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A Jackson area man was in custody early Sunday morning, Oct. 20 after he allegedly shot and killed his wife, then exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers during a long and perilous standoff before he finally surrendered.
Jackson County Sheriff Tedd Frazier has identified the suspect as Steven A. Kisor, 37, of 139 Franklin Grange Road, Jackson. His wife and alleged murder victim was identified as Tara Mae Kisor, 38, also of 139 Franklin Grange Road.
Pending an autopsy and an official finding, Frazier says his initial conclusion is that Mrs. Kisor died as a result of one gunshot wound to the head. Frazier believes the fatal shot was fired by Kisor with the same automatic long rifle which he allegedly used later when exchanging gunfire with law enforcement officers.
Both the shooting of Tara Mae Kisor and the five-hour-plus standoff with Mr. Kisor occurred south of Jackson in Franklin Township outside 7667 Four Mile Road, which is located between Franklin Valley Road and Russ Road. Although multiple shots were fired over that long period neither Mr. Kisor nor any of the law enforcement officers were shot or otherwise injured.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) received the initial call at 6:56 p.m. Saturday that there was a man in a driveway at 7667 Four Mile Road who was threatening to kill himself. Deputies arrived minutes later and located that male who turned out to be Mr. Kisor, who was armed with a long rifle and was very upset. Deputies located a wrecked car nearby which had run through a fence and found Mrs. Kisor who was seriously wounded. Mr. Kisor’s motorcycle was also found at the scene.
Frazier told The Telegram that he surmises that Mrs. Kisor was driving her car eastbound on Four Mile Road in an attempt to flee from Mr. Kisor who was pursuing her on his motorcycle. At or near 7667 Four Mile Road, Mr. Kisor shot Mrs. Kisor while the vehicles were on the move, causing her car to run off the road. It should be noted that the Kisor residence is not far away on Franklin Grange Road and the turmoil between the couple could have begun there.
Frazier stated that Kisor shot at deputies after they first arrived and deputies returned gunfire before Kisor retreated into some nearby woods. Sheriff Frazier arrived on the scene and was able to get Mrs. Kisor, who was still alive at the time, inside his cruiser, then transferred to a Jackson County EMS ambulance. She was taken to Holzer Medical Center-Jackson where she was pronounced dead.
Additional law enforcement officers and other forms of support were quickly called to the scene. In addition to JCSO, other agencies responding to the scene included the Jackson Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP), the Oak Hill Police Department (OHPD) the Jackson Police Department (JPD), Jackson County EMS, the Madison-Jefferson Fire Department and the Jackson Fire Department. A perimeter covering a two-mile radius was set up to contain Kisor and that section of Four Mile Road was closed to traffic. A helicopter from OSHP and a drone from OHPD were also utilized and both proved to be quite helpful in enabling law enforcement officers to have “eyes” on Kisor and know his location even when he was concealed in the woods.
During the long standoff, deputies were able to communicate with Kisor by cell phone, but he refused to surrender and there was “sporadic” gunfire exchanged between Kisor and the assembled law enforcement officers at different times during the standoff.
At one point, Frazier said Kisor definitely shot in the direction of an OSHP trooper and a JPD officer.
While it wasn’t always clear where the concealed Kisor was aiming all his shots, Frazier remarked, “I could hear the bullets whizzing by my head.”
Finally, shortly before 1 a.m., Kisor was detected throwing his gun into some brush several yards away and law enforcement officers were then able to converge and arrest him at 1:17 a.m. without further trouble. Frazier concluded that Kisor chose to finally surrender as he understood the futility of his situation and also perhaps because he was wet and cold from having at one point possibly attempted to take cover in or cross a nearby creek. He was first taken to Holzer Medical Center-Jackson to be checked out before being incarcerated.
Frazier stated that Kisor faces a possible murder charge as well as charges related to the gunfire-laced standoff with law enforcement officers.
