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

[NeverPersonal]

I could be wrong but from what she said it sure sounds like all of the above. That's why she said that after the child told his account (he was confused.) Even though it was a self inflicted gunshot wound. That's only one of the reasons why this case so horribly tragic. Sometimes denial can be so overpowering.

I wonder if they're certain it's self-inflicted.
I'm gonna withhold my judgment til we see more on this, because this situation is quite odd

 

[5W's]

I wonder if they're certain it's self-inflicted.
I'm gonna withhold my judgment til we see more on this, because this situation is quite odd

According to media reports LE says that it was self-inflicted. It can be forensically identified as such.

 

[Sillybilly]

Hey everyone,

Gun control is one of those social justice issues that will never be resolved through discussion at Websleuths and it is not the topic of this dedicated thread.

Guns as a weapon are certainly not unique to this case, and we know that every single time such talk starts up, it only results in off topic bickering and hard feelings among members.

At one time Tricia even tried giving it its own thread in the basement and sure enough ... nothing but bickering and she had to pull the thread.

Please stay on topic in discussing this case and not the peripheral ills of this world.

Thank you.

 

[jbc]

I'm getting up to speed, but am shocked by this case.

ok, what kind of firearm?
Was it registered to the parents?
If so, should the parents be charged? (I'm in favor...)
Why would firearms be allowed in the campground?
Are there open carry laws in Iowa? If so, were they licensed?

Jerks. Someone should be held accountable.

 

[NeverPersonal]

According to media reports LE says that it was self-inflicted. It can be forensically identified as such.

i know, but maybe further testing will be done. i need more to come forward about this person, and the murders, before i know what happened, i guess

 

[katydid23]

So the 23-year old killer lived at home with his parents, which is not weird in and of itself. But so far I have been unable to locate any substantive info about his education or employment, and he doesn’t appear to have much activity (that i can see, anyway) on social media. THAT strikes me as unusual.
The WaPo (Washington Post) article has a comment (bolded by me below) from his mother that also struck me as odd, or maybe just oddly-phrased; the author wrote, “She [the mother of the murderer] again expressed doubt that he had killed the Schmidts. “Anthony was not capable of this sort of violence,” she said. She told the Des Moines Register in an email, “Why would he throw everything away when he was looking forward to going home? It makes no sense.”

Why was he “looking forward to going home,” I wonder? Was he not having a good time camping with his folks, or did he not want to be there for other reasons? Purely conjecture, but was the camping trip a test of some kind to see if AS could live at home after, perhaps, having been in a residential program of some sort? IMO, it’s just not common to hear someone say of a child who’s been on a family vacation that they “were looking forward to going home.”

There’s also something slightly…infantilizing about the way AS’s mother talks about her son.

I agree with all of the above. Also, the odd story about the 'older couple looking for Anthony' and knocking on the bathroom door asking 'Anthony, are you in there, buddy?'

Why would you go looking for your 23 yr old son like that? It seems they were concerned about him being out wandering alone, even though he was a grown man. I wouldn't be concerned if my grown son was out walking at a campground, if we were all on vacation together. And I can't see myself knocking on a bathroom door to check on him.

There is more to this story, IMO.

Asking 'Anthony are you in there buddy?' is worded as a form of de-escalation, imo.

 

[drama_farmer]

Some Earwitnesses in the articles linked above indicate they heard 2 shots. One Earwitness heard 2 thuds followed by what sounded like firecrackers.
Three people were shot. Either the witnesses misheard or only 2 projectiles were responsible for 3 deaths. MOO.

Regarding the parents looking for their son... Maybe they discovered that their secured firearm was missing along with their son. Moo

 

[shotgun09]

Does anyone know if the surviving boy was witness to the shootings? Was he there..witnessing it all...and able to run for help? I would imagine the victims were still sleeping when this occurred..it was early early am. Thankfully, the young boy was spared. But, why? How?

And now, with both of his parents gone...how does LE question a 9 year old?

An extremely delicate situation indeed. This poor boy has a story to tell

 

[RickshawFan]

These quotes sound like she's describing a 12-year-old, not a man of 23.

Maybe he had a mental age of 12?

The photo of the presumed perp is very troubling to me. I wonder where that photo came from and in what context it was taken.

IMO it’s a little odd for a 23-year old to be living in an apartment with mom and dad. A house would be more common IMO. But he was either in transition, or this is a troubling situation. Maybe he had a condition that needed addressing by mental health providers that incapacitated him, and his family decided TLC was the way to go? Some conditions show up in young adulthood.

