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Man charged with murdering girlfriend in Bedford appears in court; issued $2 million bond

The body of Breneisha Lightfoot was found in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood late Friday night.

BEDFORD, Ohio — The man charged with murdering his girlfriend, whose body was discovered in Cleveland's Slavic Village neighborhood last week appeared in court on Monday morning.

Appearing via video from the Solon Jail, Michael Roarty-Nugent entered a not guilty plea after being accused of murdering his girlfriend, 26-year-old Breneisha Lightfoot. According to Judge Michelle Paris, Nugent admitted to police officers that he had fatally shot Lightfoot, whose body was found in a wooded area in the vicinity of E 64 St. and Francis Ave. on Friday night -- hours after Nugent was arrested and charged with murder.

Nugent was issued a $2 million bond, with no 10 percent payment permitted. 

A family member of Lightfoot contacted police on July 18 to conduct a welfare check after not being able to reach her on her birthday. Lightfoot's phone was found lying in a person's yard in Cleveland and was turned over to police. Officers said that security footage showed Nugent in the area where the phone was located.

Officers who checked her apartment found evidence, including large amounts of dried blood and bullet holes, "indicating that someone may have been seriously injured there." Residents told police that they heard gunshots, with one resident identifying Nugent dragging what looked like a body wrapped up in something down the apartment stairs.

Family members told police that Nugent had been violent and abusive to Lightfoot in the past.

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