Ohio murder victim feared her attacker

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man who police said killed his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend in a weekend murder-suicide had served jail time for beating the victim, and the woman told police and friends that she was afraid of him.

Jashua Perz, 29, was in jail last year for beating Kaitlin Gerber, and was ordered not to contact her. The Blade newspaper of Toledo reported today that he was accused of violating the protection order by writing her letters, and he appeared in court to plead guilty Feb. 27.

A judge released him on a promise to return for his sentencing later. The judge who released him told the newspaper that the prosecutor and victim signed off on his release.

Sylvania Municipal Court records show Perz had agreed to plead guilty to one count of violating a protection order while three other counts would be dismissed. The agreement called for him to continue to have no contact with Gerber. The judge ordered a presentence investigation and set sentencing for May 2.

Police say that on Sunday, Perz chased down Gerber — who was fleeing in her own car — and shot her four times in the back.

Perz then barricaded himself in his home and was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers burst in.

Jim Shull, owner of Jim Shull’s Rib Cage restaurant in Maumee where Gerber worked, said the young woman had more than once said that Perz was going to kill her.

Friends and loved ones gathered for a candlelight vigil Monday night to remember her.