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

[NeverPersonal]

My God. What a vicious murderer. Mama's little boy grew up to be an unrepentant killer who annihilated a beautiful family.

We need ANSWERS for this atrocity. Profilers can tell us a lot. If they will.

I'm so sorry fate put you in proximity to this monster, Schmidt family.

Jeez louuuiiiise. I hope Anthony's mom can get a grip & realize her kid did this

 

[Tippy Lynn]

Jeez louuuiiiise. I hope Anthony's mom can get a grip & realize her kid did this

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

 

[shotgun09]

Wow

Making an understatement here, but IMO there is no telling of what horrors the young boy witnessed. I can imagine the LE in this case will work hand in hand with the press...in order to protect him, and that we the public will just have to take what little info we are given. We will not know all the details. And, it is understandable. He is 9.

 

[airportwoman]

BBM

Maybe this isn’t allowed but… That’s a weird *** thing to say or even joke about at a time like this.

MOO

I didn't think of it as a joke. Arlo asked for him, and he showed up.

 

[fred&edna]

Wow

Making an understatement here, but IMO there is no telling of what horrors the young boy witnessed. I can imagine the LE in this case will work hand in hand with the press...in order to protect him, and that we the public will just have to take what little info we are given. We will not know all the details. And, it is understandable. He is 9.

Yes, the lack of info from LE to this point (and likely in future) is now quite understandable.

 

[mewmew]

I didn't think of it as a joke. Arlo asked for him, and he showed up.

Yes, I get it. I just thought the favorite uncle comment was weird. Glad Arlo has support.

 

[fred&edna]

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

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).

 

[SuziQ]

He strangled the 6 year old. That takes a long time. That is a lot of anger to inflict on a child. The 9 year old must have been in his own tent. That is the only thing that makes sense to me. JMO. .

 

[MntnHiker]

Oh my goodness, it just gets worse That poor family.

I also wonder if the 9 year old had been in the bathroom at the time of the massacre. I can't even begin to imagine what he's going through.

 

[PacoElFlaco]

The answer to this must lie in undiagnosed mental illness. Surely there is no sane motive for something like this.

My guess is paranoid schizophrenia. It usually strikes in the early 20s. Sufferers can seem relatively normal on the surface, but inside are seething with fears and hatreds, usually focused on a totally innocent subject.

Given the Sherwins' statements about Anthony's computer business (which I think are delusions Anthony fed to his parents) and his making of the ghost gun for "security" coupled with the malfunction of his computer system while they were at the campsite, Sherwin may have seen or overheard the young Schmidt boy, Arlo, (also a computer enthusiast) talking about computers or using his own laptop and then Sherwin became deluded that the Schmidts had somehow sabotaged his computer system. He probably decided to attack them at dawn "in retribution". Maybe Arlo was at the restroom or managed to escape during the struggle.

 

[Kemug]

Given the Sherwins' statements about Anthony's computer business (which I think are delusions Anthony fed to his parents) and his making of the ghost gun for "security" coupled with the malfunction of his computer system while they were at the campsite, Sherwin may have seen or overheard the young Schmidt boy, Arlo, (also a computer enthusiast) talking about computers or using his own laptop and then Sherwin became deluded that the Schmidts had somehow sabotaged his computer system. He probably decided to attack them at dawn "in retribution". Maybe Arlo was at the restroom or managed to escape during the struggle.

That does seem like a viable theory.

 

[WingsOverTX]

The answer to this must lie in undiagnosed mental illness. Surely there is no sane motive for something like this.

My guess is paranoid schizophrenia. It usually strikes in the early 20s. Sufferers can seem relatively normal on the surface, but inside are seething with fears and hatreds, usually focused on a totally innocent subject.

Given the Sherwins' statements about Anthony's computer business (which I think are delusions Anthony fed to his parents) and his making of the ghost gun for "security" coupled with the malfunction of his computer system while they were at the campsite, Sherwin may have seen or overheard the young Schmidt boy, Arlo, (also a computer enthusiast) talking about computers or using his own laptop and then Sherwin became deluded that the Schmidts had somehow sabotaged his computer system. He probably decided to attack them at dawn "in retribution". Maybe Arlo was at the restroom or managed to escape during the struggle.

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

 

[fred&edna]

I realize that LE has not found any link between AOS and the Schmidt's but I keep thinking about the Des Moines Register article (portion linked below), and the fact Tyler Schmidt was a software engineer. I continue to wonder if AOS knew Mr Schmidt's line of work... and did anything of that nature make AOS seek him/them out in some twisted way??

"His parents said Anthony Sherwin kept his computer equipment in the family's La Vista, Nebraska, home — and that the system had broken down during the trip.

Their son, they said, was eager to get home and fix the computer setup."

https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/st...-sherwin-used-homemade-ghost-gun/10188465002/


ETA: Also, AOS was a student until Feb of this year... did online classes end in Feb?

 

[PacoElFlaco]

I realize that LE has not found any link between AOS and the Schmidt's but I keep thinking about the Des Moines Register article (portion linked below), and the fact Tyler Schmidt was a software engineer. I continue to wonder if AOS knew Mr Schmidt's line of work... and did anything of that nature make AOS seek him/them out in some twisted way??

"His parents said Anthony Sherwin kept his computer equipment in the family's La Vista, Nebraska, home — and that the system had broken down during the trip.

Their son, they said, was eager to get home and fix the computer setup."

https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/st...-sherwin-used-homemade-ghost-gun/10188465002/


ETA: Also, AOS was a student until Feb of this year... did online classes end in Feb?

I have been thinking that AOS's computer system and business was mainly a delusion on his part, but just now I wondered if he had a setup going for bitcoin mining. Does anyone know what kind of software Schmidt was engineering?

 

[fred&edna]

I have been thinking that AOS's computer system and business was mainly a delusion on his part, but just now I wondered if he had a setup going for bitcoin mining. Does anyone know what kind of software Schmidt was engineering?

I believe he did have some delusions. I don't think bitcoin mining is much of a big thing as it once was so I don't lean in that direction. However, I do believe AOS was purposefully successful in removing (or never leaving) a trail whatever he was doing online.

 

[Kemug]

Jeez louuuiiiise. I hope Anthony's mom can get a grip & realize her kid did this

It might be better for her if she doesn't, and "loses it" completely

 

[PacoElFlaco]

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.

 

[OneLove]

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?

 

[kccorona]

-"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.

I'm curious if she was asked about his interest in guns by the reporter, and this was her reply? I also think it is interesting that according to this quote, they have never owned a gun of any kind before this year, and this timeline coincides with his interest in guns (albeit ghost guns that he built), AND they only had one in the car on the trip. For a family not interested in guns, this is a lot of actual interest and involvement with guns, in my opinion.

ETA, I totally missed the quote directly following the above one in my first read through:
-"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.

It all just sounds very much like she is trying so hard to distance her son from the gun. Over-explaining and over-justifying.
Not judging her, honestly. I can't imagine being in her position. I do feel like the victims' family could be hurt even more than they already are [and greatly angered] by a lot of the statements she's making in this article.

 

[Kemug]

-"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.

Is she saying that she and her husband encouraged their son to bring his gun on the trip?? Sheesh.