 

[WingsOverTX]

So the 23-year old killer lived at home with his parents, which is not weird in and of itself. But so far I have been unable to locate any substantive info about his education or employment, and he doesn’t appear to have much activity (that i can see, anyway) on social media. THAT strikes me as unusual.
The WaPo (Washington Post) article has a comment (bolded by me below) from his mother that also struck me as odd, or maybe just oddly-phrased; the author wrote, “She [the mother of the murderer] again expressed doubt that he had killed the Schmidts. “Anthony was not capable of this sort of violence,” she said. She told the Des Moines Register in an email, “Why would he throw everything away when he was looking forward to going home? It makes no sense.”

Why was he “looking forward to going home,” I wonder? Was he not having a good time camping with his folks, or did he not want to be there for other reasons? Purely conjecture, but was the camping trip a test of some kind to see if AS could live at home after, perhaps, having been in a residential program of some sort? IMO, it’s just not common to hear someone say of a child who’s been on a family vacation that they “were looking forward to going home.”

There’s also something slightly…infantilizing about the way AS’s mother talks about her son.

Where is the suspect's father in all of this? Presumably he was at the campground. I want to hear from AS's father about the gun & about his son. Why were they at the park? Vacation? Or? Were only 3 people in their party? Did they have any contact with the three who died?

I hope the media pursues more info & background on Anthony.

 

[RickshawFan]

I agree with all of the above. Also, the odd story about the 'older couple looking for Anthony' and knocking on the bathroom door asking 'Anthony, are you in there, buddy?'

Why would you go looking for your 23 yr old son like that? It seems they were concerned about him being out wandering alone, even though he was a grown man. I wouldn't be concerned if my grown son was out walking at a campground, if we were all on vacation together. And I can't see myself knocking on a bathroom door to check on him.

There is more to this story, IMO.

Asking 'Anthony are you in there buddy?' is worded as a form of de-escalation, imo.

Very odd.

 

[realanastasia]

Does anyone know if the surviving boy was witness to the shootings? Was he there..witnessing it all...and able to run for help? I would imagine the victims were still sleeping when this occurred..it was early early am. Thankfully, the young boy was spared. But, why? How?

And now, with both of his parents gone...how does LE question a 9 year old?

An extremely delicate situation indeed. This poor boy has a story to tell

Short answer: no one is confirming location of 9-year old at time of incident. Please read the previous posts on this thread for additional details and MSM sources related to your question.

 

[vls12345]

'I can't believe this is happening': Family, friends mourn the Schmidts, killed at Maquoketa Caves State Park

Heartbroken relatives and friends grieved on social media for the loss of Tyler, Sarah and Lula Schmidt. 'This family was amazing,' a friend wrote.

currently.att.yahoo.com

"...
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Department of Public Safety's division of criminal investigation, also said Saturday that the investigation had not revealed any early interaction between the family and Sherwin.
...
Neither law enforcement nor Green said where Arlo Schmidt was at the time of the shooting.
...
Joseph Sherwin, the father of shooting suspect Anthony Sherwin, told the Des Moines Register that he and his son were camping Friday at the Maquoketa Caves State Park.

Joseph Sherwin said he awoke to the sound of gunshots and someone yelling.

"I saw a young boy run up from the area yelling for help. I told him to keep running in my direction and I would help him. I asked him what happened and he said a man in black shot his family," the father said in an email Saturday. He said his son was not wearing black.

He said his family was "legally traveling with a gun but it was in a secure container under the back seat." He said in the email that his son, who law enforcement said had an apparently self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound, might have grabbed his gun for safety.

"We refuse to believe the news. We are deeply saddened as he had so much to live for and gave us no indication that anything was wrong. We appreciate you respecting our privacy at this time," Joseph Sherwin said. He did not answer follow-up questions from the Register.
...
"

 

[shotgun09]

So, after reading the entire thread...again...I have many questions!
Was the gun shot wound to 'the suspect' indeed " self-inflicted, as sources told the media? When will an autopsy with that information come out?

If indeed the suspects wounds were by his own doing, then more questions arise. Why would he take his own life, after slaughtering three members of an innocent family unless he was guilty? Did this person KNOW that the young boy was running to his own parents for help?.....perhaps making the situation worse for himself?

I am hoping this young boy has an extended family who will assist with bringing investigators to the truth. Because the family of the suspect is not dealing with reality, IMO. I feel there may be some deep secret issues with him, that we are not privy to.

I cannot put down in words here, what I suspect happened. It is very dark. And sadly, not at all unimaginable in today's world.

 

[fred&edna]

So, after reading the entire thread...again...I have many questions!
Was the gun shot wound to 'the suspect' indeed " self-inflicted, as sources told the media? When will an autopsy with that information come out?

If indeed the suspects wounds were by his own doing, then more questions arise. Why would he take his own life, after slaughtering three members of an innocent family unless he was guilty? Did this person KNOW that the young boy was running to his own parents for help?.....perhaps making the situation worse for himself?

