ABCNews.com(CLEVELAND) — A sixth-grade teacher was found mysteriously stabbed to death in her Ohio home days after an attempted break-in was reported at the residence.
On Monday night, officers responded to a home in the Cleveland suburb of Strongsville for a possible homicide, where they found 49-year-old Melinda Pleskovic with stab wounds, the Strongsville Police Department said.
In a 911 call, a man identifying himself as Pleskovic’s husband, Bruce Pleskovic, said, “I think someone killed my wife.”
“Looks like she has stab wounds on her back,” he said. “There’s a pool of blood. … I can’t believe this.”
Bruce Pleskovic told the dispatcher, “I just got in the door with my new son-in-law,” adding that his son was there at the time. The victim’s daughter was set to get married this weekend, ABC affiliate WEWS-TV in Cleveland reported.
First responders arrived and treated Melinda Pleskovic at the scene; she was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said.
In the 911 call, Bruce Pleskovic said, “We’ve had people trying to break into our house all year … we’ve had people attempt to break in just this week.”
On Oct. 19, days before her death, Melinda Pleskovic posted on Facebook, “Getting on a first-name basis with Strongsville PD. Someone please tell the people trying to break in to my house that I have no valuables!!!!”
She wrote on Oct. 21, “Whoever still has my stolen keys was playing with the remote at 430 am and kept starting the van at 7:00. Another call to Strongsville p.d. Omg! Leave us alone.”
A police report shows that on Oct. 19, Melinda Pleskovic’s soon-to-be son-in-law reported that someone tried to go into the family’s home through the back door. He said he saw a man at the door, who later fled through a field behind the home. The police report said there were no suspects.
That wasn’t the first police report related to the home this year. In September, Melinda Pleskovic called in a suspicious situation, saying her keys were missing, according to a police report. She told police her car was unlocking and the alarm was going off repeatedly.
A suspicious persons report was also filed in July; the victim’s daughter, Anna Pleskovic, reported that an adult and two teens were hiding behind the house. A theft was also reported at the home in January; Bruce Pleskovic reported that a laptop case was stolen from his car.
In a news release, police did not address the alleged break-ins at the victim’s home, but did say, “Media reports of break-ins in other areas of the neighborhood are NOT supported by records filed with the Strongsville Police Department.” WEWS-TV reported that a neighbor said his car was broken into earlier this year.
Police did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
Strongsville Schools Superintendent Cameron Ryba said in an Oct. 24 letter to parents, “We, the Strongsville School community, are devastated regarding the news of Mrs. Pleskovic’s death.”
Pleskovic, most recently a Strongsville Middle School teacher, had been with the district for the last 27 years, Ryba said.
Ryba said crisis counselors were in the school on Tuesday and counselors will be available thorough the week.
“A death is always tragic and a loss like this can have a profound effect on students. It is important that we recognize this loss and offer help,” Ryba wrote. “We will all need to keep those affected in our thoughts as we move forward.”
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