Female bodybuilder Amanda Wakut, 33, was shot dead at her Lakewood, Ohio home early Sunday after competing at the Battle At The Bridge Regional Competition. Police say a 45-year-old Fairview Park man called his ex-wife claiming he shot two people and intended
The morning after Amanda Wakut stepped off the stage at what she believed would be her next-to-last chapter, she never got to turn the page.
Hours after competing at the Battle At The Bridge Regional Competition on Saturday, the 33-year-old mother of one was found shot dead at her Lakewood, Ohio property in the early hours of Sunday. Officers were called to the home on Chesterland Avenue at around 4:30am.
When police arrived, they found Wakut and a second victim—35-year-old Richard Eastin of Cleveland—dead in the kitchen.
Police said a 45-year-old man from Fairview Park had called his ex-wife to tell her he had shot two people at the home and intended to shoot himself. When officers arrived, they saw a pickup truck speeding away from the scene. The pursuit ended on Warren Road, where the suspect stopped, got out with a handgun, and shot himself. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Wakut’s friends and family have since described Saturday’s contest as the last time she would take to the stage. She leaves behind a seven-year-old son, Landyn.
A GoFundMe campaign set up in her memory says: “Amanda loved her son Landyn more than anything. She not only taught him how to be strong. but all of her clients. friends. and loved ones.” The post adds that she “always had a smile on her face and had a sense of humor that we will all grieve the loss of. ” and credits her with helping people “be better. ” whether through refining “perfecting their form” or showing up when someone needed “a friend.” The campaign is intended to cover funeral costs and provide financial stability for her son. and it has raised more than $24. 000.
According to an obituary posted online, Wakut was also a powerlifting coach who trained with Full Send Powerlifting and built a devoted following among clients and fellow athletes in the Cleveland area.
In an Instagram post. Full Send Powerlifting wrote: “I’ve been staring at this screen for a long time. trying to find the right words. There are none.” The team added: “I wish with everything I have that I didn’t have to write this post. But, I know she deserves my words and my love and your support. We lost Amanda.” The caption continued: “Amanda; our coach, our friend, our beckon. A woman who showed up for everyone around her with so much love, energy, and heart. She was one of a kind, and the world is a dimmer place without her in it.”.
The gym is collecting photos, videos and memories of Wakut “to preserve for Landyn as he grows up.”
Before her focus shifted to bodybuilding and powerlifting, Wakut was also described as a former standout basketball player at Normandy High School, where her playing career ended before she turned her focus to bodybuilding and powerlift.
Tributes have since poured in from friends, family and fans. For many, the detail that the attack happened shortly after she competed—less than a day after she was preparing for the stage at the Battle At The Bridge Regional Competition—only deepened the shock.
Amanda Wakut Lakewood Ohio bodybuilding powerlifting Battle At The Bridge Regional Competition Richard Eastin Landyn Full Send Powerlifting Chesterland Avenue Warren Road