UPDATED 5/18/18  9:02 AM

On 5/17/18 at 0227 hours, the Mentor Police Department responded to 8347 South Villa Marina Court after a male subject called from that address stating he had just killed his girlfriend.  Officers responded and the 38 year old male suspect immediately surrendered to police.  The 35 year old victim, who also resided at the residence, had been assaulted and stabbed with a knife during a domestic disturbance.  The Lake County Coroner had the victim taken to the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s office for an autopsy.  The Lake County Crime Lab assisted the Mentor Police Department Detective Bureau in processing the crime scene.

The male appeared before Judge John Trebets of the Mentor Municipal Court and was arraigned on May 18th, 2018 at 0800 hours.

The suspect was identified as Russell Fritz, age 38 of Mentor. The victim was identified as Kristen Laux, age 35 also of Mentor.

Bond for Fritz was set at $1 million.

There is no additional information available at this time as it is an ongoing investigation.