[OH] Retired police officer arrested for the murder of his wife, Diane Stroud

Diane Stroud

 “She was a good mother, good member of council and a good person."

Diane Stroud, who hadn't been seen for weeks, has been found dead. Her husband, retired Mentor police officer and former Lake County sheriff's deputy Gary Stroud, is charged with murder, abuse of a corpse, failure to report a death and tampering with evidence. Please pray for their family... Gary Stroud told neighbors and their daughters that Diane had run away and joined a cult.

BODY FOUND IN FORMER MENTOR OFFICER'S HOME IDENTIFIED
WKYC-TV
3:51 PM, Nov 30, 2011
[Excerpts] The Lake County Coroner has released the identity of a woman whose body was found at a retired police officer's home. The coroner says the body is that of Diane Stroud, 53. The cause of death has been determined to be blunt force impact to the head. Diane Stroud's husband, Gary Stroud, 57, is being held on a $1 million bond. He's charged with murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence in the death. He entered no pleas on the felony charges during a court appearance Tuesday... Gary Stroud is a retired Mentor police officer. He most recently worked as a part-time special deputy for the Lake County Sheriff's Office... [Full article here]

OHIO EX-COP CHARGED WITH MURDER, WIFE'S BODY FOUND
(AP)
November 30, 2011
[Excerpts] ...Authorities said that Stroud's 53-year-old wife, Diane, had been missing for several weeks, and on Wednesday they confirmed that the body was her... Diane Stroud served on the Mentor-on-the-Lake City Council from 1996 to 2003, including one year as council president. She had been missing for six weeks, and her husband allegedly told those who asked, including family members, that she had traveled out of stat... Stroud was in court Tuesday and entered no pleas to charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with evidence. Court officials say he pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failure to report a death... [Full article here]

MENTOR-ON-THE-LAKE BODY: 911 CALLER MENTIONED 'SMELL'
WJW-TV
By Suzanne Stratford
Fox 8 News Reporter
November 29, 2011
[Excerpts] A retired Mentor police officer and former Lake County sheriff's deputy was arraigned in Mentor Municipal Court on murder charges Tuesday. Gary S. Stroud, 57, was also charged with abuse of a corpse, failure to report a death and tampering with evidence... Fox 8 News crews were in court as Stroud plead not guilty to the misdemeanor count and entered no plea to the felony counts... [Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief John] Gielink said that Diane has not been seen in six weeks and that Gary Stroud told his adult children, one of whom lives in the home on Marine Parkway, that Diane packed up some of her belongings and left the state... Police were alerted after a strong odor coming from the garage caused one of the couple's daughters to call 911... Two family pets were removed from the home Monday and were given to family members. The Lake County Humane Society will care for several chickens that were kept in the yard. [Full article here]

BODY FOUND IN EX-COP'S GARAGE IDENTIFIED AS HIS WIFE, DIANE STROUD
The Plain Dealer
By Michael Sangiacomo
Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 1:07 PM
Updated: Thursday, December 01, 2011,
[Excerpts] ...Diane Stroud was on Mentor-on-the-Lake City Council from 1996 to 2003. Her father, Richard Ross, previously was a council member in the city. Diane Stroud was council president in 2003. Police went to the Stroud home on Marine Parkway on Sunday night in response to a 9-1-1 call from the couple's daughter, Stephanie, 25, who lived with her parents. She told a dispatcher that something dead was in the garage. She thought it was an animal. As police approached the garage, Gary Stroud appeared. Police said he did not comply with their orders, so they shocked him with a Taser and placed him under arrest. "Diane was a good lady. She worked hard for the eight years she was on council," said Mentor-on-the-Lake Mayor John Rogers. "When she left council, she talked about going into a specialized cooking business. I don't know if she ever did that." Rogers said he knew the Strouds very well and could not believe it was the same couple when he heard the recent reports. "She was always a very pleasant person, always talking about their two children, Gary and Stephanie," Rogers said. "Gary was the same way, always talking about the kids. He was a straight-up person, always kind and courteous"... [Full article here]

GARY STROUD ENTERS NO PLEA TO MURDER, TAMPERING, ABUSE OF CORPSE 
News-Herald.com
By Michael C. Butz
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
[Excerpts] Gary Stroud quietly shuffled into Mentor Municipal Court on Tuesday to face charges related to his arrest Sunday night after a body was discovered in his house. While standing before Judge John Trebets, the 57-year-old Mentor-on-the-Lake resident learned he’ll face a first-degree felony charge of murder, a third-degree felony charge of tampering with evidence, a fifth-degree felony charge of abuse of a corpse and a fourth-degree misdemeanor charge of failure to report knowledge of a death... As of Tuesday afternoon, Stroud remained in Lake County Jail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monda... From 1996 to 2003, Diane E. Stroud served two four-year terms on Mentor-on-the-Lake City Council, including one year as Council President. She chose not to run for re-election in 2003, citing her desire to go back to school and to spend more time with her family, which includes a son and a daughter who at the time were teenagers. Current City Councilman Troy Elam served alongside Diane Stroud and said “she was a good lady.” “Diane loved this city. Her primary concern on council was the residents,” he said. “She listened to the residents, she responded to them, she worked hard and she did a good job. She was verbal and engaging on council, and fought for the residents and the city... I enjoyed working with her,” Elam said. “She was a good mother, good member of council and a good person. She will be missed — if this is in fact her”... On Monday afternoon, police as well as investigators from the Lake County Crime Lab were seen sifting through items — patio furniture cushions, scrap wood and a treadmill, among them — in the two-story home’s garage. They also peered into the backs of both a Jeep Cherokee Sport and Jeep Pa... [Full article here]


MENTOR EX-COP EXPLAINED WIFE'S ABSENCE BY SAYING SHE HAD JOINED A CULT
The Plain Dealer
By Michael Sangiacomo
Thursday, December 01, 2011, 1:14 PM
[Excerpts] Neighbors of Gary and Diane Stroud told police that the former Mentor policeman explained his wife's absence by saying she ran away to join a cult. According to an affidavit filed in Lake County Common Pleas Court  to allow police to search the house, a neighbor also told police the Strouds were having marital problems... According to the affidavit, Stephanie Stroud confronted her father on Thanksgiving weekend about her missing mother and a stench coming from the garage... Stephanie called police and asked them to check the garage for the source of the odor... Records show that police confiscated a great deal of evidence from the home...  [Full article here]

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