Motel manager says woman found dead had been beaten Sat.

The boyfriend was released from jail just nine hours before the death.
CANFIELD -- "A little motel attracts a lot of different personalities -- sometimes tragic ones."
That's how Jerre Stavich reflected on the death of a Nelsonville, Ohio, woman at the Canfield Colonial Condotel & amp; Motel. Stavich manages the 26-unit motel at 7815 Akron-Canfield Road, about a half-mile west of Palmyra Road in Canfield Township.
The Mahoning County Sheriff's Department, which patrols the township by contract, is treating the death of 49-year-old Diane S. Whitaker as questionable, said Sheriff Randall A. Wellington. He said the woman, found dead just before 8 a.m. Thursday, had been a victim of domestic violence over the weekend.
A ruling will come from Mahoning County Coroner David M. Kennedy. Wellington expects to know more about the death today.
Arrest
Whitaker's boyfriend, Vernon L. Hager, 51, of The Plains, Ohio, was arrested Thursday morning at the motel on a charge of violating a protection order. He was being held in the county jail after county Judge Diane Vettori revoked his $1,500 bond on a domestic violence charge and ordered him held, according to county court in Canfield.
Wellington said Hager is being held pending the autopsy results.
He said that there was no sign of recent violence on Whitaker's body and that she was found in her bed.
Hager had been arraigned Wednesday evening on the domestic violence charge and released from the jail around 10 that night on a summons, the sheriff said. The jail has an emergency release policy to prevent overcrowding.
Stavich said Whitaker -- timid and shy -- showed up alone Saturday morning, tired and wanting to rest for a short time. She paid for a few hours' use of Room 23.
The motel manager said it's not uncommon for her to rent rooms by the hour to truckers and other travelers who just want to catch a few hours' sleep and get a shower.
Around 1 p.m. Saturday, Stavich went to tell Whitaker it was time to leave. The motel manager said she saw a man -- later identified as Hager -- sprawled on the bed.
"I thought he was dead," Stavich said. "He didn't respond."
Outside, Jennifer Kozic, the motel cleaning lady, found Whitaker sitting in her vehicle, badly beaten. Stavich said she called 911 for police and an ambulance, but Whitaker refused treatment.
What happened
Deputies arrested Hager, and he remained in jail until after his court appearance on the charge Wednesday night. Reports show Whitaker suffered two black eyes and possibly a broken nose in the beating Saturday. Deputies said Whitaker and Hager had been drinking heavily.
Over the weekend, while Hager was in jail, Stavich moved Whitaker to Room 21 and, through St. Michael's Church, obtained a week's rent for the unit, which has a microwave and refrigerator. Whitaker stayed in the room with her two cats, and Stavich tried to persuade the woman to seek shelter at Sojourner House.
"Sojourner wanted to take her, but she wanted to stay here until the rent was up," Stavich said. "I have such terrible guilt. I wish I would have told her she had to go."
Whitaker and Hager, Stavich said, came to town because Hager needed to get a copy of his birth certificate in Warren. The motel manager described the couple as "carnies" -- people who work at carnivals.
Stavich said she didn't know Hager had been released from jail when she received a call late Wednesday night from a man who asked for Whitaker. Later, Stavich said Whitaker told her the call came from the sheriff's department.
Stavich believes the caller was Hager.
She said Hager banged on the motel office door around 8 a.m. Thursday. He told her the woman in Room 21 was no longer breathing.
Hager then went to smoke a cigarette by the soda machine. Stavich called police.
Stavich said she has the victim's cats and will find a home for them.