Lake County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Gibson to preside over Gary Stroud's murder case

Lake County Common Pleas Judge Joseph Gibson will preside over the aggravated murder case of Gary Stroud, 57, who is accused of murdering his wife Diane Stroud.

The former Mentor Police Officer and Lake County Sheriff’s Special Deputy, pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment handed down by a Lake Count Grand Jury on Monday.

Stroud waived a court arraignment and pleaded not guilty to all 12 counts in writing, said Lake County Prosecutor Charles Coulson. Judge Gibson accepted Stroud’s plea on Tuesday. Stroud is being held at Lake County Jail on a $1 million bond.

According to court documents, a Dec. 16 conference has been scheduled between Judge Gibson and Stroud’s defense attorney, Timothy Deeb and Lake County Prosecutor Patrick Condon.

The indictment charges Stroud with three counts of aggravated murder, 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.

The indictment states that between Oct. 9 and November 27, Stroud did "purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the death" of his wife.

Diane Stroud, 53, had not been seen in six weeks. Gary Stroud had been telling members of his family that his wife left him and joined a cult, according to Mentor-on-the-Lake police reports. 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.

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

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

A  funeral Mass for Diane Stroud will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at , 9114 Lakeshore Blvd., Mentor.

Diane Stroud served two four-year terms from 1996 to 2003 on the Mentor-on-the-Lake City Council, including one year as council president.

Donations may be made to the Lake Humane Society and Adoption Center, 7564 Tyler Blvd., Building E, Mentor, OH 44060.

Arrangements are by in Mentor.