Ohio Nursing Home Shooter Thomas Hartless Had Domestic Violence History
The shooter had been convicted of physically abusing one of the victims in the attack.
Police say Thomas Hartless killed two employees at Pine Kirk Care Center and Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario before taking his own life.
Thomas Hartless, the man police say fatally shot an Ohio police chief and two nursing home employees last week, had a history of domestic violence.
Although an investigation into the shooting is ongoing, police believe it was related to a prior relationship Hartless had with one of the people he killed, nurse Marlina Medrano.
Medrano, 46, had obtained multiple civil protection orders against Hartless in the past, according to the Associated Press.
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On March 23, Hartless was found guilty in three separate misdemeanor domestic violence cases involving Medrano.
In those cases, Hartless was charged with beating, choking, kicking, stomping and attempting to run Medrano over with his car in three separate incidents.
A neighbor told police Medrano had taken refuge in her house during one of Hartlesss’s attacks.
Hartless was sentenced to 90 days in jail for those incidents, but was released less than three weeks later by Licking County Municipal Court Judge Michael Higgins. Higgins said an internal investigation is underway to determine why Hartless was released, reports the Newark Advocate.
In a letter to authorities during Hartless’s sentencing, Medrano said she still loved Hartless and wrote, “I never intended Tom to be jailed for his actions, rather it was a cry for help.”
She also told police she wanted to work with Hartless on his anger issues.
Roughly six weeks later, Hartless entered the Pine Kirk Care Center and killed Medrano along with nurse’s aide Cindy Krantz, 48, and Kirkersville Police Chief Steven Eric Disario, 36. Hartless also took his own life.
Disario, who leaves behind six children, had been police chief in the small Ohio village for less than three weeks. Governor John Kasich and President Donald Trump have both praised Disario’s sacrifice. His funeral service will be held Saturday in Grove City.
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