BEDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — Monroe County Sheriff Troy Goodnough says the deaths of two people in Beford Township over the weekend have been ruled a homicide and a murder.
The bodies of 17-year-old Gwendolyn Fay Smith and 33-year-old Ryne Jacob Leist, both of Temperance, were found sometime late Saturday or early Sunday in the 1600 block of W Sterns Road. Both had been shot and died on Saturday.
The Lucas County Coroner's Office has ruled Smith's death a homicide and Leist's death a suicide. Police have not released any further information about the circumstances of their deaths.
Officials also say rumors that Leist was employed as a coach for Bedford Public Schools are untrue. Smith was a 2025 graduate of Beford Public Schools.
Officials say Leist was a "known acquaintance" of Smith and that there is no evidence they were dating, stating in a press release, "They were merely acquaintances."
