Erica Wright and her husband, Bradley, had only been married eight months, and now the pregnant North Toledoan is planning his funeral.
A day after the 34-year-old was shot in the couple's house in North Toledo, police were investigating who killed him Sunday evening and why. They have few leads.
Wright died of a gunshot wound in the chest, Dr. Cynthia Beisser, a Lucas County deputy coroner, said after an autopsy yesterday.
Mrs. Wright remembered her husband as she sat outside the house, 569 Austin St., from which she is moving. A bandage on her left arm covered where the 25-year-old was grazed by the bullet that claimed her spouse's life.
"He was just the nicest person. His mom said one of his bad traits was being too nice," said the widow, whose husband's name is tattooed on her neck.
Mrs. Wright said she knew her husband for several years before they married in February at the Lucas County Courthouse. She said he enjoyed his full-time job as a floor coordinator, playing golf and poker, and watching football. He also was excited about their baby.
"On the 13th, we were going to find out what [sex] it was," she said. "I'm going to get an ultrasound so I can put a picture in the casket."
Mrs. Wright declined to discuss what happened during the incident, but said her husband didn't deserve to die.
"It was just two punk kids who didn't know what they were doing," she said, urging anyone with information to call police.
Lt. Bill Moton said investigators have not established a motive. They found no signs of forced entry and nothing appeared to be taken.
Police said the couple had just returned home when Mrs. Wright went to lie down in a bedroom and her husband went to let the dog out. She heard a commotion and found a male pointing a gun at her husband in the kitchen area.
One suspect motioned for her to go back and the other, who had the gun, threw her to the floor. Wright lunged toward the armed suspect, and was shot.
He was pronounced dead at St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center a short time later, police said.
The suspects were described as black with dark complexions, in their early to mid 20s, 6 feet tall, with thin builds, short hair, and wearing dark clothing. One had a blue bandana covering his lower face. They ran north through yards.
According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Wright served time in state prison on burglary and drug trafficking convictions from 1993 to 1995, when he was released on a suspended sentence. He returned a year later when he violated the terms of the sentence and was paroled in 2001. He also had misdemeanor and traffic convictions in Toledo Municipal Court.
Contact Christina Hall at
chall@theblade.com
or 419-724-6007.
First Published October 4, 2005, 12:22 p.m.