Farrah Croninger

Farrah Croninger was a 30-year-old White mother of three who worked in the parts department of a local trucking company. Her mother, Stacey Graham, later described her as a “beacon of light to everyone she touched.” She was remembered as a loving person who was passionate about her children.

On the afternoon of April 18, 2024, the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office received multiple 911 calls reporting that shots had been fired at Kitchen Enterprises Trucking Company near Leipsic, Ohio. Deputies responded around 4:05 p.m. and discovered that a man had entered the office with a gun and opened fire. Farrah Croninger, a resident of Deshler, was found deceased at the scene from gunshot wounds. A second victim, 54-year-old Michael Kitchen, was injured and transported to a medical center with non-life-threatening injuries.

The shooter, identified as 26-year-old Konner Dunklee of Lima, fled the scene but was apprehended without incident later that day in Allen County. He was taken to the Putnam County Adult Detention Center, where a judge set his bond at $1 million. A grand jury subsequently indicted Dunklee on charges including aggravated murder, murder, and felonious assault.

In May 2024, Dunklee entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. A psychological evaluation found him competent to stand trial, though his defense team sought a second opinion, and the trial was postponed while new information regarding his mental health history was reviewed. By late 2024, plea negotiations were underway between the defense and the Putnam County Prosecuting Attorney’s office, which had stated its intent to seek the harshest possible penalty of life in prison without parole.

The case concluded in the spring of 2025. In March, Konner Dunklee, then 27, reached a plea agreement and pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and felonious assault. He appeared for sentencing on April 17, 2025, one day before the one-year anniversary of the shooting. During the hearing, Farrah’s father and her husband, Kyle Croninger, both addressed the court, stating that they believed Dunklee deserved the death penalty. An assistant prosecutor called Dunklee a “clear and present danger” who had robbed Farrah’s children of their mother forever. The judge sentenced Konner Dunklee to life in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing the case to a close in April 2025.