Police say the woman told detectives she suffocated her daughter on New Year’s Eve; a judge set bond at $2 million.
COLUMBUS, OH — A southside Columbus mother was charged with murder after police found her 3-year-old daughter unresponsive inside a home on New Year’s Eve and rushed the child to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later, authorities said.
The case has moved quickly from an emergency call to a homicide charge that has shaken a residential block on the city’s South Side. Detectives say the mother, 41-year-old Sharon Sakoulos, admitted to placing a plastic bag over the child’s head with the intent to kill her. A Franklin County judge on Friday set bond at $2 million and ordered Sakoulos to have no contact with minors if released. The girl, identified by police as Cassidy Sakoulos, was found shortly after 5:30 p.m. Wednesday inside a home on the 1400 block of Orson Drive and taken to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where doctors could not save her.
Neighbors described a chaotic scene as police cars converged on Orson Drive just after dusk. “Out of nowhere I just see 10 flashing lights,” said Richard Gray, who lives nearby. Tristan Price said officers “beelined straight to the door” and forced their way in as medics arrived. Price and other neighbors said the mother stood outside “stoic” and “reactionless” as first responders worked. Officers told bystanders to say a prayer as they prepared the little girl for transport, witnesses said. She was pronounced dead roughly half an hour after the first 911 call, according to police. Detectives later took the mother into custody on suspicion of murder.
At Sakoulos’ first appearance in Franklin County Municipal Court on Friday, prosecutors told the judge that the mother admitted to suffocating Cassidy by putting a bag over the child’s head and said it was her intent to kill. Prosecutors also said the child had visible bruises when officers arrived. The judge imposed a $2 million cash/surety bond and barred Sakoulos from contacting any children, including her 13-year-old daughter, who lives with her father. Defense counsel was appointed for Sakoulos in court. She has not entered a plea. Police have called the death a domestic-violence-motivated homicide and say additional testing and autopsy results remain pending.
Records discussed in court Friday referenced earlier encounters between Sakoulos and law enforcement, including assault cases in 2016 and 2020, as well as a period of court-ordered mental health treatment in 2022. Prosecutors said she completed community control in 2024 in the 2020 case. The defense noted that Sakoulos is a military veteran who was honorably discharged. Franklin County Children Services said it had prior contact with the family more than a year ago but was not actively involved with them at the time of the incident. Authorities have not publicly identified Cassidy’s father, and officials said the teenager in the household’s orbit has a different father.
The block where officers responded — a row of modest duplexes and small single-family homes near South High Street — was quiet Sunday aside from memorial items placed near a front stoop. Neighbors said Cassidy liked Scooby-Doo and dressed as a unicorn princess for Halloween. “Happy-go-lucky,” Gray said, recalling how she waved at neighbors and ran up to doorways. “It was a gut punch,” said Darian Price, who, with his brother, sometimes watched the toddler. Others said they sensed “weird energy” from the mother but never imagined a fatal outcome. “People are devastated,” one neighbor said.
Investigators said officers were dispatched at about 5:30 p.m. Wednesday on a report of a child not breathing. Police and medics forced entry, began life-saving measures and transported the child to Nationwide Children’s. Detectives are awaiting final autopsy and toxicology reports. Sakoulos remains held in the Franklin County jail. A no-contact order, weapons prohibition and drug-and-alcohol ban are conditions of any release. Police did not indicate any ongoing threat to the public and have not said whether any prior calls for service were made to the Orson Drive address in recent months.
Court records show Sakoulos is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 9. As of Sunday evening, she was still in custody. Police say the homicide investigation is active and expect additional documents as the coroner’s office finalizes its report this week.
Author note: Last updated January 4, 2026.