Apr. 17—OTTAWA — One day shy of the one-year anniversary of the shooting death of Deshler resident Farrah Croniger at a trucking company in Leipsic, her killer was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.
For some members of Croniger’s family, that sentence fell short of delivering what they believe amounts to justice. The woman’s father and husband each asked Putnam County Common Pleas Court Judge Keith Schierloh to sentence 27-year-old Lima resident Konner Dunklee to death.
Dunklee pleaded guilty last month to charges of aggravated murder, an unclassified felony, and felonious assault, a felony of the first degree, in the April 18, 2024, shooting at Kitchen Enterprises Trucking Company in Leipsic that left Croniger dead and Michael Kitchen injured.
Police reports indicate Dunklee entered the trucking company’s office with a gun and opened fire, killing the 30-year-old Croninger and injuring Kitchen before fleeing the scene. He was later arrested in Allen County.
Assistant Putnam County Prosecutor Todd Schroeder called Dunklee a “clear and present danger to the community” and a man who has robbed Croniger’s children “of their best chance to live a normal, adult life.”
“This defendant should remain in prison for as long as Farrah’s children experience that grief — and that’s forever,” Schroeder said. “I emphatically recommend life without parole as the only justifiable sentence.”
Croniger’s family members also addressed the court prior to the imposition of Dunklee’s sentence. Her father, Ken Lewis, told Schierloh that “life in prison is too good” for Dunklee.
“He deserves the death penalty,” Graham said.
The victim’s husband, Kyle Croniger, said allowing Dunklee to live the remainder of his life in prison is a “waste of time, resources and taxpayer funding.” He bemoaned what he described as a “circus of a legal justice system” and “insane, twisted laws” he has been forced to watch for the past year.
“Whatever the sentence is … it doesn’t matter. Nothing will bring Farrah back,” he said.
Stacey Graham said her daughter was a “beacon of light to everyone she touched. She loved kittens, rainbows, quality time with her children and many other things. My faith tells me I have to forgive you, Konner, but I hope you never walk free again,” she said.
Dunklee addressed the court briefly, saying he was “at a loss for words knowing I am responsible for another person’s death.”
Schierloh said he believes Dunklee showed “no genuine remorse.”
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