Accused in patricide: “God told me to do it”
Gary Schmitt
EFFINGHAM CO.—A murder about which many in the neighborhood complained bitterly over police ineffectiveness has had a startling development.
And unfortunately the development has a somewhat religious overtone: the suspect in it. Gary Schmitt, 46, of Troy, Illinois and a member of the school board there, has told officials that “God told him” to take his own father’s life
On June 19, 2010, Jack Schmitt, 72, a well-known Effingham man, was found dead in the garage of his home in the Shenandoah subdivision.
Authorities did not release information on the fact that Schmitt had been bludgeoned multiple times because they “didn’t want to impede the investigation.” However, many residents of Effingham—one of the larger downstate burgs—didn’t even know the man had died until his obituary appeared days later in local news outlets.
The late Jack Schmitt
The sketch. Doesn't really look like Gary.
Shenandoah residents voiced their disapproval of what appeared to be an abject clamp-down on anything resembling information about Schmitt’s death. Complaints issued to Disclosure were that the police at times alluded that they had a suspect, but gave no further information or insight, prompting people in the area to be scared to the point of panic that there was still a murderer in their midst. A composite sketch was released in late August, but authorities were vague about who had developed it (“a forensic sketch artist”) or who witnesses were to give it (“a witness” was all they would give up).
Then over the weekend (Sunday, Jan. 16), two women from Edgewood, Kimberly Joan “Jodi” Smith Bourland, 43, and her daughter, Lauran Christine Huntington, 15, were attacked in their home by a man they allowed to stop in and visit, unannounced, after he and Jodi had recently “reconnected” their high school acquaintanceship on Facebook. The man was Gary Schmitt. Jodi was stabbed 15 times in the face, neck, chest and abdomen; when her daughter walked in, she was stabbed five times in the neck shoulder and chest. She was able to get outside the house and attract the attention of a neighbor, who called police.
Schmitt was able to get away, but was later found at his mother’s home, the stabbing weapon in the vicinity. Police apprehended him and took him in for an interview, which was videotaped. During the interview, Schmitt reportedly told officials that God had told him to stab the two women….just like He’d told Schmitt to stab his dad last summer.
Schmitt also partially justified his alleged patricide by telling law enforcement that since his father was suffering from cancer, that also was a good reason to end his suffering in this life. To this day, however, there’s no clear indication of whether or not Schmitt really was suffering from cancer.
Schmitt is being held on two counts of First-Degree Murder, two counts of Attempted Murder, and two counts of Aggravated Battery. Given the youthful age of one of his alleged victims, he is eligible for extended sentencing, and so even if he takes a plea, chances are good that Schmitt won’t be answering the call of God—at least in the outside world where the rest of us live—for a long long time, if ever.
More in the print version, on stands Feb. 9…you can sign up for subscriptions by hitting the PayPal link, as we don’t have vendors in E-ham (although we do sell a buttload of papers in north Clay, on the way toward coverage areas of Edgewood and south E-ham County).
Short URL: http://www.disclosurenewsonline.com/?p=5788
Posted by Angela Howser
on Jan 18 2011. Filed under Effingham.
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LOL. this is for your comment about having vendors in Effingham. I used to live there. Grew up there, I guess would be the correct term. I met a guy from clay county and we would visit his parents quite often…I dont honestly know what the visits consisted of because my head was stuck in the latest disclosure issue. Now i live in clay county and I also “liked” your facebook page. You guys are awesome and keep up the good work. I may even have a story for you next month depending on how deep the corruption runs.
Effingham didn’t release many details on the murder. I never heard anything about it till later and I live in Effingham county. Gary Schmitt is related to one of those working for the Effingham county Sheriff’s office. Maybe that is why nothing was released.
Saying that God told him to do it should be used against him in court! The guy clearly was planning his defense (insanity which I am confident will be used) before he ever committed the first crime! Sick SOB! That poor woman and her daughter, makes me think twice about connecting with old classmates on FB. You just never know! Heard from a family member that he sliced the mother from one ear to the other.
What a worthless waste of human life. Hope he rots in hell!!!! He should have said the devil made him do it… :p
I wonder if any of the jurors will feel for him like one of the California jurors said about the Menendez Brothers after they murdered their parents, “We felt sorry for them because they are orphans now.” Yeah, when you kill your parents, that will make you an orphan for sure.
@Dennis, that was a rather sickening statement after the Menendez Brothers trial, wasn’t it? I remember hearing that and thinking along the same line as you. However, when I was speaking to my husband about it, I used a few choice words about them. Well, I did all throughout the trial. The brothers and their fake tears made me want to vomit! Alot of sick people out there and it was all about the money with them..
Sweet & Sour, I sometimes wonder how many people would do in a rich relative if they think they would come into some money. Watch some of those real life crime shows on TV, it must happen all the time.
Dennis, I do watch some of them and they are sometimes so unbelievable that I am left just scratching my head. What people will do for money is horrible! PT just got here..time to do my exercises…my last week of home PT though! YAAAAY!!!
WOO HOO @Sweet & Sour!!!
@SouthernILGirl, Thank you Lady! It’s gonna be nice to be able to go to out patient therapy. I’m gonna do the aqua-therapy though..lol..been through enough of these others! They say you benefit more from the aqua-therapy because you can do more in the water. I watched a show on TV last week or week before where they were treating “help dogs” that had been overseas in the war zone. They had them doing aqua-therapy and they recovered quicker than the ones who did just regular therapy. So, crossing my fingers here….
Jack’s friends at The Orchard knew that his son was the suspect but there was no forensic (or any other evidence) to tie him to the scene. The coroner originally ruled the death an accident (fall) and released the scene and the family (probably the son who committed the murder) hired ServPro to clean up. Then 2 days later the autopsy came back homicide so all the forensic evidence was gone.
Since he was a member of the school board for Triad, the St. Louis print and broadcast stations are all over this story.
Aquatherapy is good
I have been trying to find grant money to get it where I work and have been unsuccessful thus far 
SouthernILGirl, I’ve never done aqua-therapy for any health reasons but it only makes sense that it would be more beneficial. Keep trying & looking for funding for your place of employment. Persistence is what it takes to make a difference. AND…..when you are successful( I have great confidence that you will be)then please let us know, okay? You will deserve recognition for your hard work. Kudos to you & your hard work for trying right now! Thank you..
Methed out freak…God did not tell u anything u fleak…u should fry
[...] turn. Like the waiter who cut off his manager’s head because God told him to do it. Or the man who killed his father for the very same [...]