‘Not an Accident’: Ohio Man Accused of Fatally Shooting His Teen Daughter, Tried to Blame it on His Autistic Stepson

A man in Ohio is behind bars after authorities say he fatally shot his 15-year-old daughter and then allegedly called 911 and tried to blame it on his stepson, who has autism.

Around 12:20 p.m. on April 14, police and medics were dispatched to a home in Dayton on reports of a shooting, according to court documents and 911 calls obtained by WHIO-TV.

In one of the 911 calls, Kenneth Paul Farler III, 38, allegedly told a dispatcher his stepson accidentally fired the gun.

“My stepson, he’s autistic, he had no, it was an accident ma’am,” Farler said. “He’s autistic. He had no (expletive) idea what he was doing.”

After further investigation and interviews, Dayton Police Maj. Brian Johns said the claims made by Farler on the initial 911 call were determined to be false.

Johns told the Dayton Daily News, “The young lady was shot and killed by her father inside the Bowen Street address. To say it was a tragedy is an understatement.”

Johns added that the shooting was “not an accident” and the “victim was asking him to not point the shotgun at her prior to her death.”

In another 911 call, a bystander told a dispatcher that he was in his car when he heard a gunshot and heard, “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God.”

The caller added, “She’s a kid. I just heard a gunshot and heard them scream.”

Farler was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, a weapons violation, a probation violation and child endangering, officials said.

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He was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and was being held without bond.

Farler was previously arrested in October 2023 for pointing a laser at an Ohio State Highway Patrol helicopter, authorities said. Johns said he was prohibited from carrying a firearm due to a prior drug trafficking conviction.