HOW TO GET HELP
Women Helping Women offers a 24-hour hotline for anyone, male or female, who is the victim of domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. If you or someone you know needs help, call 513-381-5610 to get immediate help.
UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m. Feb. 4: A suicide note was found in the apartment of Larry Tipton, who shot and killed Miami University student Rebecca Eldemire on Sunday before shooting himself to death, according to an affidavit filed in Franklin County Municipal Court.
After finding the bodies, Oxford police contacted Columbus police to search Tipton’s apartment on Cyprus Pond Road in Taylor Station. Inside, officers found a suicide note and an empty gun case, according to the affidavit.
FIRST REPORT (Feb. 3)
Rebecca Eldemire warned police Saturday night that her ex-boyfriend had turned violent when she broke up with him just hours earlier.
She told a 911 dispatcher that 27-year-old Larry E. Tipton had reacted to the break-up by “throwing things” and yelling. Tipton owned guns, and now he was just 15 minutes away from her apartment, she told police on the call.
“I’m just a little nervous about the situation,” she said. Tipton had told Eldemire he was making the roughly two-and-a-half hour drive from a Columbus suburb because he wanted to talk. Tipton, she added, had never hurt her before.
Her call to police that night wasn’t enough to prevent Tipton from gunning down Eldemire in her apartment bedroom that Sunday morning. Police say he then turned the gun on himself. Moments later, police say they discovered the revolver pinned between their two bodies on her bed.
That deadly morning wasn’t the first time Oxford police had visited her apartment on the 3300 block of Southpointe Parkway that weekend. Just hours before, three officers had responded to Eldemire’s first call for help, just before 10 p.m. Saturday. They walked Tipton into the apartment complex. Then, at Eldemire’s request, they left.
It’s unclear what police said or how long they were with the 21-year-old Miami University student and her ex-boyfriend before she told them to leave. No police report was filed from Saturday’s incident. Oxford Police Department officials did not respond to several requests Tuesday seeking further comment about their visit Saturday to the woman’s apartment.
In a 911 call made at 8:44 a.m. Sunday, Eldemire’s roommates also said they had heard the two fighting Saturday night. They woke up that morning to loud bangs and smoke alarms going off in the apartment.
“My girlfriend and her boyfriend were having some issues last night, and he ended up spending the night,” a roommate told a 911 dispatcher Sunday morning. “About 10 minutes ago, we heard a bunch of really loud noises from her room.”
The roommate also told the dispatcher no one was responding and Eldemire’s bedroom door was locked.
Another roommate then took over the call because the initial caller was too distraught to continue the conversation. She told the dispatcher that Eldemire had broken things off with Tipton on Saturday morning.
“We called the police last night because they had been arguing,” the other roommate told the dispatcher.
“We have no idea what’s going on, we’re just really freaked out,” the roommate said roughly four minutes into the call. “Just send an officer, please.”
Police arrived at 8:52 a.m. Sunday.
The Butler County Coroner on Monday ruled Eldemire’s death a homicide, the result of gunshot wounds to the head. Tipton’s death was ruled a suicide, according to the coroner.
“As you can imagine, this horrible tragedy has left our family in shock and absolutely heartbroken,” Larry and MaryBeth Tipton said in a statement. “To lose our son, and also Becca, whom we loved like a member of our family, is unthinkable. We ask that our privacy be respected as we cope with this as a family and appreciate the prayers and understanding of our friends and community.”
Meanwhile, faculty and students at Miami continued to reel from the tragedy on Tuesday.
Eldemire worked at the BEST (Business, Engineering, Science, Technology) Library on Miami University’s campus. Several co-workers gathered last night to share their memories of Eldemire, said Jerome Conley, the dean of University Libraries at Miami.
“She was a very special young lady. I am so incredibly fortunate to have had her on our student staff,” he said. “The contributions in which she made will be forever something we remember.”
Eldemire had a passion for ecology and the environment, according to Conley.
Her death “makes you realize the importance of what each of us can do to ensure that the lives of each person is fostered in a healthy and a positive way,” he said.
Eldemire’s supervisor, Kevin Messner, the interim director of the BEST Library, remembered Eldemire as one of his top employees, saying the staff was still reeling Tuesday from her death.
“It’s fairly somber here today. It has been for the past couple of days. Students are getting over a lot of shock right now, as are the faculty,” he said.
Messner said he would most remember Eldemire’s “smile and laughter.”
“She was a really engaging personality for everybody who worked with her,” he said. “When she came into the room, she drew attention to herself. Not purposefully — she wasn’t an attention-seeker by any means, but she was a very well-liked person.”
“This is a terrible tragedy,” said Miami President David Hodge, who was notified of the student’s death Sunday while traveling. “Our hearts go out to the families and friends. It is an incredibly painful and sad time for Miami.”
A background check of Tipton shows he had no criminal history. In 2013, he did register for a hunting/fishing license with the state, according to records.
Tipton’s Facebook profile shows photos of the two together stemming back to late 2012. He listed Eldemire as his significant other on the website. Both have profile pictures with one another.
The Eldemire family has scheduled funeral services for Wednesday, Feb. 4, with a visitation at 10 a.m. and funeral at 11 a.m. at Weil Funeral Home, 8350 Cornell Road, Cincinnati. Interment will be immediately after the funeral at United Jewish Cemetery, 7885 Ivygate Lane, Montgomery.
The Eldemire family suggests donations be made to the BEEPS Foundation — Betterment for Environmental and Earth Protection. Donations can be made to the foundation at Chase Bank in Rebecca Eldemire’s honor.
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