The Chmielewskis (Murder/Suicide)
Bill Schenley
middle school and high school.>
2 Dead in Home
Coroner: 56-year-old man shot 52-year-old wife, himself
with handgun in apparent murder-suicide.
NEIGHBOR: Couple's relationship had seemed amiable,
though wife recently talked of divorce.
FROM: The Erie Times-News ~
By Kara Murphy
A neighbor said Mary Chmielewski had recently talked
of divorce.
Despite that, Susan Ploss said, the relationship between
Mary and Dennis Chmielewski seemed amiable. Ploss
said she saw no indication of marital discord that would
have led to the violence that ended Thursday with the
couple dead in their home.
Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said Dennis Chmielewski,
56, shot his wife with a handgun and then turned the gun
on himself.
He said there were no other signs of struggle in the home
in the 1000 block of Hayes Street, an east-west street
between East and Pennsylvania avenues and East 32nd and
East 33rd streets.
"There's absolutely no evidence anyone else was involved
in this," Cook said.
Ploss was emotional as she watched investigators milling
about her neighbor's well-kept front lawn Thursday
morning. Crime tape cordoned off the scene. Ploss said
she called 911 after a friend of Mary Chmielewski, 52,
discovered the bodies around 10 a.m. and ran in a panic
from the home.
Investigators said they believe the couple had been dead
just a short time.
Mary Chmielewski had returned to the home about 9:30
a.m. from an appointment, Cook said. No one reported
hearing gunfire, police said.
"They're great people," Ploss said. "They're fantastic
people. There wasn't anything they wouldn't do for
anyone."
Ploss said Mary Chmielewski had recently talked to her
about plans of divorcing her husband, but the couple
continued to live together, and the relationship seemed
peaceful.
"It seemed fine," she said.
Erie County Court records do not indicate that Mary
Chmielewski had filed for divorce.
Criminal records show nothing more serious than
a parking ticket for either Mary or Dennis Chmielewski.
The Chmielewskis had two grown children. Investigators
said both live out of town. Ploss said their son recently
returned from serving in Iraq.
Ploss said Dennis Chmielewski's parents owned the gray
vinyl-sided home and that Mary and Dennis Chmielewski
moved in after the parents' deaths.
Erie County property records indicate the property was
transferred to Mary and Dennis Chmielewski in 1995.
---
Ozgirl
> <Note: This is a house that my kids did sleepovers at when they were
> in middle school and high school.>
Who owned the house at that time?
Scott Brady
Bill Schenley
> > middle school and high school.>
>
> Who owned the house at that time?
The Chmielewskis. They were like that nice family down the street ... that
went bat-shit crazy ...
<Note: The two obituaries appeared on different pages of the newspaper.>
Mary Julia Gledhill Chmielewski, Beloved Mother and Grandmother
Mary Julia Gledhill Chmielewski, age 54, of Erie died on
Thursday, November 13, 2008 at her residence. She was
born in Rochester, N.Y. on December 3, 1953 a daughter
of the late Ronald J. and Catherine J. Connery Gledhill.
She received her associate’s degree in nursing and was
a registered nurse at Hamot Medical Center.
She married her husband Dennis Chmielewski in 1973.
He died on Thursday, November 13, 2008.
Survivors include a daughter Sarah Darby and her
husband John of Pittsburgh, a son Joseph Chmielewski
of Pittsburgh; a granddaughter, Helena Claire Darby;
three brothers: Anthony C. Gledhill, wife Karen of
Rochester, N.Y., Robert H. Gledhill, wife Linda of
Wilmington, Ohio and George H. Gledhill, wife Nancy
of Payeete, Idaho. She is also survived by many nieces
and nephews.
Friends may call on Sunday from 2 to 5 and 7 to 9 p.m.
at the Brugger Home for Funerals, 1595 West 38th Street
at Greengarden Blvd. Services will be held there on
Monday at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. James Gutting,
officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The
Humane Society of Northwestern PA, P.O. Box 3930,
Erie, PA 16508.
---
Dennis Chmielewski, Beloved Father and Grandfather
Dennis Chmielewski, age 56, of Erie died on Thursday,
November 13, 2008 at his residence.
He was born in Erie on June 4, 1952 a son of the late
John and Helena Szablewski Chmielewski. Dennis
graduated from Kanty Prep.
He served in the U.S. Army. He worked with the Laborers
Union doing demolition and heavy highway construction.
He was a member of Laborers Local Union #603.
He married his wife Mary Chmielewski in 1973. She died
on Thursday, November 13, 2008.
Survivors include a daughter Sarah Darby and her
husband John of Pittsburgh, a son Joseph Chmielewski of
Pittsburgh; a granddaughter, Helena Claire Darby and many
cousins. Friends may call on Sunday from 2 to 5 and
7 to 9 p.m. at the Brugger Home for Funerals, 1595 West
38th Street at Greengarden Blvd. Services will be held there
on Monday at 11:00 a.m. with Rev. James Gutting
officiating.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Humane
Society of Northwestern PA, P.O. Box 3930, Erie, PA
16508.