An Ohio man is behind bars this week after authorities say he broke into his mother-in-law’s home and beat her to death with a crowbar while his father-in-law slept upstairs.
The attack reportedly took place as the suspect, 35-year-old Jonathan Schmidt, was in the middle of a contentious divorce and custody battle with the victim’s daughter.
The Lucas County Jail records indicate that Schmidt was booked on Friday and faces a charge of aggravated murder in the death of 68-year-old Marcia Van Druten.
The incident unfolded Wednesday night around 9 p.m. at a residence on Fox Hollow Court in Sylvania. According to Emily Hayman, a friend of the family, the victim’s daughter, Kinsey, received a warning from one of Schmidt’s friends.
“One of Jon’s friends reached out to Kinsey, saying they had received a message from Jon saying he was going to hurt her mom,” Hayman told WTVG.
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When Van Druten failed to answer her daughter’s frantic phone calls, Kinsey contacted her father. Her father, who had been asleep, found the phone ringing and discovered his wife downstairs. Investigators believe Schmidt gained entry to the home by smashing a sliding glass door with a crowbar.
The Lucas County Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy and determined that Van Druten died from multiple blunt force trauma.
Following the attack, Schmidt allegedly fled the state. He was apprehended the next morning in La Salle, Michigan, roughly 25 miles away from the crime scene.
The backdrop of the killing involves a complex legal battle between Schmidt and his wife. The couple, who share a 1-year-old son, were navigating a divorce that local reports describe as high-conflict. The dispute involved disagreements over child support and spousal payments, as well as a custody battle where family members, including Van Druten, had been issued subpoenas.
Schmidt remains in custody at the Lucas County Corrections Center as the legal process moves forward.
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