Cleveland man allegedly fatally struck girlfriend in the head and dumped body in school dumpster

CLEVELAND (TCN) -- A 58-year-old man was recently indicted on multiple charges after allegedly killing his 56-year-old long-term girlfriend and leaving her remains in a dumpster.

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office announced that a jury indicted James Drahos on July 17 of one count of murder, one count of gross abuse of a corpse, one count of tampering with evidence, and one count of domestic violence in connection with the death of Tammy Dubuisson. Drahos will be arraigned at a later date.

In a bulletin shared by Missing People in America, Cleveland Police said Dubuisson was last seen on May 22 walking in the Puritas and West 140th area.

The prosecutor’s office alleges that sometime between May 15 to June 6, Drahos struck his girlfriend’s head in the driveway of their shared home, causing her to fall. Drahos reportedly left her alone on the ground for over eight hours and failed to seek medical help or assistance.

Drahos found Dubuisson deceased and allegedly double-wrapped her body using construction trash bags and placed her remains in a garbage can outside their home. Drahos reportedly removed her body from the trash can on June 6 and brought it to a local elementary school, where he disposed of the remains in a dumpster.

According to prosecutors, on July 7, Drahos and Dubuisson’s daughter went to their home, found bone fragments in the driveway, and called law enforcement. Police responded and recovered the bone fragments, which the medical examiner’s office later confirmed to be human remains. Officials arrested Drahos two days later.

Prosecutors said Drahos admitted to detectives that he killed his girlfriend and disposed of her remains. Authorities also obtained video evidence linking him to Dubuisson’s death.

In a statement, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said, "Questions regarding what happened with Tammy Dubuisson’s disappearance went unanswered for over a month. With this indictment, our office is starting to piece together the events that unfolded that tragic day, and we are taking the first step to seek justice for Tammy and her family."