The Lake County Coroner’s Office has identified the five people found shot to death at a home in the 200 block of Wellington Avenue in Mundelein late Sunday night, four of whom were related to each other and one who was in a long-term relationship with one of the deceased.
According to a coroner’s news release sent out Tuesday, the victims include couple James Schmidt, 80, and Rebecca Schmidt, 77, both of whom resided at the home. Autopsy results indicate they died from multiple gunshot wounds.
Maclaine Schmidt, 22, of Lake Bluff, the couple’s grandson, was another victim. Autopsy results indicate he died from a gunshot to the head, the release said.
Nicole Heiser, 37, recently of Antioch and formerly of Lake Bluff, died from a gunshot wound to the head, the release said. She was in a long-term relationship with Bryan Schmidt, the fifth and final person found dead in the home. He was the 51-year-old son of James and Rebecca Schmidt and father of Maclaine Schmidt.
While the person responsible for what police said was a murder-suicide was not specifically identified, the release indicated that Bryan Schmidt died from an “intraoral gunshot wound of the head,” meaning a gun was fired through the mouth.
Longtime veterinarians
According to property records, the home was owned by James and Rebecca Schmidt. The couple were veterinarians, according to an archived version of the website of Rebecca Schmidt’s pet clinic. She founded the Northern Illinois Cat Clinic in Libertyville in 1982.
According to the website, the clinic focused entirely on feline medicine, surgery, and care. Rebecca Schmidt graduated with honors from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in 1973 and was the first female veterinarian to complete a post-graduate internship in 1975, the website said.
She had a “special interest in feline internal medicine,” the website said.
“Her fascination is motivated by the cat’s ability to hide disease symptoms and resist human intervention,” the website said. “Dr. Schmidt’s dedication, experience, knowledge of feline medicine and surgery, and gentle touch combine to make her a special member of the Northern Illinois Cat Clinic PC Team.”
She was a member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners, American Veterinary Medical Association, and the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association, the website said.
The couple’s son Bryan Schmidt worked as the clinic manager. Coming from a “pair of veterinarian parents, animal love and care was bred into him,” the website said.
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“When you discuss developing radiographs as a twelve-year-old, experience is an understatement,” it said.
Neighboring businesses say the clinic closed about two years ago, and the space now houses a chiropractor business and hair salon. According to Illinois business data, the business was only dissolved earlier this year.
Bodies discovered
Officers went to the house about 11:45 p.m. Sunday after a relative who had been unable to contact one of the victims called police, officials said.
The officers entered the home through an unlocked door and discovered bodies in several rooms, Deputy Police Chief Rick Wilfenger said. All seemed to have been shot at close range with a handgun.
Two handguns were also found in the home, police said.
Police hadn’t received any reports of gunshots, Wilfenger said. The department has no history of emergency calls from the house, he said, nor was there a history of police interactions with the deceased.
The one-story, maroon-shingled house remained cordoned off by yellow police tape Monday morning as journalists and onlookers gathered outside for any developments. Police also temporarily taped off and inspected a Volkswagen sedan in the parking lot of the neighboring Kristan Funeral Home.
Jim Wipper, a funeral director at Kristan, learned of the deaths when he showed up for work about 8 a.m. Monday. He said the Kristan staff didn’t know the residents well.
As the day went on, the tape around the house came down, and the crowd disappeared, with just a couple of TV news trucks remaining along the roadway.
Wellington Avenue resident Debbie Wunluck called the older man and woman who lived at the house “very quiet people.”
The violence was “such a shock,” Wunluck said.
“Nothing like this happens around here,” she added.
Since the shooting, a small memorial for the family has appeared. Tuesday afternoon, a police car was parked nearby but not at the home, which now sits quiet.
Madeline Buckley contributed to this report.