Vigil honors Columbus teacher killed in suspected domestic violence incident
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Rachel Prince ran into one of her high school students at Taco Fest earlier this summer.
"She was just telling us, like, ‘Yeah, I can't wait to see you all next year, we got some new things for y'all,’" Shaquan Lunsford, a soon-to-be senior at Marion-Franklin High School, said.
That was the last time Lunsford saw his teacher. Prince was found unresponsive and pronounced dead last Sunday afternoon. The next day, a coroner's report stated her cause of death as strangulation.
"Why her, out of all people, was like, she was just more than a teacher,” Lunsford said during a vigil honoring Prince at Goodale Park on Sunday. “She was like a second aunt to me. Her vibe, her smile, her laugh, the way she jokes, the way she clowns. She was just such a great woman, such a great soul.”
Princess Smith, another soon-to-be senior at Marion-Franklin, fought back tears as she talked about her favorite teacher.
"She was such a kind and sweet lady, so, also, like, for you to kill somebody like her is just so disturbing,” Smith said. “Like, I'm still in shock.”
Prince was in her second year of teaching art at Marion-Franklin. She taught previously at The Charles School at Ohio Dominican University.
Former students from both schools held vigils for their art teacher on Sunday. A group of Marion-Franklin students, staff, and others gathered at Goodale Park Sunday afternoon. They told stories, laughed, cried, and remembered "Ms. P" for her open door, kind heart, and listening ear.
"I just miss her, I just miss her,” Lunsford said. “She's a lot. Just missed her. I was going through some things in life, and I was at a point where I was giving up, and she was there, and she had a deep-down talking to me. She's like, something, you can't give up because you is a star. After that day, I always kept my head up and kept for it, no matter what broke me down.”
Rayauna McNeal graduated from The Charles School (TCS) in 2021 where she had Prince for art classes.
"She was a mother figure, she was a friend, she, she was everything, she was everything,” McNeal said. “There was no judgment or anything like that. It was just, you come as you are and she's going to love you for who you are and how you are.”
Students from TCS gathered Sunday night to light candles and draw chalk art in front of the mural at the school.
"She loved us, her students,” Illijawaun Stinson, a former TCS student, said. “More like family. Her room was at home. Her, her advice really helped and touched people's hearts. It makes them feel seen, it makes them feel more connected with the teacher, with the school. It helps us continue doing our work effectively.”
He recalled a time during COVID when classes were taught online and he was struggling to get work done on time.
"I was dealing with my pop-pop of having dementia and me being his caregiver, and she knew about this and she would, like, message me or, like, we would go in meetings and she would make sure that I'm okay,” Stinson said. “She was very understanding person. She was a caring person.”
Her students adored her, referring to her classroom as a "safe space" where they were free to "be themselves" and often referred to her room as "positive vibes."
"I would just spend my whole day in there because the vibes in our room were just so good, especially, oh, you're around, like, it was only one day where I remember her being upset about a situation, but she didn't let that affect her job or how she felt about us,” Smith said. “She will always keep us in a great mood and happy spirit. She loved us so much and it's so sad. I just feel so bad because she was such a sweet and amazing lady. We only got select few people that you can go and tell your problems to in that school, and she was one of them. Now we don't have that comfort in our safe space anymore.”
Smith recalled a story when Prince caught her in the hallway making a TikTok video. In a moment when some teachers might scold a student or make her feel embarrassed, Prince encouraged her.
"I was making the TikTok and I didn't know she was watching me outside the door, and then I looked to, she was like, ‘Yeah, I see you there,’” Smith said. “She was like, 'Get it! Get it!' It was so funny.”
As much as Prince listened to her students, they learned from her, and were listeners, too. Several students remembered noticing physical markings on Prince, possible signs of abuse.
"We see little, like, markings and stuff like that, and she always tell her, like, ‘No, it's fine,’” Lunsford said. “Like one day, she'd be gone. She would be in the hospital. But deep down, she knows, like, we know what's happening, but she just always was so strong. I know deep down she wasn't okay.”
Smith said she saw it, too.
"I had seen a little marking on her neck and I'm like, maybe, ‘Are you okay?’” Smith said. “She was, like, ‘Yeah, honey.’ Well, I’m, like, ‘Your neck.’ She was, like, ‘Oh, it’s okay. I’m going to be okay.’ I’m, like, ‘Are you sure?’ She was, like, ‘Yeah,’ so I feel like, at that point in time, I really wanted to tell somebody what it’s, like, who can you tell?”
Ohio Domestic Violence Network Director of Health and Disability Programs Rachel Ramirez was at Goodale Park to support her friends and lend her expertise to any of the students who might need an outlet.
"Listen without judgment,” Ramirez said. “It is very, a domestic violence survivor who, sharing their experiences with you, is taking a big risk. Being able to listen, being able to thank them for sharing with you, being able to send messages like they do not deserve to be abused, that they are not alone, that it's not their fault, and also connecting them, becoming aware of what the resources are.”
"Domestic violence survivors talk first to their families, they talk to their friends, they talk to loved ones way before they ever call domestic violence hotlines or do that, so every single person watching this can play a role in helping our domestic violence victim be safer," Ramirez added.
These teenagers have been put in a position where they wanted to help. Ramirez said aht for those who want to help, it is important for them to remember, “It is not within my power to keep everybody safe. What I can do is I can express my concern. I can express my care. I can connect people with resources."
There are around 77 different Domestic Violence organizations in Ohio, according to Ramirez. She said it's important to know you can reach out anytime, any day.
"They're anonymous,” she said. “You don't have to share any information, but being able to tell your loved one that there are people that are available to help you. It is 24/7 and it is something that you can reach out to is really, really important.”
"Domestic violence exists and is able to continue because it happens in private and it's a secret and people don't know about it,” Ramirez said. “Something that's very, very common with domestic violence is if people -- there's often abusers who threaten if you tell somebody. They may say, ‘I will take the kids away,’ ‘I will, you know, tell everybody at work that you're using drugs.’ ‘I will hurt one of our pets,’ ‘I will do…’ there's all these different threats that can often be a part of that. We know that often in separation, dangerous and costly proceedings become a huge tool of control.”
According to law enforcement officials, Prince was killed by strangulation. Ramirez said there is recent research that shows strangulation can be one of the biggest indicators of future abuse for domestic violence survivors.
"When somebody has been strangled, a lot of times it's very, very easy for abusers to minimize that, to downplay that, but that is something that is putting you at a much higher risk of being, of being killed and is, really, abusers who strangle people are particularly dangerous, which is why Ohio made strangulation a felony just a couple of years ago,” Ramirez said. “If you have ever been choked or strangled or hit or hurt in the head, that can have long-term consequences, including concussion and brain injury, can put you at higher risk of being severely assaulted or even killed.”
Another vigil in honor of Rachel Prince is scheduled for Monday night at Marion-Franklin High School.
Jason Palmer, 37, is being held on $10 million bond as a suspect in Prince’s death.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 at 800-799-7233 or you can text anytime to '88788.'