News briefs: Mayor to run for county office

Ormond Beach Observer
News

Ormond Beach Mayor Ed Kelley has announced that he intends to run for County Council next year. He will contend for the District 4 seat, now occupied by Doug Daniels who has said he will run for re-election.

Kelley was elected mayor in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014 without opposition.

He was first elected as commissioner for Zone 3 in 1993 and re-elected in 1995, but lost his re-election bid in 1997. He was elected commissioner for Zone 3 in March 2005, after winning a special election to fill a vacant position.

Kelley retired in 2001 after a 30-year career with Hawaiian Tropic of Ormond Beach, serving as a sales distributor and president of the company’s European operations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Belmont College in Nashville.

Body found July 3 identified

The Ormond Beach Police Department received verbal confirmation on July 9 that the body found at 8 Fox Hunter Flat on July 3 has been positively identified as Christian F. Schroeder, 61. The identification was done through dental records, according to a department spokesman. The results of the autopsy have not been released.

The girlfriend of the victim, Sara Schmidt, of Apopka, entered the house on July 3 after not hearing from him. After seeing a body wrapped in a blanket, she contacted neighbors. They saw Garrett Schroeder, the son of Christian Schroeder, walking away from the house and then called 911.

A warrant was issued for Garrett Schroeder’s arrest on a charge of first degree murder, and he was found dead July 7 in Tallahassee, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.