Coroner identifies remains as missing West Chester woman

The Butler County Coroner’s Office has identified the body found Friday afternoon in a Liberty Twp. field as Ellen Weik.

Weik, 23, went missing from her West Chester Twp. home on July 29. Her mother reported her missing Aug. 1, according to the West Chester Police missing person’s report.

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An autopsy was performed Monday at the coroner’s office and the results were released today. Weik’s cause of death is listed as pending, according to the press release from the coroner’s office.

Police say Michael Strouse is responsible for the death of Weik at his Liberty Twp. home. Strouse was charged with murder Saturday after a body, believed to be Weik, was found late Friday afternoon in the field off Millikin Road.

Butler County Prosecutor Michael Gmoser told the Journal-News on Sunday that he was “100 percent certain” the body found was Weik, a 2013 graduate of Lakota East High School.

Bond was set at $2 million Monday morning for Strouse, 29, of 6054 Bluffs Drive, during a video arraignment in Butler County Area II Court.

Strouse, of Liberty Twp., admitted to police his involvement in the murder Weik, according to court documents filed just prior to his arraignment Monday.

Investigators say the 23-year-old woman died of asphyxiation at a Liberty Twp. home where Strouse lived. And there was an admission during questioning, according to documents obtained by the Journal-News.

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“Strouse caused the death of Ellen Christine Weik as a proximate result of committing felonious assault,” according to court records. The murder occurred on July 29, according to police.

The murder charge against Strouse “is based on information obtained through investigation to include electronic evidence, forensic evidence and suspect admission,” according to the court documents.