Ohio teenager accused of stabbing gay couple, killing adoptive dad

An Ohio teenager has been accused of fatally stabbing his adoptive father and critically injuring one other person last week, according to a media release from the Columbus Division of Police.

Mark Rayburn-Velco, 58, was fatally stabbed on May 24, according to the police department. His husband, Brent Rayburn-Velco, was also stabbed and sustained severe but non-fatal injuries, according to local news outlets.

Police apprehended Rayburn-Velco’s 17-year-old son that evening after an hours-long search, then charged him with murder and felony assault, according to a police report reviewed by The Advocate.

“Officers summoned Columbus Fire medics, and both victims were transported to a local hospital in critical condition,” the police department’s incident summary reads. “Despite receiving life-saving medical treatment, [Mark Rayburn-Velco] was pronounced deceased at 7:58 am.”

Specifics on the attack are scant, as the investigation remains ongoing. The police department is not investigating the stabbing as an act of hate or bias, according to the police report.

On Friday, Brent Rayburn-Velco shared on social media that he is in recovery and mourning the loss of his husband, The Columbus Dispatch reported.

“God brought us to each other later in life and after several attempts of good and not so good relationships with others,” he wrote. “We both knew how lucky we were to have each other.”

Brent Rayburn-Velco’s social media post and the police department’s media release both identify Rayburn-Velco’s teenage adoptive son as the perpetrator of the stabbings. His son has not been identified by name, as he has not been charged as an adult in connection with the incident.

Mark Rayburn-Velco was an alum of Ohio State University and worked there as a senior IT project manager, according to WOSU, a public media newsroom based at the university.

“Ohio State is mourning the loss of colleague and friend, Mark Rayburn-Velco,” university spokesperson Chris Booker shared with The Advocate in a statement Monday. “Mark was an integral member of the team at Ohio State. The university is reaching out to Mark’s co-workers to offer support services during this difficult time.”

Brent Rayburn-Velco said over social media that he plans to stay in Ohio to recover and get his husband’s affairs in order, then travel to West Virginia to be with family members and friends, according to The Columbus Dispatch. He said his husband’s murder broke his heart “into a million pieces.”

Mark’s “whole life revolved around shaping the life that ultimately took his,” Brent Rayburn-Velco wrote.