Police say her husband was arrested after a brief standoff and charged with murder.
SANDUSKY, Ohio — A 32-year-old mother of six was shot to death inside a Sandusky home Feb. 4, and police arrested her husband after a brief standoff, leaving a family grieving and six young girls facing life without their mother.
Relatives of Rolanda Perry-Watkins say the loss has quickly turned into an urgent, practical fight to keep the children together and supported. Police have said the shooting happened in the 700 block of Sycamore Street and that the suspect was taken into custody and charged with murder. Investigators have not publicly detailed a motive, and the case remains under investigation.
Perry-Watkins’ sister, Anita Perry, said she learned of the shooting through a call from a niece on the night it happened. She said her first thoughts were about the children, and she rushed to Sandusky. By the time she arrived, Perry-Watkins had been pronounced dead, Perry said. “I am in disbelief,” Perry said in an interview. “I just can’t believe this, and I don’t know what I feel.”
Sandusky police said officers were sent to the Sycamore Street home after reports of gunshots and found Perry-Watkins had been shot three times. Authorities have said the suspect, identified as Jerry Watkins III, barricaded himself on the second floor and was armed with a knife. Police took him into custody after a short standoff. Another report based on a police release said officers were dispatched at 5:38 p.m. and found Watkins with a knife before he retreated upstairs and barricaded himself in a room.
Family members said they knew Perry-Watkins had been dealing with serious problems at home but did not expect the violence would end in a killing. Perry said she had spoken to both her sister and Watkins in the past and believed the situation was tense but manageable. She said she tried speaking with Watkins when she saw him at the home after the shooting, but she stayed focused on gathering her nieces and making sure they were safe. Police have not said whether any children were inside the home at the time of the shooting or whether anyone else was injured.
To relatives, Perry-Watkins was known less for the turmoil at the end of her life and more for the way she showed up for others. Perry described her sister as someone who would find a way to help, even when she had little to spare. “To know my sister was to love my sister,” she said. She also said Perry-Watkins’ identity was tied to her children and the routines of raising them, from cooking to keeping the household running. Friends and relatives said her six daughters were the center of her day.
In the days after the shooting, the family held a balloon release at the Sandusky Justice Center to honor Perry-Watkins. Perry said she wanted her sister remembered as a mother and a person, not just a victim in a homicide investigation. She also publicly thanked first responders who were at the scene and those who helped in the hours that followed. “They have showed up and showed out for my little sister and these kids,” she said.
The immediate future, relatives said, is about keeping the girls together and steady. Perry said family members have stepped in and that she intends to raise the children in a way that reflects the life Perry-Watkins built for them. “I got them babies,” Perry said, adding that she plans to “jump through every hurdle” to keep them together. The family has also started raising money to help cover the costs tied to caring for the children, including day-to-day needs that changed overnight.
Investigators have said the case remains under investigation, and officials have offered few details beyond the arrest and the charge. Police have not publicly laid out a timeline leading up to the shooting or said whether there had been earlier calls for help at the home. Public records reviewed by local outlets show Watkins was being held in the Erie County Jail after his arrest. Authorities have not publicly announced a trial date, and it was not immediately clear what evidence prosecutors plan to present beyond the initial police response and the reported gunshot wounds.
For relatives, unanswered questions sit alongside grief. Perry said she wants, at some point, to talk directly with Watkins about what happened. “I just want to know why and how could you?” she said. For now, she said, the family is staying focused on the children, helping them process the loss in ways that are appropriate for their ages, and building a plan that keeps their lives as stable as possible.
Police and court records are expected to fill in more of the story as the case moves forward, including what investigators believe happened inside the home and what led up to the shooting. Until then, the family says it is trying to hold on to what they can control: supporting six children, remembering their mother, and staying together.
Author note: Last updated February 13, 2026.