When Schmitz found Scott Amedure, a 32-year-old unemployed gay man, telling a television audience about a fantasy that involved Schmitz, some whipped cream, strawberries and champagne, he became embarrassed and, his lawyers said, enraged.
Three days after the taping, on March 9, 1995, Schmitz received an anonymous, sexually suggestive note on his doorstep and assumed it came from Amedure.
Schmitz purchased a 12-gauge shotgun, went to Amedure's mobile home, and fired two shots at close range into Amedure's chest. A few minutes later, Schmitz dialed 911 from a pay phone at a gas station near his sister's house. He said "I just walked in the room and killed him."
The Charges
Schmitz was charged with first-degree murder and committing
a felony with a firearm. To convict him of first-degree murder,
prosecutors must prove that the murder was premeditated. If convicted
of this charge, Schmitz faces life imprisonment without the possibility
of parole. The jury is alowed to consider lesser charges,
such as second-degree murder or manslaughter.
The Prosecution's Case
Though Schmitz may have been embarrassed by the Jenny Jones
taping, it did not justify his killing Amedure, the state argued.
Schmitz drove to one store to purchase a shotgun, drove to another
for ammunition, and drove to Amedure's home before firing the
fatal shots. That demonstrates premeditation, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors contended that when Schmitz went to Amedure's mobile home, Schmitz became violent. They say that a police report indicating an upturned chair at the crime scene shows that Amedure was trying to defend himself.
The State had an oral confession and a videotaped confession. In a pretrial hearing, however, the judge ruled that both confessions were inadmissible because the oral confession was made without Schmitz being read his Miranda rights and the videotaped confession was made while his right to counsel was being violated.
The Defense's Case
Schmitz's attorneys argued the defense of diminished capacity.
They claimed Schmitz lacked the mental state required to have
committed premeditated murder when he shot Amedure.
According to the defense's theory, Schmitz simply snapped after finding the note on his doorstep. Lawyers attributed Schmitz' reaction to Grave's disease -- a thyroid gland disorder that can cause irrational and violent behavior -- and manic depression.
The Jenny Jones Show
In Jones' Dec.11, 1995 deposition, she insisted that the show,
which never aired, had no connection to the shooting. She contended
that Schmitz was told that his admirer could be either male or
female, though the defense claimed the show's producers led Schmitz to believe his secret admirer was a woman.
The Prosecution
Roman Kalytiak, an assistant county prosecutor in Oakland
County, Michigan, graduated from the University of Notre Dame
School of Law in 1987. In 1994, he was appointed senior trial
attorney, responsible for high-profile prosecutions.
The Defense
The lead attorney, James Burdick, has been in private practice
since 1970. He previously served as an assistant prosecutor for
Wayne County, Detroit. He is a 1968 graduate of the University
of Michigan Law School.
Fred L. Gibson has been in private practice since 1978. A former state trooper with the Michigan police department, he began his legal career at a firm that represented the 4,000-member Detroit Police Officer's Association. He left the firm to start his own practice, representing police officers in both civil and criminal matters. He graduated from the Detroit College of Law in 1986.
The Judge
Judge Francis X. O'Brien was elected to the Oakland County
Circuit Court in 1976 and re-elected in 1982, 1988, and 1994.
He earned his undergraduate and law school degrees from the University
of Detroit.
Some Of The Key Evidence
Legal Terms:
The Verdict
On Nov. 12, 1996, the jury opted against the most serious
charge, first-degree murder, and found Jon Schmitz guilty of second-degree
murder and illegal possession of a firearm in commission of a
felony. On Dec. 4, he received a 25 to 50 year sentence. Schmitz will serve at least 20 years before he is eligible for parole.
