By Amanda Garrett
Beacon Journal staff writer
RICHFIELD: Officials have not yet released the name of a 43-year-old woman found dead in her Harold Drive home Friday afternoon with a gunshot wound to her head.
Police have declined to speculate whether the woman was shot or took her own life, but investigators remained at the house more than five hours after finding the woman dead. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office is performing an autopsy Saturday.
Beacon Journal news partner NewsNet5 reported that the woman’s boyfriend called 9-1-1 about 1:45 Friday and said he heard a gunshot.
It is unclear whether the man also reported that his girlfriend was shot.
Richfield, a village of fewer than 4,000 residents in the northwest corner of Summit County, usually keeps a low profile. But Friday’s shooting follows other unwanted attention in recent months.
In September, FBI agents raided the home of Richfield Mayor Bobbie Beshara and arrested her son-in-law, Khalid Black, who lived there at the time. Earlier this year, Black pleaded guilty to downloading and possessing child pornography.
In an unrelated case last year, Simply Elegant Weddings in Richfield suddenly closed and its owner, Cory Friedman, was later arrested, accused of bilking about 39 clients out of more than $50,000 in goods and services.
Earlier this month, Friedman was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to grand theft.
Friedman said he never intended to steal anyone’s money and blamed what happened on divorce proceedings, which he said froze his bank accounts.