Court affidavit: Ex-Mentor officer said smell was decomposing animals, wife missing for six weeks

MENTOR-ON-THE-LAKE, Ohio - Court documents have revealed more details about the death of a former Mentor-on-the-Lake council president and the man police say killed her.

Police arrested 57-year-old former Mentor police officer Gary Stroud for the death of his wife, 53-year-old Diane Stroud. Gary Stroud was charged with murder, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. He didn’t enter a plea during Tuesday’s court appearance and his bond was set at $1 million.

According to an affidavit filed on Wednesday, Mentor-on-the-Lake police were dispatched to Gary and Diane Stroud’s house on Sunday after the Strouds’ 25-year-old daughter called police. The affidavit said there was a suspicious odor coming from the garage that she thought it was a dead dog. The daughter told police that she first noticed the smell on Thanksgiving, but her dad said it was just decomposing animals that he had killed.

When police arrived at the house in the 5600 block of Marine Parkway, a police sergeant said he saw what he believed to be a decomposing human head under plastic, documents said.

A neighbor told officers that Diane Stroud had been missing for six weeks and the couple was going through marital problems. According to court documents, Gary Stroud told his children that his wife ran away and joined a cult. Another neighbor told officers that she saw Gary Stroud with a bottle of bleach that day. Court documents said the bottle and a bag of lime were found near the body.

As the two Mentor-on-the-Lake officers waited for backup, Gary Stroud came out onto the porch. Police said they ordered him to get down on the ground several times and when he refused, one officer used his stun gun.

Diane Stroud’s remains were in a sleeping bag and garbage bag, wrapped in duct tape, the affidavit said. It was also wrapped in a tarp. The coroner determined that Diane Stroud died from blunt force trauma.

Court documents said Diane Stroud’s vehicle was still at the home, but her computer had been missing since she disappeared. Reports from the Lake County Crime Laboratory note investigators took the Strouds’ vehicles into evidence. They also removed rolls of duct tape, a purple comforter, two hammers and stained carpet.

Investigators swabbed the handle of a pair of pruning sheers and cardboard boxes that were in the garage. Three golf clubs, rifles, a pellet gun and a revolver were also taken from the home, documents said.

According to Lake County Sheriff Dan Dunlap, Gary Stroud retired from the Mentor Police Department several years ago. He also worked as a special deputy for the sheriff’s office from 2006 until this September.

Before authorities released the identity of the remains, Mentor-on-the-Lake Councilman Troy Elam said Diane, who served as the city’s council president several years ago. Elam said he was shocked to learn that Diane Stroud may be dead, saying “she always had the city’s best interest at heart.”