Grandson Murders His Grandfather For Inheritance

2024 Author: Steven Freeman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 08:15

To say Richard Schmelzer tops the list of the worst grandchildren would be an understatement, after the 44-year-old man was able to traverse virtually the entire country, from Texas to Illinois, to commit a heinous crime: murdering his grandmother to collect his heritage.

This was found by a jury in East Dundee, Illinois, which found him guilty of first-degree murder on Wednesday.

According to the Chicago Tribune newspaper, the elderly Mildred Dodie Darrington, 85, was in her bed when her grandson stabbed her to death.

Although no DNA evidence was found to link him to the crime scene, the prosecution showed evidence at the trial that - in his opinion - linked a cell phone he bought on a route from Frisco, the Texas city where he lives, to East Dundee, where the murder was committed.

Frankly, it is still difficult to understand. This man killed his own grandmother to foster a lifestyle of excess that he could not otherwise afford. She had 14 hours and 900 miles to reconsider her plan, but she carried it out anyway. It was a cold-blooded, calculated murder,”said Kent County Prosecutor Joe McMahon.

Authorities explained at trial that the defendant maintained a lavish lifestyle, that he liked to hire company women and other "extravagances" that he could not afford.

So he decided to cross half the country to murder his grandmother on July 18, 2014 and inherit half of his estate, estimated at $ 800,000.

After being found guilty, Schmelzer will return to the judge in January to hear his sentence, which could be between 20 to 60 years in prison.