Vermillion, OH: Sandusky man kills himself with his ex-girlfriend's gun, after she was beaten to death

By Donna J. Miller, Plain Dealer reporter
November 12, 2009, 8:11AM

David L. Kromer
VERMILION — The 56-year-old Sandusky man charged with murder in the beating death of his former girlfriend was found dead in a Vermilion Township cottage.
David Kromer's body was found about 12:50 p.m. Wednesday at the Firefly Beach & Resort, 4903 Cleveland Road, which is U.S. 6.
He had a bullet wound to his right temple and a .38-caliber revolver by his side, Capt. Paul Sigsworth said.
Sigsworth, with the Erie County Sheriff's Office, gave this account of the events leading up to Kromer's death:
Kromer and his former girlfriend, Carla Westhofen, 58, fought at her home outside of Sandusky. Kromer beat her in the head, killing her. He took the revolver she had recently bought ---- because she feared Kromer and planned to take shooting lessons to get a concealed carry permit, her friends told investigators --- and put Westhofen's body in her car.
He drove to Pennsylvania and dumped the body in woods near the Ohio border. He drove the car to Jamestown, where he rented a black 2004 Ford Taurus with license plate CFZ 4128.
Westhofen's body was found Saturday. Police then found her car and learned about the rented car.
Kromer drove back to Ohio. Using a fake name and claiming he lived in Jamestown, he paid to stay in the cottage for two days. He parked the rented car behind it.
Someone saw the wanted man at another Vermilion business Monday morning and called Erie County investigators, who sent a description of the rental car to area police departments and media.
Wednesday morning, Kromer drank a few beers, barricaded the cottage doors and turned on the natural-gas stove. As gas filled the cottage, he tied a ligature around his neck and got into a closet. He tied the ligature to the clothes rod, put the revolver to his head and pulled the trigger.
Firefighters were called at 12:40 p.m., when a neighboring business owner smelled the gas. Firefighters couldn't get in through the doors, so they broke several windows to vent the cottage and get inside, where they found Kromer's body in the closet.
"It's a tragedy for two families and for the whole community," Sigsworth said.
The Lucas County Coroner is performing an autopsy today.