By KEVIN FLOWERS
kevin.flowers@timesnews.com
The Ohio woman whose body was found wrapped in a rug in Fairview Township on Saturday recently received a letter from the man wanted in her slaying -- even though David L. "Jody" Kromer had been ordered by authorities to leave her alone.
In that letter, Kromer told 58-year-old Carla Westhofen that "I'll never hurt you" and called the victim "my one and only," the Sandusky Register in Ohio reported on Monday.
A nationwide search is under way for Kromer, 56, a resident of Margetta Township, Ohio, near Sandusky, who has been charged with murder and kidnapping in the case.
The Erie County Sheriff's Office in Ohio said Kromer is considered armed and dangerous.
"Carla, what can I do to get you back," Kromer wrote in the two-page, handwritten letter, a copy of which was printed in the Register.
"I miss you and love you so much," the letter said. "Really need to talk to you."
Westhofen's death was officially ruled a homicide by Erie County (Pa.) Coroner Lyell Cook after an eight-hour autopsy Monday.
Cook said the cause of death was determined to be "blunt and penetrating trauma to the head." The type of instrument used to inflict those wounds has yet to be pinpointed, Cook said.
Erie County District Attorney Jack Daneri said Westhofen's body had "a number of wounds'' that looked like they could have come from "a sharp-force instrument,'' like a knife or screwdriver.
Authorities believe that Westhofen was killed in Ohio and her body was dumped in Pennsylvania. Authorities in Ohio told the Register that warrants for Kromer were issued through Huron Municipal Court because the preliminary investigation points to foul play at Westhofen's residence.
Westhofen's body was discovered about 3:10 p.m. Saturday along Platz Road in Fairview Township by a resident of that area.
Erie County (Ohio) Sheriff's Capt. Paul Sigsworth said that Westhofen had ongoing problems with Kromer, who was jailed Oct. 8 for violating a civil stalking order that Westhofen obtained against him earlier that month, the Register reported.
Sigsworth said Kromer's letter was sent to Westhofen after a court order to avoid any contact with her.
Kromer referred to the stalking order in his letter to Westhofen.
"You don't need a protection order," Kromer wrote. "We are a great couple and partners. Remember all the good times."
The Register reported that family members became concerned about Westhofen when she failed to show up for an appointment on Friday.
Relatives went to her Hilltop Drive home, the Register reported, to check on her.
Once there, they found her cat left without food and water, her GMC Envoy gone and food still on the stove.
Kromer's letter to Westhofen asks her to remember the good times they shared, including planting trees and flowers while doing yard work and "sitting by the fire'' on cold nights.
"My heart is pouring out to you," Kromer wrote to Westhofen. "Let's work this out."
Authorities from the FBI, Erie County Sheriff's Office from Ohio, Pennsylvania State Police and the Ohio Bureau of Identification and Investigation are involved in the death investigation and the search for Kromer.
Authorities described Kromer as 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 210 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes.
He could have been driving a blue 2000 Jeep Cherokee with Ohio license plate DQW3569 or Westhofen's tan 2002 GMC Envoy SUV with Ohio license plate AXS6883.
Anyone with information about Kromer's whereabouts is asked to call the Erie County Sheriff's Office in Ohio at (419) 625-7951.
Staff writer John Guerriero contributed to this report.
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