Murder by Cyber Stalking

The appalling case of Ellie Weik

This week we find ourselves in West Chester, Ohio in the US.  Making up one of the 13 townships of Butler County, West Chester is described as a great place for families to live and hosts lively restaurants and good shopping options. 

Here we meet 23-year-old Ellie Weik, a free-spirited, beautiful and creative young woman.  Described as a vibrant soul, living her life in colour – Ellie loved music, art and nature.  Ellie could often be found scrapbooking, writing or taking dance classes.  Ellie loved being outdoors and her mother, Tam, describes how as a girl Ellie would don her prettiest dresses to spend time outdoors planting things and building hammocks. 

Ellie was originally from Minneapolis but had moved to West Chester with her family a while back.  Now she lived alone with her pet gecko, Gayle.  Ellie’s future was looking bright – she had recently obtained her cosmetology license but sadly, an ever-growing shadow had started to encroach on Ellie’s colourful life.  An unknown person had been sending her harassing messages through concealed numbers and various profiles on Instagram and Snapchat.  Ellie had been receiving these messages for about a year but by the summer of 2018, they had become relentless.     

When Ellie received a frightening video showing footage of her sitting in her home, with the perpetrator exposing and touching themselves, Ellie realised she had no choice but to contact the police.  She was terrified. 

A case of stalking

Ellie reported the account names that had been used to send messages to her and detailed that some of them were under the name of ‘Mikhail’ or ‘Mika’. Ellie said she had gone out with someone by the name of Michael several years before.  The police wrote up a report and advised Ellie to stay home at night and take self-defence classes. 

Ellie signed up to a few self-defence classes, but the horrific messages continued.  Ellie’s mother, Tam, went back to the police to report that Ellie was still being targeted and to log further information with them.  The police came out to see Ellie and patrolled her area twice that week, however they did not see anything suspicious.  Staggeringly, they only spent five minutes on both searches. 

A Terrified Ellie

Ellie was growing increasingly terrified and understandably did not want to be in her house on her own.  She never felt safe, and friends of Ellie’s often took turns to stay over with her. 

When Ellie received a message from a new Snapchat account under the name of ‘Mikhail Strouse’, the penny dropped for her.  Ellie had dated Michael Strouse when she was 17.  Now she knew who was stalking her.  Ellie and Michael had initially had a fun relationship, but it had deteriorated, and Ellie had broken up with Michael.  Ellie notified the police immediately. 

July 28^th, 2018

On July 28^th, Ellie was messaging with an online buddy, ‘Nate’.  She explained that she was home alone when Nate asked her what she was up to.  Sadly, Nate was not who she was talking to. Unbeknownst to Ellie, she was talking to Michael Strouse. 

Ellie goes Missing

On 1^st August 2018, Ellie’s mother and close friends and family had not heard from her.  Nobody had been able to get hold of Ellie.  Without hesitation, Tam reported her daughter’s disappearance to the authorities.  Everyone knew this was serious, Ellie’s car was still parked in her driveway and her phone and bank cards had not been used. 

When police investigated the details of ‘Nate’ who had been one of the last in communication with Ellie, they made a shocking discovery.  The details of Nate’s number were linked to Michael Strouse. 

Who is Michael Strouse?

It seemed that Michael Strouse had quite the rap sheet:  Criminal records relating to drugs, burglary, identity fraud and disturbingly – public indecency. 

August 24^th, 2018

On Friday, 24^th August 2018, the authorities had been looking for evidence relating to Ellie’s case near Liberty Township (an 11-minute car journey from West Chester).  Sadly, they made the terrible discovery of finding Ellie’s body instead.  Ellie’s body had been found off a rural road in a field.  Ellie was found naked, wrapped in a blanket with a plastic bag over her head.  It was determined that Michael Strouse lived just across the way from the field where Ellie was found. At 4am, on 25^th August 2018, Michael Strouse was placed under arrest. 

A detailed search of both his property and devices was undertaken by investigators.  Google also turned over details to the police.  Scarily, Michael Strouse’s search history included searches for missing girls and ‘how long a dead body smells for.’  On July 18^th, Michael Strouse’s search history included details of rapes and other searches which were too disturbing to reveal. 

From their searches, police found that Michael Strouse had used other numbers to contact several other women and shockingly had footage he had taken of female joggers.  There was also a screenshot of the field where Ellie had been found. 

Interrogation

When Michael Strouse was taken into custody, he seemed totally unphased.  He was extremely cocky and arrogant, and the police grew increasingly frustrated with him.  Thankfully, investigators found some damning evidence though while searching through his belongings – in his portfolio they found Ellie’s driver’s license, a lock of her hair and her pink necklace.  At this point, Michael Strouse said that Ellie’s death had been an accident and that she had died unintentionally from suffocation while they shot a torture porn video.  Of course, investigators knew this was nonsense.  But sadly, it did point to the terrifying ordeal that Ellie had endured:  She had been taken forcibly by Michael Strouse from her home to his.  Handcuffs were still attached to Michael Strouse’s bed.  Michael Strouse was then charged with murder. 

Court Proceedings  

A grand jury indicted Michael Strouse on nine different counts.  The prosecution presented a hefty level of evidence against Michael Strouse – 800 pages worth to be exact.  And whilst the defence tried to put forward a ridiculous insinuation relating to medications Ellie was taking for anxiety, Michael Strouse ultimately pleaded guilty and as such a full trial did not need to take place. However, it did mean that Michael Strouse’s sentence would be significantly reduced.  Of the original nine charges, six were dismissed.  A maximum sentence was imposed at 17.5 years however the judge expressed his desire to give a life sentence but unfortunately his hands were tied in this matter.  Michael Strouse will be eligible for parole in 2036 and again in 2041.

Police Investigations  

Whilst the authorities undertook a large-scale inquiry when Ellie went messing, with an extensive investigation into Michael Strouse and even the added assistance of the FBI, we must note the shortcomings of investigations when Ellie first reported her stalking to authorities.  Several errors were made:  Ellie’s case was not classified as stalking, the officer on the case did not document the details Ellie passed on regarding her ex-boyfriend Michael Strouse, he did not add further email and video evidence which Ellie had supplied, to her report either.  The officer was suspended for a time following an internal investigation and it was concluded that the officer did not properly document Ellie’s case nor undertake a proper investigation.  It’s hard not to wonder if Ellie would still be alive if her case was treated differently at the early stages. 

Other Crimes

Michael Strouse is also considered a suspect in several other cases.  A previous inmate disclosed that Michael Strouse had described in depth the killing of another woman.  Sadly, to date, police have not been able to verify this claim.  A female jogger was also attacked in early 2018, she fought her attacker off and managed to get away, but police believe that Michael could be responsible for this attack.

Case Analysis

Whilst it’s difficult to determine the motive behind Michael Strouse’s killing of Ellie, we can put forward the notion that it was an act of perversity.  We do note a steady escalation in Michael Strouse’s behaviour over time with increasing messages, public indecency, sickening search histories and ultimately the vile murder of Ellie. 

Saying Goodbye to Ellie

Ellie’s funeral took place on 1^st September 2018.  Attendees were invited to wear tie dye and make something for Ellie’s scrap book.  A day later a celebration of Ellie’s life also took place.  Her loved ones released balloons as a symbol of letting go and releasing the heavy feelings.  On the day that Ellie’s body was found by authorities, a rainbow appeared over the field where Ellie was found, and detectives were incredibly moved by this. 

Today we hold space for Ellie and all her loved ones and the many lives she touched.    

Sources:

Government Technology

The Enquirer

Truly Criminal

Image credit:  The Enquirer