Eric Joering and Anthony "Tony" Morelli were police officers who were murdered on February 10, 2018, in Westerville, Ohio after responding to a domestic violence incident.

[1][2] Joering, 39, and Morelli, 54, were shot and killed by Quentin Smith, who had punched and choked his wife,[3] leading to her making a 9-1-1 hangup call.

[10] Smith had an extensive criminal history involving burglary, intimidation, aggravated menacing, domestic violence, and felonious assault.

[15] The murders garnered a significant response, with both Governor John Kasich and President Donald Trump commenting on them.

[18] Eric Joering (August 6, 1978 – February 10, 2018) was a Westerville Police Officer for 16 years at the time of his death.

He graduated from Westerville South High School in 1997 and went on to attend the Columbus State Community College Police Program.

[21] At the time of the murders, Quentin Smith (born February 23, 1987)[22] was staying at a townhouse in Westerville, Ohio,[23] where his wife Candace and their daughter lived.

Smith then allegedly pulled a three and a half inch knife and stabbed his mother's boyfriend in his left side and right hand.

During that stint, most of which was spent at the Richland Correctional Institution in Mansfield, he had one disciplinary-conduct report after entering another inmates cell and punching him.

In a 2011 letter to the Court requesting early release, Smith wrote that he had successfully completed the “Thinking For a Change” program and was almost done with his barber training.

[11] She also told police that when she threatened to leave he would tell her he that would kill her, their daughter and himself and that Smith "has a gun that he carries all of the time, and if it isn't on him, it is close by.

"[28] Candace left the department saying that she wanted to talk to her father first[11] but 30 minutes later she and Smith got into an argument when she accused him of cheating on her and giving her a sexually transmitted infection.

Police recommended that Candace and the baby stay in a different part of the house and that they contact them if the couple got into another argument.

Though Smith was not allowed to own a firearm due to his criminal history, he paid Gerald Lawson 100 dollars to buy one for him.

[11] On February 8, 2018, Smith, who had been living in Cleveland with his mother after he and his wife separated, came back to Westerville to visit with his daughter.

[25] When Smith got home he physically assaulted Candace by punching her in the face with a closed fist and choking her with both hands until she lost consciousness.

[30] When the shooting stopped Candace went back in the house[3] to get her daughter who was in the living room[30] and found Joering down in doorway and Morelli tussling on the floor with Smith.

Smith also told the inmate he had gone to the shooting range to practice for such an incident and that he was prepared for it and would “hold court in the street” before going back to jail.

[45][46] The defense argued that Smith did not intend to kill Joering and Morelli, but that he reacted in a moment of panic and confusion.

[47] The prosecutors argued that Smith purposely killed the victims, who he knew were police officers, so that he wouldn't go back to jail.

[48] On October 29, police officer Timothy Ray, who went to the Smith's residence with Joering and Morelli, was the first witness called.

I’m surgical with them.” Also on October 30, a deputy county coroner testified that Joering died of a gunshot wound to the forehead while Morelli died of a gunshot wound that entered through his left chest and went through his left lung, the covering of his heart, and his right lung.

[55] The widows gave victim impact statements, telling jurors about the effects of the murders on them and their families, while Morelli's daughter spoke about how she had gotten married shortly after her father's death without him there.

[56] It was believed to be the first time in Ohio that victim impact statements were allowed in the sentencing phase of a capital case.

[59] Later that day, the jury recommended Smith be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole[60] after deliberating for almost four hours and becoming deadlocked.

The male juror said “He's alive while these two police officers are dead," and that "I just don't think justice was served.

Judge Frye shared statements made by the victims about the impact the crime had on them and told Smith "This jury spared your life- and you owe it to the rest of us to take this to heart.

[22] The City of Westerville's Twitter account reported that an officer had been killed on the day of the murders just before 2:00 pm.

The local Fraternal Order of Police set up a Go Fund Me account which was verified by the city to help cover medical bills, funeral expenses, and education costs for the victims' children.

[69] In October 2019 the Blue Blood Brotherhood, a non-profit group, donated 28 sets of body armor plates to the Westerville Police Department and the Delaware County Sheriff's tactical unit.