Michael Richard Mudrick, a 51-year-old White man from Elyria, Ohio, was a father and grandfather known for his love of the outdoors. An avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan, he enjoyed grilling, fishing, and spending time with his six children and sixteen grandchildren.
On the night of August 7, 2021, his life was irrevocably changed. Just before midnight, police were called to his home on Cleveland Street for an "unknown medical issue" after a woman repeatedly called 911 and hung up. Officers arrived to find Mudrick in a bed in the living room with a gunshot wound to the left side of his neck. His girlfriend, Deanna Hembree, was also at the home and had blood on her face, hands, and legs. A rifle was located near the bed.
Hembree, who lived with Mudrick, gave investigators inconsistent stories about what had happened. She first claimed a rifle in the dining room had fallen and accidentally discharged, striking Mudrick while they were in bed.
When questioned about how the rifle ended up next to the bed, she changed her account, stating she had brought it to bed after hearing a noise, and it then fell and went off. Another man who was in an upstairs bedroom at the time told police he had not heard any gunshots or shouting.
Mudrick was paralyzed by the shooting and fought for more than a year before he died from his injuries on October 28, 2022. Hembree was initially charged with felonious assault and later indicted for attempted murder. After Mudrick's death, the case was presented to a grand jury, which indicted Hembree on three counts of murder in December 2022.
The case against Deanna Hembree concluded when she accepted a plea agreement. As part of the deal, the 41-year-old woman avoided a murder conviction. She was subsequently sentenced to prison for her role in the shooting that led to Michael Mudrick's death.
