MENTOR-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio (AP) — A retired Ohio police officer has been charged with murder after his wife's body was found wrapped in plastic inside a sleeping bag at their home.
Authorities say a relative of former Mentor police officer Gary Stroud called Sunday to report a smell coming from the garage at his Mentor-on-the-Lake home.
Mentor-on-the-Lake's police chief had said Stroud's wife was missing. The chief now says the body is that of 53-year-old Diane Stroud and that she died from a blunt force injury.
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.
Stroud is in jail. His lawyer's office says the attorney wouldn't comment.