Tale of Two Cities: Parma woman brutally murdered; Stockton woman saves self

Brook Park - Police remained baffled yesterday over the shooting death of Ramona Krotine, whose body was found Friday in the trunk of her car at a rapid transit station.

Cuyahoga County Coroner Elizabeth Balraj said Krotine was shot once in the neck and was beaten on the neck and head.

"We have no leads," Police Chief Kevin McQuaid said.

Krotine, 53, a wife and mother of three who lived in a quiet middle-class neighborhood in Parma, worked at a fudge stand at the International Exposition Center in Brook Park during the Cleveland Sports, Travel and Outdoor Show Thursday night.

After the show, she apparently went to a party with I-X workers at the Clarion Hotel on Bagley Road in Middleburg Heights. Police say she was last seen walking to her car in the lot about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

Family members issued a statement through police, saying Krotine "was a devoted wife, a loving mother and a valued friend and co-worker of many."

Meanwhile, in a state that allows (some) law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense, a different outcome resulted when this California real estate agent was attacked by a would-be rapist:

Click on the Read More..." link below for the full story.

The Record, Stockton, CA

A Stockton, California, real estate agent put an end to an attempted rape, after a man posing as a potential home buyer attacked her in a model home. Crumpling to the floor, the realtor drew a .380 from her purse, forcing the man to flee. Pursuing him outside, she halted his escape and, with the help of some nearby construction workers, held the thug for police. The would-be rapist is being investigated in connection with a similar recent attack on another female real estate agent.

• Could the lifting of Ohio's unconstitutional ban on carrying a concealed weapon for self-defense have saved this Parma murder victim?

Contact information for the area's elected officials is provided below:

State House of Representatives
• >Rep. Dean DePiero (D-15) - consistent anti-CCW voter
Phone: (614) 466-3485
Fax: (614) 644-9494

State Senate
• >Sen. Daniel Brady (D-23) - voted against Sub. HB274
Phone: (614) 466-5123

Click here to read the entire story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.