Crime & Safety

Trial Date Set For Murder Suspect Gary Stroud

Gary Stroud is accused of killing his wife, Diane Stroud, and hiding her body

The trial for Gary Stroud -- the -- is scheduled to begin March 19 in Lake County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Gibson's court room.

Stroud , three counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, two counts of felonious assault, one count of tampering with evidence and one count of gross abuse of a corpse.

If convicted, Stroud could spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Stroud is suspected of killing his wife Diane Stroud -- who was a former City Council president in Mentor-on-the-Lake, where they lived.

According to an affidavit filed by police, neighbors said the .

Find out what's happening in Mentorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Diane Stroud, had not been seen for six weeks . During this time, Gary Stroud told his family and neighbors that she had left him and joined a cult, according to the affidavit.

However, a family member smelled something rotting in Stroud's garage on Marine Parkway, Mentor-on-the-Lake.

When the family member asked about the smell, Stroud claimed that one of the chickens he kept in the back yard had died. But the family member was suspicious enough that she called police.

When police searched the garage, they found Diane Stroud's body.

Lake County Coroner Lynn Smith said that force trauma. In layman's terms, she was hit with a blunt object.

, Peter and Jean Gammiere -- neighbors who live across the street from the Strouds -- said that Gary and Diane had been having marital problems.

The affidavit elaborates on the lengths that somebody went to hide Diane Stroud's body. Her body was encased in a sleeping bag with a garbage bag pulled over her head that was secured with duct tape. Then the sleeping bag was covered with a tarp that was also held down with duct tape, according to the affidavit.

Finally, both a bag of lime and a bottle of bleach were found near the body.

Stroud retired from the Department more than five years ago. Since then, he had worked for the Lake County Sheriff's Office part time as a special deputy.

He provided court security, helped deliver papers, escorted clerical employees to the bank and did other odd jobs, Lake County Sheriff Dan Dunlap said.

Stroud was laid off by the department in September not because he was remiss in his work but because of financial necessities, Dunlap said.

Stroud's house was foreclosed on in October, according to Lake County Court of Common Pleas records, but it has not been sold yet.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.

More from Mentor