[OH] STOLEN: Holly Marie Drake Dembie - Loving mother, beloved sister, dear daughter, outstanding teacher with dreams

...Lorain County Sheriff's Divison Corrections Officer William Dembie Jr. calmly confessed to killing his wife, Holly Dembie, during a call to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office around 1:30 a.m. Thursday... Holly Dembie has been called a “beautiful person inside and out”... Holly would sing in the hallways and make up songs to help with lessons... "I never saw Holly in a bad mood and the kids just loved her"... Holly Dembie’s aunt, Diedre Ashmun, has said William Dembie was physically abusive to his wife, including using techniques for controlling combative prisoners on her. Ashmun also has said her niece, who worked with special needs children at Midview Schools, had consulted a lawyer about getting a divorce... William Dembie chuckled during Thursday’s hearing when Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves asked him if he was employed, before replying that he had worked at the Sheriff’s Office for nearly 13 years...

UPDATE: HOLLY DEMBIE FOUND DEAD IN GRAFTON TWP. HOME; husband allegedly confesses to murder (with video)

The Morning Journal

August 11, 2011

[Excerpts] Holly Dembie was a special education teaching aide within the Midview School District. According to her resume, she was working toward her bachelor’s degree from Lorain County Community College and believed in the power of teaching. The 33-year-old from Grafton Township was found dead early this morning. Her husband of roughly six years, William Dembie, 42, called the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office direct line at 1:32 a.m. confessing to the killing from the couple’s 14900 Cowley Road home, according to Lorain County Sheriff’s Sgt. Donald Barker... Holly Dembie had an expected graduation date from LCCC set for 2013 and has received an associate’s degree from the community college. She has been a Special Needs Paraprofessional since 2002. She had professional affiliations with the Cleveland Sight Center, Special Olympics and The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio... William Dembie has been a corrections officer since 1999. He has been immediately placed on administrative leave without pay. [Full article here]

HOLLY DEMBIE ON MYSPACE

- General: "The Great Outdoors, cooking, and helping people who have been dealt a lousey hand by fate."

- Heroes My Mom, Ann Sulivan, and all the men and women in uniform who are and have fought to preserve our freedom.

MURDERED WIFE WROTE ABOUT ABUSE ON THE WEB

The Morning Journal

By Kelly Metz

August 13, 2011

[Excerpts] Four months ago, a woman under the name h.dembie asked this question to Yahoo! Answers: “Is a judo choke hold considered domestic violence?” The woman stated she teaches special education, was married to a cop and she wanted to leave her husband. Early Thursday morning, Holly Dembie, 33, of 14900 Cowley Road, Grafton Township, was found in the back yard of her home. Her husband, William Dembie, a corrections officer with the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office, called the department and told dispatcher Joy Sanchez he killed his wife. He ask that deputies be sent to his Cowley Road home... Sanchez later asked, “Who did you kill, Dembie?” He said his wife. “Well, my ex-wife,” Dembie said, with a quiet chuckle. Dembie told Sanchez his wife’s name is Holly and he killed her with a Ka-Bar military combat knife... In the Yahoo! post about the judo choke hold from h.dembie, who didn’t have a photo and merely states she lives in Ohio, the writer stated she was “leaving this jerk” and “this is pathetic... i’m calling a lawyer. tomorrow... in one form or another it equates to abuse of power. he treats me like crap...” h.dembie wrote... “I was kind of surprised,” [friend and colleague Kara] Kaiser said about the murder. “There had been indicators, but you never expect that. I just ask, ‘Why couldn’t you just leave? Why couldn’t he just leave?’ He was tired of her (expletive) in the 911 tape. Then leave. Why do you have to ruin her life, her parents life and her son’s life and all of us, who are left wondering? And then wondering what we could have, should have done”... [William] Dembie has three children from a previous marriage, according to court records. He and his previous wife divorced in 2004. Kaiser said Holly Dembie loved her stepchildren and that her biological son, 4-year-old William Jr., was Holly Dembie’s life... [Full article here]

HOLLY'S 4 ENTRIES ON YAHOO ANSWERS 4 MONTHS AGO:

Subject: Is a judo choke hold considered domestic violence?

- i'm leaving this jerk....

- what if he is a cop....

- this is pathetic... i'm calling a lawyer, tomorrow.

- in one form or another it equates to abuse of power. he treats me like crap, misuses our funds and then chokes me out as he begs for a chance. this is the end of the mistreatment, i've dealt with it for 10 years. i'm done. he has been diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder. i work in special education, which makes me want to help, but it's just too many hurts. he won't try. i realize that this is a predominantly adolescent forum but i need to vent. when i was pregnant with our only child he cheated and gave me a script. he didn't want to buy a crib. he thought i was jumping the gun. he didn't attend the first birthday. and punched me for the first time afterwards because i thought it was abnormal. i've never had help through the worst labor projects we've endured. his skin was too sensitive to help me rake or throw straw to seed a new lawn over 2 acres. i drove the bobcat in reverse for 12 hours by myself and raked and seeded it myself. i'm stubborn too. i'm reading this and [Ends there.]

