In a handwritten court filing, Richard Schmelzer asked a judge to hold off on any decision relating to his grandmother’s estate until the resolution of his murder case.
Schmelzer and his mother, Angela, were appointed co-trustees of Mildred Darrington’s estate when she created the trust in 1991. Prosecutors allege Schmelzer stabbed Darrington to death in July 2014 as part of a scheme to cash in on his share of the estate. Schmelzer, 43, of Texas, remains held in Kane County Jail on $5 million bail. He returns to court next month. No trial date has been scheduled.
Schmelzer appeared in a civil courtroom last week for the first time to fight his mother’s petition to have him removed as a co-trustee. Angela Schmelzer’s request, filed in August, noted her son is “unable to serve as a co-trustee because he is in prison awaiting trial for the murder of his grandmother.” Angela became trust administrator after Darrington’s death and, in that capacity, has the power to remove co-trustees, according to the petition.
Schmelzer’s written response, filed Nov. 19, contends Angela Schmelzer has been “uncooperative” and not working in the best interest of the trust. Schmelzer agreed that Darrington’s East Dundee home — where authorities allege she was killed by Schmelzer — can be sold, but he suggested his mother has already started “liquidating the estate … without his knowledge or input.”
Judge David Akemann said he would research whether Schmelzer can continue to serve as a trustee and agreed to allow the home to be sold, according to a court order dated Dec. 10. The judge also designated Schmelzer as indigent, which allows him to participate in the case without having to pay court fees. Another hearing on the estate’s status is scheduled for Jan. 20.
Search warrant affidavits in the murder case paint a picture of Schmelzer’s somewhat elaborate plan, which included claiming to be at a business conference at the time of the murder when, according to prosecutors, he was actually in Illinois using a rented vehicle and prepaid cell phone. Those court documents also suggest Schmelzer had financial issues and, for a time, was sending money to a Las Vegas woman, records show. Investigators used several warrants to obtain records that tracked Schmelzer’s movements between Texas and Illinois based on credit card use, vehicle GPS and toll violations.
Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
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