More than 25 years after Ohio State University student's death, suspect charged in slaying
Bethany Bruner- Brian Swanson, 48, has been indicted on murder charges for the 2000 death of Ohio State student Charles "Chico" Ballard.
- Police suspected Swanson, a gas station clerk who had confrontations with Ballard, after he attempted to use Ballard's debit card shortly after the murder.
- The case was featured on the Columbus Division of Police's "The Fifth Floor" podcast in 2024.
More than a quarter century after an Ohio State University student was found shot multiple times and partially burned, a suspect faces charges.
A Franklin County grand jury indicted Brian Swanson, 48, of Cincinnati, on Thursday on charges of aggravated murder and murder in connection with the Feb. 8, 2000, death of 22-year-old Charles "Chico" Ballard. Authorities filed a warrant for Swanson's arrest, according to court records.
Ballard, a mechanical engineering student from Shaker Heights, was attending Ohio State on a full academic scholarship, The Dispatch previously reported.
Around 6 p.m. Feb. 9, 2000, his body was found in the basement of a home on the 300 block of East 17th Avenue. Ballard had lived in an apartment on the first floor of the building.
The Dispatch reported Ballard was last seen the day before. After missing a shift at his telemarketing job and a class, as well as not responding to multiple pages, friends became worried and ultimately called police.
In 2010, The Dispatch spoke with the detective investigating Ballard's case, who said there had been confrontations between Ballard and a clerk who worked at a gas station less than a block away. About 90 minutes after Ballard was last seen alive, that same clerk, now believed to be Swanson, tried to use a debit card connected to Ballard. Detectives could not disprove Swanson's explanation about finding the debit card on the steps of a nearby building.
The detective called Ballard's killing a "Hollywood hit" because he believed the person who killed Ballard had lured him into the building's basement by flipping off circuit breakers to cut the home's electricity. Ballard had likely gotten a candle to help light his way to the basement, which caught some trash and other material on fire, partially burning his own body after he had been shot, The Dispatch previously reported.
Columbus police featured Ballard's homicide on the Division of Police's "The Fifth Floor" podcast in 2024.
Reporter Bethany Bruner can be reached at bbruner@gannett.com or on Bluesky at @bethanybruner.dispatch.com.