SUSPECT CALMLY DETAILED WIFE’S SLAYING IN PHONE CALL

Chronicle-Telegram

Brad Dicken

August 13th, 2011 in Top Stories.

[Excerpts] Lorain County Jail Corrections Officer William Dembie Jr. calmly confessed to killing his wife, Holly Dembie, during a call to the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office around 1:30 a.m. Thursday... when deputies arrived, William Dembie wasn’t in the house, but when they called out for him he came forward and surrendered... Holly Dembie’s aunt, Diedre Ashmun, has said William Dembie was physically abusive to his wife, including using techniques for controlling combative prisoners on her. Ashmun also has said her niece, who worked with special needs children at Midview Schools, had consulted a lawyer about getting a divorce. William Dembie told detectives that the couple had been having marital problems for about a year and had talked about divorce, Barker said. Dembie told Sanchez during the call that he had had a few drinks, but wasn’t drunk... Dembie, who is being held on a $5 million bond and has been placed on unpaid leave, is due back in court next week. His court-appointed lawyer, Kenneth Ortner, declined to comment... According to prosecutors, William Dembie doesn’t have a criminal record. But Holly Dembie did call the sheriff’s office once on her husband in 2007, according to radio log reports released Friday. In her Jan. 25, 2007, call, Holly Dembie reported that her husband had become upset after receiving an email from one of his three children from a previous marriage. Holly Dembie told a dispatcher that her husband, who hadn’t been sleeping much, had kissed their new baby then walked out of their then-home on Island Road with a gun and drove off. When deputies arrived at the house, William Dembie’s car was back in the driveway. Holly Dembie told deputies that although she didn’t know where the gun was, her husband had gone back to bed and there were no threats or domestic trouble. “She’s fine with it, and there is no need for us here,” the radio log said.... [Full article here]

HOLLY'S ON YAHOO ANSWERS 9 MONTHS AGO:

Subject: I burned naked pictures of my husbands first wife.

We've been married 7 years. I asked him plenty of times to get rid of them. Now he's pissed off at me. I am feeling like leaving him. Would you?

CORRECTIONS OFFICER HELD AFTER WIFE SLAIN (UPDATED)

News-Herald.com

Thursday, August 11, 2011

[Excerpts] Holly Dembie was a special education teaching aide within the Midview School District. According to her resume, she was working toward her bachelor’s degree from Lorain County Community College and believed in the power of teaching. The 33-year-old from Grafton Township was found dead early this morning. Her husband of roughly six years, William Dembie, 42, called the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office direct line at 1:32 a.m. confessing to the killing from the couple’s 14900 Cowley Road home, according to Lorain County Sheriff’s Sgt. Donald Barker... Holly Dembie had an expected graduation date from LCCC set for 2013 and has received an associate’s degree from the community college. She has been a Special Needs Paraprofessional since 2002. She had professional affiliations with the Cleveland Sight Center, Special Olympics and The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio... [Full article here]

FROM "HOLLY DEMBIE'S EPORTFOLIO SPRING 2011"

Hello! My name is Holly Dembie and I have worked as a Teacher's Assistant and as a Special Education Paraprofessional for the past 8 years. I am specialized in working with students who are visually impaired and multi-handicapped. It is my goal to become a Moderate to Severe Intervention Specialist for grades K-12 by the year 2013... [More here]

CORRECTIONS OFFICER DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS BEING 'VERY RATIONAL'

Fox 8 News

By Dave Nethers

August 11, 2011

[Excerpts] On her Myspace profile, Holly Dembie, 33, described her interests as "helping people who have been dealt a lousy hand by fate." Early Tuesday, fate found her murdered in the back yard of her Grafton home; her husband, William Dembie, 42, admitted he killed her. Dembie, a corrections officer at the Lorain County Jail for the past 12 ½ years, called the sheriff's office after 1:30 a.m... Dembie was immediately charged with murder. In a posting on his Facebook page, Dembie described himself as not being a "social butterfly." He also wrote, "I think that most people who know me believe that I am a very rational person." A neighbor said the couple just had their house built two years ago. They also said the Dembies mostly kept to themselves and were aware of only one argument the couple had during that time... The Dembie's home is only two doors away from Holly's parents. Dembie appeared before a Magistrate in Elyria Municipal Court on Thursday morning where he was officially charged with murder, chuckling when he was asked if he had a job... Superintendent John Kuhn of the Midview schools said she [Holly] had a passion for her work with special kids. "Holly was very beloved by the staff, had a lot of energy, always wanted to do more for her kids," Kuhn told Fox 8 News on Thursday. "I think she really cared about people who needed extra help." [Full article here]

