Residents at missing Lorain woman's apartment noticed foul smell for weeks

LORAIN, Ohio - Residents at a Lorain apartment building where a missing woman lived told police officers that a foul smell had been lingering for the past three weeks, Lt. Mark Carpentiere said.

On Wednesday, the body of 26-year-old Catherine Hoholski was found in a plastic container in the storage area behind her apartment complex on Tower Boulevard, Lorain County Coroner Dr. Stephen Evans said.

Hoholski’s parents hadn’t heard from her since June 28 and reported her missing on July 12, according to Carpentiere. Officers were investigating the missing persons report when the young mother’s remains were found. That’s also when building residents reported the strange odor around the apartment. Carpentiere said no one called them about the smell before then.

"She was found in the apt building. I can't say exactly where, but she was there the whole time," said Carpentiere.

The coroner said he estimates her body had been there for about a month and it will be about two weeks until the autopsy results are in because of the amount of decomposition.

The father of Hoholski’s 5-month-old daughter, Albert Fine, was arrested in Lexington, Ky. on Thursday. The 30-year-old was charged with murder and has another court appearance in a Kentucky courtroom on Thursday. Police said more charges are coming.

"If he waives extradition he'll sign some papers and he'll be brought back to Ohio," Carpentiere said, "If he fights extradition, then we'll have to obtain a governor's warrant here and they'll be further court hearings in Kentucky."

Fine was traveling with a woman, who was also wanted for questioning in Hoholski’s death. She was not arrested.

Hoholski gave birth to her daughter, Jasmine, in March and visited her every day at MetroHealth Medical Center, neighbors told NewsChannel5. When her visits suddenly stopped, her parents became concerned.

The family said Hoholski’s parents, Jane and Ken, have been given temporary custody of Jasmine and hope to get permanent custody soon. The family is also in the process of setting up the Catherine Hoholski Memorial/Jasmine Hoholski Health Care fund at Huntington Bank.

Services for Hoholski will be held on Wednesday. Calling hours will start at 5:30 p.m., and the memorial service at 6:30 p.m. at Cornerstone United Methodist church on West River Road North in Elyria.