Sons Main Suspects In Killing Of Beachwood Doctor

BEACHWOOD, OH — Dr. Richard Warn's two sons are now the primary suspects in the killing of their father, Beachwood Police Chief Gary Haba said Tuesday afternoon. Both Michael and Mark Warn, Richard's sons, were found dead in South Euclid after a police standoff on Friday.

Police have not been able to determine why the men may have wanted to kill their father. Haba said there was no sign of violent friction between family members and Mark and Michael had no criminal history. Investigators have not been able to confirm mental illness as a possible factor.

Haba said this was the most bizarre case he could recall in Beachwood's history, noting that each sequence of events was strange. The last confirmed murder in Beachwood was in 1994.

Richard Warn was found dead on August 9, shot to death inside his own home. Police said at the time there was no sign of forced entry. Haba added Tuesday that circumstances around Richard's death were not indicative of a "random incident committed by a stranger."

Physical evidence found at Warn's Beachwood home led Beachwood police to get a warrant for another house, in South Euclid, also owned by the Warn family. Investigators believed Michael and Mark may have been residing in the house.

Haba said Beachwood requested a SWAT team be present when the warrant was served, because "someone in this case had a weapon," he said, noting that Richard was shot five or six times.

Police in South Euclid made several attempts to make contact with the people inside the home and then went through the front door. When officers got inside, someone began shooting at them. Police retreated, regrouped, secured the exterior of the home, and a standoff ensued.

Twelve hours later, Michael and Mark Warn were found dead inside the house, both victims of self-inflicted gunshot wounds, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner said.

Haba emphasized that this incident does not appear to have been random. "Understandably, many in the area have been on edge, thinking that this crime may have been committed by a random unknown suspect that may still be at large. We can now reassure the community that this unfortunate and disturbing crime was not random, and that the residents and others who frequent the area were in no danger as it relates to this event," Haba said.

He added that the entire Beachwood community is keeping the Warn family in their thoughts after a "tragic and senseless sequence of events."

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Photo from Chris Mosby, Patch