FROM "HOLLY DEMBIE'S EPORTFOLIO SPRING 2011"

In the decade I've spent in Special Education, I have learned that you must be adaptable. From Braille poems to Math supplements on a Smart Board, one thing is always the same. The enigma is your compassion. When everyone says it can't be done, try anyway. When you hit a plateau, try anyway. The difference we make lasts for lifetimes, and it is our duty to make the most out of every opportunity. [LINK]

MURDERED WOMAN HAD BEEN SEEKING DIVORCE, FAMILY SAYS

Chronicle-Telegram

Filed by Brad Dicken and Kiera Manion-Fischer

August 12th, 2011

[Excerpts] ...Diedre Ashmun, Holly Dembie’s aunt, said the couple’s 4-year-old son wasn’t home at the time of the killing because he had gone with his grandmother and other relatives to see a drive-in movie. The family saw the crime scene tape and patrol cars when they returned home. Ashmun said her close-knit family is devastated by the loss of her “big-hearted” niece, who worked with special-needs children at Midview Schools. “This is going to be a great loss, not only to the family, but for the community and the schools,” she said. Ashmun said she doesn’t know what led William Dembie to kill his wife, although the couple was having marital problems... “This was devastating for her because she said, ‘I don’t want to live my life like this,’ but she didn’t want to be the first in the family to get a divorce,” Ashmun said. Ashmun said that William Dembie had physically abused his wife, including using tactics on her that he was trained to apply when controlling prisoners. “My niece told me he was abusive,” she said. “He got rough-handed with her”... Dembie chuckled during Thursday’s hearing when Elyria Municipal Court Judge Lisa Locke Graves asked him if he was employed, before replying that he had worked at the Sheriff’s Office for nearly 13 years.... Ashmun and her husband, Dennis Ashmun, said he kept mostly to himself and rarely attended family functions, even though Holly Dembie’s parents lived two doors down the street. The Ashmuns said that William Dembie was smart, but also described him as “dark.” Records from the Ohio State Nursing Board showed that he became a licensed practical nurse in 1997 and became a registered nurse last year... Coleen Barta, an intervention specialist at West Elementary School in Grafton, said she’d known Holly Dembie for about five years as a colleague and friend. “She loved working with the kids, and the kids loved her,” Barta said. Holly Dembie was a paraprofessional aide with her 11-year-old cousin, who is blind and has cerebral palsy. Ashmun said her daughter was the reason Holly Dembie got her job... Barta said Holly would sing in the hallways and make up songs to help with lessons... Iva Pratt, another co-worker, said she can’t fathom why someone would want to kill her friend, who she called “the sweetest lady in the whole wide world.” “She’s always bubbly,” Pratt said. “I always begged her to just have part of her energy level. She always smiled. I never saw Holly in a bad mood and the kids just loved her.” Web reporter Rona Proudfoot contributed to this story... [Full article here]

NOTICE:

Holly Marie Drake Dembie, 33 passed away August 11, 2011. Loving mother... Beloved sister... Dear daughter... Loving niece... Holly loved spending much of her time outdoors, gardening, watching birds and caring for animals. She had a huge heart for disabled children and believed everyone deserves a fighting chance. Visitation Sunday 2-6 P.M. at Jardine Funeral Home, 15822 Pearl Rd., Strongsville. Funeral Service to follow 6 p.m. SUNDAY at Jardine's. Interment is private. [LINK]

MURDER VICTIM REMEMBERED

News-Herald.com

By Kelly Metz and Kate Snyder

Friday, August 12, 2011

[Excerpts] Holly Dembie has been called a “beautiful person inside and out.” The 33-year-old mother of a young son and special education teaching assistant for Midview schools... Dembie was an educator, a fact that was apparent in an online portfolio and an extensive résumé. She recently earned an associates of arts degree in teaching from Lorain County Community College and was set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in teaching special intervention K-12 from the community college in 2013. She had been a special needs paraprofessional at East Elementary School in Grafton since 2002... She had professional affiliations with the Cleveland Sight Center, Special Olympics and The Diversity Center of Northeast Ohio... Robyn Warner said on The Morning Journal Facebook page that Dembie was truly “a beautiful person inside and out ... She enjoyed her job at the school like no other person I knew”... Danielle Wilkinson-Counts wrote on Facebook that she knew Dembie from high school. “She was so fun, funny and was sweet to everyone! This is so sad!” Wilkinson-Counts wrote. Betty Cantley also chimed in on Facebook, stating her son had Dembie as a teacher. “My prayers are with her family, thank you for helping my son,” Cantley wrote... The neighbor said it was weird to see the house so quiet. “Normally, she’d be out mowing right now,” she said... [Full article here]

[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder ohio state politics rest in paece funeral]