A 24-year-old has been arrested in Florida and indicted on murder charges in connection to a woman found dead at an apartment unit in Shaker Heights Tuesday evening.
According to a press release from Shaker Height Police Department released Thursday night, authorities responded to an apartment unit in the 3500 block of Tolland Road in reference to a welfare check after the victim’s family reported that she hadn’t been seen in a month.
Officers entered the apartment and found a woman dead, the release said. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation confirmed their Crime Scene Unit was requested by Shaker Heights police on Tuesday night to assist with an investigation.
"It was apparent that this was not a random attack," the press release stated. Over the next two days, officers and detectives worked with local, state and federal law enforcement to determine the location of the person allegedly behind the crime.
Authorities said Christian Warner, a 24-year-old man from Cleveland, was located in a treatment center in Broward County, Florida.
The Broward County Sheriff's Office arrested the man and he is currently being held on a Governor's warrant for aggravated murder.
On Friday, Warner was indicted in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas for the following charges:
- Two counts of aggravated murder
- Two counts of murder
- One count of felonious assault
- One count of aggravated robbery
- One count of grand theft of a motor vehicle
- One count of offenses against a human corpse
- One count of tampering with evidence
He is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 24.
According to Shaker Heights police dispatch logs, an emergency dispatcher received a call from a woman at the police department who reported that a resident was in the lobby asking for police to conduct a welfare check.
“I have a resident that just came in. She has a niece that lives in Shaker that they have not seen in a month,” the woman told the dispatcher.
“They wanted to see if we could look into it," the dispatcher said.
An officer went to the woman’s apartment complex. Upon reaching the woman’s apartment, the officer immediately requested additional officers and a supervisor.
“I think I’m gonna need a supervisor and some more cars. I think I have a [woman dead] with suspicion,” the officer said. “Contact the [detective] bureau. I’ve got blood over here and I think she’s wrapped up in blanket.”
Susie Sharp, who lives two doors down from the victim, described her as quiet. Aside from exchanging the occasional hello, the victim mostly kept to herself. The woman’s death is unnerving, Sharp said.
“She was murdered. Somebody out there murdered her,” Sharp said. “Whoever it is, evidently, has access to the building.”
The complex, which is a former church convent later converted to apartments, features 28 units. The main entrance requires visitors to enter a unique code in order to gain entry.
“From the looks of it, this is personal. It’s not a random,” said Sharp. “Somebody was targeting this woman.”
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