I am hoping this young boy has an extended family who will assist with bringing investigators to the truth. Because the family of the suspect is not dealing with reality, IMO. I feel there may be some deep secret issues with him, that we are not privy to.

I cannot put down in words here, what I suspect happened. It is very dark. And sadly, not at all unimaginable in today's world.

IKWYM

 

[WingsOverTX]

'I can't believe this is happening': Family, friends mourn the Schmidts, killed at Maquoketa Caves State Park

Heartbroken relatives and friends grieved on social media for the loss of Tyler, Sarah and Lula Schmidt. 'This family was amazing,' a friend wrote.

currently.att.yahoo.com

"...
Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Department of Public Safety's division of criminal investigation, also said Saturday that the investigation had not revealed any early interaction between the family and Sherwin.
...
Neither law enforcement nor Green said where Arlo Schmidt was at the time of the shooting.
...
Joseph Sherwin, the father of shooting suspect Anthony Sherwin, told the Des Moines Register that he and his son were camping Friday at the Maquoketa Caves State Park.

Joseph Sherwin said he awoke to the sound of gunshots and someone yelling.

"I saw a young boy run up from the area yelling for help. I told him to keep running in my direction and I would help him. I asked him what happened and he said a man in black shot his family," the father said in an email Saturday. He said his son was not wearing black.

He said his family was "legally traveling with a gun but it was in a secure container under the back seat." He said in the email that his son, who law enforcement said had an apparently self-inflicted fatal gunshot wound, might have grabbed his gun for safety.

"We refuse to believe the news. We are deeply saddened as he had so much to live for and gave us no indication that anything was wrong. We appreciate you respecting our privacy at this time," Joseph Sherwin said. He did not answer follow-up questions from the Register.
...
"

So now both parents of the shooter are in denial. Very interesting. Especially the he "gave us no indication anything was wrong." If the reported facts are correct, something was very, very wrong. Because 3 innocent people are dead and 1 is orphaned.

 

[carbuff]

Is there a motive? Did the gunman know this family?

No, so far there hasn't been any indiction that anything like that happened. It's so totally bewilderingly...random.

 

[pixiepixel]

Coe, 35, said that her boyfriend’s 16-year-old son went out for a jog at the campground before the incident and that he saw an older couple looking for someone named Anthony — the suspect’s first name. Coe said her boyfriend’s son said the couple knocked on the door while he was in the bathroom and asked, “Anthony, are you in there, buddy?”

So, am I reading this correctly? Because it sounds like this 16 year old saw Anthony’s parents looking for him before the shooting happened.

 

[shotgun09]

Were the parents and the 6 year old child found in their tent, shot to death?
If so, was the nine year old also in the tent, when the shootings happened?
And if he wasn't in the tent with the rest of his family, where was he? And, what was he doing while the shootings took place?

What did he see?
What does he know?

This poor little boy.

 

[RickshawFan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/07/24/iowa-campground-shooting-schmidt-family/

A few additional details:

“Adam Morehouse, Sarah Schmidt’s brother, told the Associated Press that the family had no connection to Sherwin and that he believed it was a “completely random act.” Morehouse confirmed that Arlo was with the family during the camping trip but said he did not know exactly where the boy was at the time of the attack, which involved a shooting.
[….]
Felicia Coe of Des Moines told The Washington Post that she, her boyfriend and his children were camping nearby when they heard “two loud thuds” but did not think much of them. But then, she said, her boyfriend and a friend who was also camping there heard a scream and noises that they thought were fireworks. Later, Coe said, she saw a boy waiting near a pair of ambulances wearing a pajama set and one blue shoe.
He was just standing there,” she said, adding that the boy’s features matched a photograph of Arlo Schmidt. “He was not hysterical.”
Coe, 35, said that her boyfriend’s 16-year-old son went out for a jog at the campground before the incident and that he saw an older couple looking for someone named Anthony — the suspect’s first name. Coe said her boyfriend’s son said the couple knocked on the door while he was in the bathroom and asked, “Anthony, are you in there, buddy?”
Sherwin’s mother, Cecilia Sherwin, told the Omaha World-Herald in an email that she and her family were camping at the park Friday when she heard yelling and two gunshots. She said a boy came up to her and told her that a man had shot his family. She said her family was legally traveling with a gun in a secure container.
[….]
Anthony Sherwin was from La Vista, Neb., where he lived in an apartment complex with his parents, and had no criminal history, La Vista Police Chief Bob Lausten told the Des Moines Register.
Cecilia Sherwin said in a second email to the World-Herald that she and her family “cooperated fully with the police and investigative team from the get-go.”
“I didn’t think we had any tears left but we still find ourselves breaking down and care deeply for the little boy and the loss of his family,” she said, adding that her son “gave us no warning that he was planning anything of this sort.”

Why would a man knock on a men's room door?