Defiance man arrested in double-murder

VW independent/submitted information

PAULDING — A warrant was issued for a Defiance man currently in custody in unrelated charges for a double-murder in Paulding County back in February.

Bradley R. Gillespie, 42, of Defiance, is a suspect in the murders of Hannah Fischer and Frank Tracy Jr. Fischer’s body was found in a Paulding apartment on February 9, while Tracy’s body was discovered in Rochester Cemetery near Cecil on March 15. Both were shot once in the head.

Gillespie is currently in custody in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio on charges filed in Defiance County.

“I can tell you investigators have had some huge breaks in the case over the past few weeks,” said Paulding County Sheriff Jason K. Landers. “Fortunately, we had some witnesses come forward with articulate information; we were able to recover the weapon used, as well as … some valuable evidence from the Jeep Compass recovered on February 9 when Hannah’s body was discovered.

“The investigation has proven Frank and Hannah were both murdered inside the vehicle,” the sheriff added. “It took us some time to put all the pieces together, and that’s how these complex cases work. Law enforcement from multiple agencies did a fabulous job working together.”

The remains under investigation by the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and Paulding Police Department. Anyone with information regarding the case should contact the police department or sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Landers said there still is no evidence linking this case to the Wilma Schwartz case. Schwartz’s body was found at a vacant residence on the Ohio-Indiana State Line on March 14. She also had been shot once in the head.

“Our investigations on these two cases indicate they were isolated incidents,” Sheriff Landers noted, adding that he will not release any of the facts of the case at this time, although he reiterated they were not connected.

An investigation continues in both cases.