Lauretta Beltz-Frazee, a 68-year-old woman from Howard, Ohio, died on June 5, 2025. In the predawn hours that morning, deputies were dispatched to a home on Busenburg Road after an open 911 call. They encountered Beltz-Frazee, who reported she had been injured by a man identified as Lloyd J. Ray. A confrontation escalated into an exchange of gunfire; deputies reported that Ray then released an unknown chemical, forcing them to withdraw and call in additional tactical resources.
The standoff continued until about 5:30 a.m., when law enforcement entered the residence and found both Beltz-Frazee and Ray dead inside. Two other occupants were removed from the home safely.
State investigators documented the aftermath. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation attended the post-mortem examinations the next day at the Licking County Coroner’s Office and later recorded that a projectile was recovered from Beltz-Frazee’s body during autopsy, indicating a fatal gunshot injury. Death certificates for both decedents were subsequently issued in mid-July, with full autopsy findings attached to the investigative file.
Authorities publicly framed the episode as originating with a domestic-violence report that night, and local news coverage described the sequence of events from the initial call through the standoff and the discovery of the two bodies. Memorial and obituary notices later confirmed Beltz-Frazee’s identity, residence in Howard, and date of death.
There were no arrests. The only person identified in connection with injuring Beltz-Frazee was Lloyd J. Ray, who was found dead at the scene, while the Bureau of Criminal Investigation processed the residence and continued the inquiry. Community gun-violence records also list Beltz-Frazee among those lost to gunfire on that date in Howard.
