A 53-year-old woman is charged with the murder of Chad Fitzer, 48, of Ashtabula, who had been missing since April 5.
Laura Regina White, 1813 Harbor Ave., Ashtabula, made her initial court appearance Monday morning before Municipal Court Judge Laura DiGiacomo.
White, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit, requested a public defender to represent her.
Police believe White shot Fitzer to death with a handgun on April 4 or 5, and then hid his body in a crawl space at the rear of the house, said Ashtabula Police Chief Robert Stell.
White is charged with five felonies: aggravated murder with a firearm specification; murder with a firearm specification; felonious assault with a handgun; tampering with evidence, and gross abuse of a corpse, according to court records.
If convicted of murder, she faces life in prison, DiGiacomo said before setting White’s bond at $1 million, cash, surety or property.
City Solicitor Cecilia Cooper declined to comment on a possible motive.
Fitzer was last seen April 5 in the 1800 block of Harbor Ave., police said.
Early last Friday morning, police executed a search warrant at White’s Harbor Avenue residence, where they discovered a deceased male, who had suffered one or more gunshot wounds, Stell said.
Police suspected foul play and arrested White on a warrant involving unrelated charges of kidnapping and assault with a razor, according to Stell and Municipal Court records.
Ashtabula County Chief Coroner’s Investigator, Amber Stewart, said the body was identified as Chad Fitzer by family members, who recognized a tattoo.
Fitzer’s body has been sent to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, Stewart said.