Funeral planned Monday for Marion woman killed in Upper Sandusky attack
A Marion woman who was killed during a brutal attack by a man on New Year's Day in Wyandot County will be laid to rest on Monday.
According to a report from the Upper Sandusky Police Department, Keris L. (Dilgard) Riebel, age 22, Marion, was found dead inside the Dollar Tree store on East Wyandot Avenue when officers arrived on the scene around 4:25 p.m. last Sunday. Officers were dispatched to the store after receiving a report that a male subject who was "waving a machete around" and had struck a female employee, who turned out to be Riebel.
Riebel was recently married on Oct. 8, 2022 to her husband, Jordan, and the couple resided in Marion. She was also a recent graduate of Franklin University with a degree in human resources business management. Riebel was an alumnus of Wynford High School, graduating in 2019, according to a post on the district's Facebook page.
The funeral service for Riebel is scheduled at 11 a.m. Monday at Trinity Baptist Church in Marion. Visitation is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at the church.
Riebel was memorialized in her obituary as someone who "had a great love for Our Lord. She loved the bible and was devoted daily in reading the scriptures. Her heart for the Lord was reflected in the way she lived life, always having a smile, and her loving spirit and kindness for others. She will never be forgotten."
In addition to her husband, Riebel is survived by her parents, Benjamin and Shandell Dilgard of Nevada, her sister and brother, who both reside in Nevada. She is also survived by her husband's parents and sisters as well her grandparents, and her great grandmother.
Riebel's family members have established a GoFundMe page to collect donations that will be used to pay for her funeral and other expenses, according to the page. Donations to the fund have exceeded $72,000 since it was established in the days following her death. The initial goal was to raise $30,000.
The suspect was identified as Bethel M. Bekele, age 27, Upper Sandusky. Police located him in the 100 block of South Fifth Street in Upper Sandusky not long after the incident at the store and he was detained.
According to a report in The Daily Chief-Union, Bekele appeared in Upper Sandusky Municipal Court on Tuesday and was charged with murder, an unclassified felony that, if he is convicted, carries with it a sentence ranging from 15 years to life in prison plus a maximum $15,000 fine.
Upper Sandusky Police Chief Jared Lucas said in his probable cause affidavit that surveillance video footage of the attack on Riebel was obtained from the store. Prosecutors described the attack as "random, sudden, and unprovoked." No motive for the attack has been publicly released yet.
Bail has not been set yet, according to online records maintained by the Upper Sandusky Municipal Court. Wyandot County Prosecutor Eric J. Figlewicz and Bekele's court-appointed attorney William F. Kluge filed a joint motion for a continuance of the bail hearing during a hearing held Thursday in municipal court. During Bekele's initial court appearance on Jan. 3, Figlewicz requested that the court deny bail in the case.
Upper Sandusky Municipal Court Judge James M. Ruhlen will hear arguments on bail during Bekele's next court appearance, which is scheduled at 2 p.m. on Jan. 11.
Bekele is currently incarcerated at the Wood County Jail in Bowling Green.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Funeral on Monday for Marion woman killed in Upper Sandusky attack
