Authorities Say Diane Stroud Died From Blunt Force Trauma

Mentor-on-the-Lake Police Chief John Gielink has confirmed that on Sunday .

Diane Stroud, 53, has not been seen in six weeks, Gielink said. Authorities suspected she was the decomposed body hidden beneath a tarp. However, they wanted the Lake County Coroner's Office to confirm it before they said for certain.

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

Diane Stroud was a Mentor-on-the-Lake City Councilwoman from 1996 to 2003, including one year as council president.

Recently, Gary Stroud, 57, had been telling members of his family that Diane Stroud left him and went out of town, the chief said. However, on Sunday, a family member smelled something rotting in Stroud's garage on Marine Parkway.

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

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

Mentor-on-the-Lake Police . Tuesday morning in .

Stroud retired from the Mentor Police Department more than five years ago. Since then, he has 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, Dunlap said.

The sheriff added that Stroud did not have a history of violence at the department.

"There were never any serious problems with him," Dunlap said. "A couple of times he left his post early but that was addressed."

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.

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