Cleveland Hawthorne, 39, of Canton, Ohio, was fatally shot on May 21, 2018, in the parking lot of a Canton church during a heated confrontation with his estranged wife, Classie Hawthorne. Classie Hawthorne was charged in his death and was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in January 2019.

The case underwent a complex procedural history: a hung jury and mistrial occurred in 2021, an appeal led to a new trial being ordered, and ultimately Classie Hawthorne entered a plea to felonious assault with a firearm specification. As part of that plea, the voluntary manslaughter and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle charges were dismissed. She received a seven-year sentence — four years for felonious assault plus a mandatory three-year firearm term — and was granted early release in 2022 with five years of intensive supervised probation, 200 hours of community service, drug and alcohol restrictions, and no contact with Hawthorne’s family.

Family members addressed the court expressing grief and anger, including Cleveland’s mother, Dannette Hawthorne, and his daughter, Vivian Perez, who described the impact of his death.