Elyria woman facing murder charges in boyfriends 2021 death

An Elyria woman who already pleaded guilty to shooting and paralyzing her boyfriend more than a year ago is now facing murder charges after he died of his injuries in October. Deanna Hembree, 41, of Cleveland Street, was indicted on one count of aggravated murder and two counts of murder, all felonies, by a Lorain County grand jury on Thursday. A hearing date or arraignment on the new charges could not be found in court records. The case is assigned to Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Mark Betleski. The new charges follow from a case in which Hembree shot and severely wounded her boyfriend, 51-year-old Michael Mudrick, in August 2021, charges to which she pleaded guilty in September in Betleski's court. Mudrick died in a nursing home on Oct. 28, according to his published obituary. He left behind six children, 16 grandchildren, a brother, a niece and a nephew. Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Chris Pierre said Mudrick died not long after Hembree pleaded guilty to two charges of felonious assault in common pleas court in September. Betleski had ordered a presentence investigation and report, and was set to sentence Hembree on Oct. 31, according to court records. Prosecutors asked Betleski to continue the sentencing hearing after Mudrick died, and it was moved to Dec. 12. The prosecution then filed the new charges alleging that Hembree caused Mudrick's death. Hembree was free on bond pending sentencing, and was not listed on the roster of Lorain County Jail inmates as of 4 p.m. Friday. A message seeking comment on the new charges against her was left for her attorney, James Ingalls, on Friday. The incident According to jail and court records, Hembree was intoxicated on Aug. 7, 2021, when she shot Mudrick in the neck with a .22 rifle — allegedly after an argument over pizza, Pierre said. The gunshot wound was to the back of Mudrick's neck, and after a 911 call the Elyria fire and police departments responded to the scene to find Mudrick covered in blood, on a bed, barely able to speak or move. Pierre said the gunshot partially paralyzed Mudrick, but he was able to tell an EMS worker: "She shot me." Hembree gave conflicting statements to police, Pierre said. She first claimed that the gun fell out of its case and went off, then that she brought it into the bedroom, it fell and went off. Hembree originally was charged with attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault in September 2021, but prosecutors agreed to drop the attempted murder charge if she pleaded guilty to felonious assault, a firearms specification carrying a mandatory three-year prison sentence, and agreed to forfeit the rifle, Pierre said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @DaveOBrienCT.