Gwendolyn Faye Smith dies in fatal Bedford Township shooting

Gwendolyn Faye Smith dies in fatal Bedford Township shooting

Fatal Bedford Township shooting death of Gwendolyn Faye Smith

Deputies responding to a home on West Sterns Road the night of June 14 found 17-year-old Gwendolyn Faye Smith and 33-year-old Ryan Jacob Leist dead from gunshot wounds, a scene authorities have labeled a murder-suicide.

Investigators say Leist, who had entered Smith’s Temperance residence, shot the teen multiple times before turning the gun on himself moments later.

Leist had recently coached Bedford High School’s bowling team, while Smith was a team member; he was paid through Forest Lanes rather than the school and had resigned from the alley shortly before the killings.

Sheriff Troy Goodnough noted officers are examining messages exchanged between the pair but have yet to determine why they met that weekend or whether any prior relationship existed.

Calling the loss “tragic” for the close-knit rural community of roughly 155,000 residents, Goodnough fought back emotion as he briefed reporters on Wednesday.

The Temperance Bedford School District has activated its crisis team to provide counseling and other support services to grieving students and staff.