Phillip Columbus, 62, owned the house at 3001 Clevelawn Place.
Sprouse, 35, first lived there almost as a wife, but as the years went on and Columbus' health deteriorated, she became more of a caretaker, said Richard Hayes, Sprouse's stepfather. She cooked his meals and made sure he made all his doctor appointments.
About a year ago, Columbus allowed Shawn Rayburn, 32, Sprouse's high-school flame, to move in.
"He told me he let (Rayburn) move in because Kim needed the affection he couldn't give her no more," Hayes said.
He said he thought the three got along -- right up until learning about Thursday night.
Columbus police say that Columbus shot Rayburn and Sprouse about 10:30 p.m., then killed himself.
Columbus and Rayburn were found dead inside the house. Sprouse, bleeding from the neck, ran across the street for help and collapsed on a porch. She was pronounced dead about an hour later at Ohio State University Medical Center.
Police have given no motive for the shootings.
"He loved my daughter very much, but he was a jealous person over her, even when I would call over," Hayes said.
One of Columbus' neighbors, Kelly Archie, said she heard shouting and doors slamming about 9 p.m. Thursday. A little later, she saw Sprouse and Rayburn standing in the street. Just after they walked to the front door, Archie heard gunshots.
"She comes running out, I'll never forget it," Archie said. Sprouse was saying "help me, help me," but the wound in her neck didn't allow her to scream, Archie said.
Police think Rayburn was shot first by Columbus as the trio entered the front door of the Clevelawn Place home.
Friends knew Phillip Columbus as a man who had worked hard and made no trouble in his North Linden neighborhood. He walked with a cane, the result of knee and back surgeries.
One neighbor, Carol Stratton, 72, befriended Columbus after he bought the house across the street from her decades ago. Back then, he was a factory worker. He rode a motorcycle.
"Smoky," as friends called Columbus, was a quiet presence in the tightknit neighborhood, Stratton said. His wife, Betty, died in 1997.
Neighbors said a young girl visited the house on the weekends and rode a bike in the street. Sprouse had two daughters, one 9 and one 15, her stepfather said.
Stratton said the neighborhood has its problems, but nothing different from other places. During Thursday's commotion, the last person she expected to be involved was Columbus.
"I had never seen so many police and helicopters and squads," she said.
Sprouse's stepfather said he considered Columbus a friend. Columbus once told him that his goal in life was to take care of Sprouse.
Yesterday, Hayes said he's still having a hard time believing what happened.
"I guess if he couldn't have her, nobody could," he said.
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