IA - Tyler, Sarah, and Lula Schmidt Killed at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campsite, 2022 *killer dead*

[Kemug]

Mom not saying what his "business" was that needed "tight security" might be because she has no clue what that "business" was. For all we know, he could have had an obsession with snuff films & needed to hide it very well from his parents & mom's degree of denial was just off the charts.

I know such a mother. Her son made many homicidal threats in her presence from the age of 14 & she excused it because he was "gifted". He emptied a restaurant we were at with them once when he picked up a knife and threatened to kill his father so loudly that everyone there heard him. His father responded "he has the right to express his feelings". We ended our in person social interactions with them & made sure the kid didnt have our address. He is now 27, lives at home, spends all his time in his room on his computer while she makes & serves him his meals, & still speaks of his brilliance & how she wants to be supportive of his *excellent gaming skills* because he's so "brilliant". She needs more intervention than her kid does. We worry. A lot. What's a bystander to do?

Keep clear.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Article on Maquoketa

I highlighted some interesting points.

-Investigators are aware of a possible motive but will not release it publicly, Mortvedt said.

-"He only had an interest in guns for a few months before he grew tired of it. By the time we took our trip he told us he was going to get rid of them. We were relieved as we never owned a gun of any kind before this year. We only had one in the car on the trip. He didn't have a fascination as much as it was a challenge to build it," she said in an email.

-"He did not want to bring the gun on the trip but we thought it would be ok considering crime and bears," she wrote, adding a bear did invade their camp on at least one night of the trip.

-She said that after the family was infected with COVID-19 in April, "we began having health issues. We also had neurological problems we were hoping and praying would work themselves out." She did not share more about those issues.

-Cecilia Sherwin said her son was working on a computerized system that would support a business, which she said was "worth millions." He planned to use the business to support his parents and help them — and Sherwin himself — retire early, she said. She did not elaborate on the type of business Sherwin was working on, but said in emails that he needed "tight security" because of it.

-"I honestly can say he was the best son a parent could wish for," his mother wrote Thursday.

Great share!

The reference to guns he was building as "them" caught my eye: "He only had an interest in guns for a few months before he grew tired of it. By the time we took our trip he told us he was going to get rid of them."

CS says they only had one gun with them but I wonder if that is true. Maybe AOS had another one (or more) hidden from his parents?

Claiming his parents feared crime & bears is completely specious, IMO. CS is really spinning things aggressively (i.e., will say anything to defend her son). An exploring raccoon may have visited their campsite but a bear would have been BIG NEWS, as the odds are extremely low. It's ridiculous.

Why hasn't his father spoken? What did he know & when did he know it?

"Despite police reports, the presumed shooter's parents said they believe their son is innocent and "a victim of homicide," too. "We're devastated by all of this and still believe our son was murdered," Cecilia Sherwin wrote in an email to the Register. "He had too much to live for to throw it all away like this."

Her son is likely to be proven to have stabbed, strangled & shot the victims. His parents are rubbing salt in the wounds of the Schmidt's families by speaking of their son as a victim. The audacity! Show us some evidence.

* * * * * * * * * * *
There are none so blind as those who will not see.

 

[Emerald1328]

I could see a mother being in denial that her son shot some random people, but he had to have their blood all over him if he stabbed two of them. How can she explain that away? And what made him want to not bring the gun on the trip? Was he struggling mentally and knew that having access to a gun was unsafe for him? What kind of responsibility do his parents have here? Rhetorical question of course as I know we don’t have those answers yet.

 

[Cartie]

CS does have way to much to say with a lot of contradiction. Is she in denial about her son or about all the red flags she ignored.

 

[Kemug]

I would like to hear what the father has to say. But maybe he is too distraught, or doesn't want to contradict his wife in public. I do hope they have some people supporting them, do we know if they have other children?

 

[PacoElFlaco]

<quoted post was modsnipped>

IMO the most telling thing she said is this: "We also had neurological problems we were hoping and praying would work themselves out." And that doesn't have anything to do with the Sherwin's politics.

I feel that Mrs. Sherwin's feelings of denial are better explained by simply being the mother of someone she loved dearly for 23 years who suddenly did something hideous without warning.

 

[shotgun09]

I wonder if the 'neurological problems' they "all" were experiencing included hearing voices?? Anthony was a walking time bomb, IMO.
And, without a doubt...not one member in the family sought medical or any professional help for their 'problems'.

I am getting Adam Lanza vibes....

 

[PacoElFlaco]

I wonder if the 'neurological problems' they "all" were experiencing included hearing voices?? Anthony was a walking time bomb, IMO.
And, without a doubt...not one member in the family sought medical or any professional help for their 'problems'.

I am getting Adam Lanza vibes....

He definitely comes across in the Lanza vein. Unusual style of appearance, likely home-schooled, no friends (certainly some would have spoken up by now) areas of genius, indulgent parents, immaturity, unusual concerns... Those guys are two peas in a pod.

 

[Hexe]

Been thinking... The multiple stab wounds could be the explanation of the black/green clothes discrepancy. If Arlo was not in the tent when the murders started, and he surprised the murderer in the act, then the murderer's green clothes, heavily soaked with blood might appear black, especially in the dim light inside of the tent.

