I moved out that way and then a year a little over a year ago in June Liam and I moved back. Chance already lived down here and that's around the time that he and Shannon got together and I've only seen him a handful of times and she did not like me and I don't know why and like I felt like I lost my son and then he came home a week ago and I didn't even realize I felt like I got him back, you know, because I was like, "Gosh, like now we can finally like be a family again." I've been begging him to come and hang out with one of his brother or with me, like it was like just so hard to get him to go. I got to go. Shannon's flipping out right now. She took Plan B and she's throwing stuff and she's flipping out. And I just thought to myself, Your mother's going in for surgery. You just had a vasectomy, but she still has to be like the center of attention. And obviously there's no reason for somebody to get somebody. Like, yeah, there's not, but they were major problems. >> With his mother's account adding more context to the troubled relationship, detectives returned to Chance's version of events. What he described next would reveal the moment he decided that talking was no longer the plan. >> I went home and I changed my clothes in all black, and I grabbed a knife, and I went over to her house. And I approached the door, which I'm sure you'll see on her doorbell camera, ring camera, at some point throughout your investigation. I twisted the doorknob. She screamed, "I will call the cops." And I slammed my door into the my shoulder into the door two times. After the first time she said, "Are you kidding me?" Because I think that she thought I was just being obnoxious and pounding on the door or something. Um or honestly, I don't even know if she was she knew it was me until I got into the house because I had a beanie on on my face um whenever I was outside. And then the second sh- gave way, and I didn't make a noise. I didn't say anything. I didn't do anything. I just uh started Shannon, and she didn't even realize what was happening until I her a couple times, and she said, uh she said, "Are you kidding me? What the Chance, stop. Wait. Please, stop." [snorts] I don't know how many times I her. I know it's a lot. Mhm. And I also know that I cut her throat [clears throat] to speed up the process. >> Was she on the ground on the floor at that point? So this all happened right when you go in the her house? >> Yeah. >> Like right there in that area? >> Without a second of hesitation. >> What What kind of knife, do you remember? >> Uh you guys should have possession of the weapon, but it's just a kitchen knife. >> Okay. And where did the knife come from? Your Your mom's house or >> Yeah, I grabbed it out of the knife block. >> Okay. >> And I just remember looking at her and just kind of like feeling like I was like taking on like her spirit, I guess. And like I don't know. I had felt less alone than I'd felt since her breakup in that moment. And then um Yeah. And then I immediately found out after that that she had started sleeping with Matthew Kilkoff who she had like just recently started being friends with and told me not to worry about again because he's been problematic in her life before. >> So you found this out after you killed her? >> Yeah. And then I remember thinking >> the same one that you got the protection order on? >> That's Cody. No, that's Cody Costello. >> Okay. >> Um and then I didn't have a reaction to it, honestly. I was just happy that I had what? I'm just happy like I'm still happy. I like I don't know. I'm not like happy about it. It's [ __ ] up and it's a horrible thing, but at the end of the day, like uh I don't know. >> Inside the interrogation room, Chance showed little sign of regret. >> So, let's go back a little bit. When you got off work, you you had driven around. You were going to meet with a friend, Wesley, maybe. And and you got this idea where you felt like a certain distance from Shannon. You mentioned earlier that if you took her life force that you would feel closer to her. What does that mean exactly like as far as >> Well, it's kind of like uh Native American belief of like have a of like [snorts] absorbing the soul whenever you hunt an animal. >> Okay. >> And like I don't know. Like you're absorbing it and like I don't know. I can't I uh often times whenever I'm experiencing episodes of psychosis think that I'm a god. >> Okay. >> And will kind of view people as like just kind of things. >> So, are you like as we speak right now how are you feeling about like our interactions? Do you Are you feeling like you're a god right now? >> I mean, yeah. >> And we're like objects in front of you? >> I mean >> I just want to get your state of mind because, you know, we all have different lenses. >> um I mean, you're not necessarily objects. You are people of authority and I am paying the price for like human laws and stuff like that because I am in a human vessel, but like yeah, like um definitely like a god and like can make things happen. >> Well, clearly, right? Sure. What um do you like it historically or even let's say last night? Did you feel a sense of like shame or guilt? Or did you feel bad? Do you feel bad or do you just >> I feel guilty for taking away taking Shannon away from the people that love her. And I know that a lot of people are going to miss her. I do feel guilty about that, but >> Is that something you actually feel or is that because you know in society that certain things are right and wrong in other people's eyes, right? Like do you feel like >> That's a hard conversation to have because I don't really understand myself enough for that. Um processing emotion is something that I've always really struggled with. >> Okay. >> Um ever since I was a kid. Like I'm more of an analyze emotion rather than like feel emotion. >> Okay. >> individual. Like whenever something happens, I because of years of practice now have inherent like reactions. Like you know, you buy something cool for yourself, you get excited, you know? But like in my younger years like I didn't really know. Like I would buy myself like a new video game or something, you know, ordered online. And like it just wouldn't mean anything to me until like it arrived and it was real and like it materialized. >> Sure. >> But like um I don't know. >> At this point, Chance's own words had removed any question about how the night turned violent. He framed what he did through beliefs about absorbing her spirit, an explanation that only underscored how far from reality he had drifted. And yet he kept talking, tying everything back to betrayal, money, and habits he claimed he could never stop. >> I know like this isn't doesn't make any logical sense because knocking and getting the police called on you and getting a trespassing charge is far less severe than getting a charge, but I just like I got to spend time with the vessel that was Shinault and I got to absorb her spirit and get some of her back. >> Did you feel betrayed? >> In that moment? I mean like I felt betrayed the whole breakup. >> Sure. >> She's been just like telling everybody everything, which I mean I'm not going to lie, I would do the same thing if somebody did the same thing that I did to her, but like she told me that like she wasn't going to tell anybody about the theft and stuff because I paid her back the money >> Right. >> that I took. And the only reason I took the money is because she took my debit cards because she didn't trust me with finances. >> Okay. >> And so like I'm not trying to sit here and like say all of my actions have a rational logical explanation because like I don't want to be this way. I don't want to lie. >> Right. >> But I don't know how to stop. I don't want to steal, but I don't know how to stop. >> Right. >> And now >> Is that important because of the addiction, do you think with ketamine? >> I mean the stealing had to do with being Shannon thought that the stealing had everything to do with the the addiction to ketamine. When in reality I I go through bouts of unemployment because of the nature of my work. >> Mhm. >> And so I run out of money. And then Shannon gets or would get like really like mean and say really things and all this And so in my mind just take this money give it right back to her as your money so that she shuts the [ __ ] up and everything can be like happy and peaceful and then we can like coexist in a happy [clears throat] peaceful household and then just replace the money before she finds out that it was taken. >> Makes sense. >> I guess. But like at the end of the day I don't know how to stop. And now I've ki- >> With Chance in custody after turning himself in, the case moved through the courts. [music] He initially faced six charges, but in July 2024 pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and gross of a corpse. The following month he was sentenced to life [music] in prison with no possibility of parole until he has served at least 31 years.