CONNEAUT, Ohio — The Conneaut community is grappling with loss after an apparent domestic violence incident ended with one woman dead.
The Conneaut Police Department (CPD) says 45-year-old Nathan Sumner turned himself in early Wednesday morning after confessing to shooting his girlfriend, Heather Harris.
“Heather was a social butterfly, positive, bubbly, just the life of the party,” said Conneaut resident Sheri Seal. “You know she had a big impact on my life.”
Seal says she met Harris in 2019 and the two became fast friends. Tuesday evening, Seal said she talked on the phone with Harris for the last time and she was panicked.
“She was whispering and she’s just like, ‘call me back whenever you have a few free minutes to talk.’ I told her I could talk right now, she was whispering and she’s like, ‘I can’t,’” said Seal.
Though Seal knew something was wrong, she didn’t know what was happening at the home Harris and Nathan Sumner shared.
Conneaut Police Chief Michael Crosby says Sumner walked into the police department just before 1 a.m. Wednesday morning and told dispatch officers he killed his girlfriend.
Officers took him into custody and then drove to the home. According to Crosby, officers discovered Harris dead on a couch from multiple gunshot wounds.
Police charged Sumner with murder, and in a Wednesday hearing, a judge set Sumner’s bond at $500,000. He is currently being held in a holding cell at the Conneaut Police Department.
CPD is now reminding the community they have a domestic violence task force and resources for those who need help.
According to the Domestic Violence Hotline, one in three women and one in four men experience sexual assault, physical violence, or stalking by a romantic partner in their lifetime, and around 12 million people experience intimate partner violence annually.
Seal says she wants the community to understand the gravity of domestic violence.
“I want it to matter. I want her life to matter, I want her death to matter, for her to be remembered, and, you know I don’t want this to be just another, you know, murder, because it’s more than that,” said Seal.
If you are a victim of domestic violence of fear for your safety, you can find resources for help by clicking here.
Click here to find out how to connect with the National Domestic Violence Hotline.