 

[vls12345]

Been thinking... The multiple stab wounds could be the explanation of the black/green clothes discrepancy. If Arlo was not in the tent when the murders started, and he surprised the murderer in the act, then the murderer's green clothes, heavily soaked with blood might appear black, especially in the dim light inside of the tent.

I had also thought that perhaps the green he was wearing was a very dark forest green. If it was not bright daylight, it could easily appear to be black instead of green.

I'm am still stunned at the released autopsy information & that the killing was even so much worse than many of us originally imagined.

MOO.

 

[fred&edna]

Since she used the word "we", I guess that means all three of them experienced neurological problems? And, apparently they didn't seek medical treatment in addition to hoping and praying. So far it doesn't appear AOS had friends (at least none have come forward to speak about him). But, if he did, I hope they also aren't suffering with any neurological issues nor share his possible delusions.

She said that after the family was infected with COVID-19 in April, "we began having health issues. We also had neurological problems we were hoping and praying would work themselves out." She did not share more about those issues.

Autopsies reveal Maquoketa state park victims died of gunshots, stab wounds, strangulation

The alleged shooter, Anthony Sherwin, 23, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the medical examiner. Authorities say he acted alone.

news.yahoo.com

 

[PacoElFlaco]

"Mortvedt, assistant director of the Division of Criminal Investigation, said “physical evidence” belonging to Sherwin was found inside the Schmidt’s tent where the attack happened."
DCI releases cause of death in Maquoketa Caves State Park killings

Unless they mean a jacket or a shoe, this fact, coupled with the strangulation murder of the young girl, points to something even uglier than we have already heard.

 

[Hexe]

"Mortvedt, assistant director of the Division of Criminal Investigation, said “physical evidence” belonging to Sherwin was found inside the Schmidt’s tent where the attack happened."
DCI releases cause of death in Maquoketa Caves State Park killings

Unless they mean a jacket or a shoe, this fact, coupled with the strangulation murder of the young girl, points to something even uglier than we have already heard.

When you think it can't get any more horrifying...

 

[PacoElFlaco]

When you think it can't get any more horrifying...

Well, according to this video, the autopsy results are likely the last update on this case that will be released, so unless somebody decides to write a True Crime book in the future, we won't be hearing any more. So many questions, never to be answered...

 

[RickshawFan]

So we can safely put the "shooting randomly at the tent" hypothesis in the rubbish bin. It was not an accident, not an act of stupidity, but an outburst of violent rage. But why did he direct that rage at the Schmidt family?

3 different methods of murder of 3 people in a tent. This is just.... Maybe the adults were protecting Lula?

 

[airportwoman]

Keep clear.

I hope the restaurant staff called the cops on this kid!

Today's Quad City Times had a very offensive headline. It says simply, "Shot, stabbed, strangled." I sent them an e-mail telling them so, and I hope they print it.

 

[RickshawFan]

Agreed...It's hard for me to believe there were no reg flags.

There were red flags, just from the way she was talking. But she doesn't seem to have noticed.

 

[RickshawFan]

I will continue to be most curious about AOS. (And just how many red flags there must have been! imo) Especially since we've yet to hear from anyone who knew him (aside from his parents).

Maybe no one else did know him except on the internet?

 

[airportwoman]

I wonder if the 'neurological problems' they "all" were experiencing included hearing voices?? Anthony was a walking time bomb, IMO.
And, without a doubt...not one member in the family sought medical or any professional help for their 'problems'.

I am getting Adam Lanza vibes....

I personally am getting NANCY Lanza vibes.

My pastor at the time was a few degrees separated from her. His best friend from seminary was also the pastor of Ms. Lanza's BFF, and he told us this story with her permission. In short, the BFF said that after the Lanzas divorced, Nancy purchased a huge arsenal "because I no longer have a man in the house to protect me" and hinted strongly that her paranoia was a huge factor in their split.

I'm going to add that about a week after Sandy Hook, this pastor was at a community event, and overheard a little girl ask her mother why that man shot all those kids, and Mom replied, "God needed more little angels." He introduced himself and totally went off on her, telling her in no uncertain terms that God DOES NOT arrange for the murder of children to make angels. His own wife came very close to calling 911 on him, and she wasn't the only one.

 

[airportwoman]

I think this is plausible. It is so important for families to try intervention and not ignore sign of this particular illness. Sometimes though even with professional help, criminal tragedies occur as with the Colorado theater shooter James Holmes in 2012. This podcast is worth a listen.

"As an expert and speaker on mass shootings and gun violence, Dr. Lynn Fenton knew it was impossible to “spot a killer.” But when she met her new patient, troubled grad student James Holmes, the hair on her arms stood up. She feared he was going to kill. Yet she could find no way to thwart him.

Dr. Lynn Fenton is the author of "Aurora: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story." The book was co-authored by Kerrie Droban."

New book from Berkley "Aurora: The Psychiatrist Who Treated the Movie Theater Killer Tells Her Story"

Next, we take a look at violence and trauma from the psychiatrist who treated mass shooter James Holmes, perpetrator of the infamous movie theater massacre in Aurora, Colorado. On July 20th, 2012, the shooting occurred inside a movie theatre during a midnight screening of the film "The Dark...

www.google.com

He (Holmes) applied to a graduate program at a university near me, and the interviewing committee went public to say that their unanimous decision was "Do not admit this man under any circumstances."