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Betty Schirmer, who died in a staged car crash, was the second wife of Arthur Schirmer, the now-disgraced pastor of Reeders United Methodist Church in Jackson Township.
Arthur claimed that they were on their way to the hospital after Betty woke up complaining of jaw pain when they got into an early-morning car crash in July 2008. Betty suffered a fatal brain injury during the accident. After being taken to the hospital, she was immediately determined to be brain dead, and her husband made the decision to pull the plug shortly after.
A thorough investigation two years later revealed that Betty's death may have been a possible homicide after some disturbing revelations from the crash and the former pastor's life surfaced. He was convicted of the murder in 2013.
An upcoming episode of Dateline: Unforgettable is scheduled to revisit the years-old case of Betty Schirmer, whose death instigated not one but two murder cases that would lead to the downfall of the pastor. The episode, titled Fallen, airs on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, at 8 pm ET on Oxygen.
Betty Schirmer's death was initially ruled accidental
On July 15, 2008, Betty Schirmer was fatally injured during a car accident on Route 715 in Tannersville. Her husband, retired pastor Arthur Schirmer, claimed he was taking her to the hospital after she woke up that morning with an excruciating pain in her jaw. He admitted to the police that a deer rushed in front of the car, and he swerved to avoid hitting it, only to crash into a guard rail.
Arthur alleged that his wife of 13 years, who wasn't wearing a seat belt at the time, was tossed around the car as it spun and collided with a guard rail. Betty sustained head trauma, a brain injury, several facial and skull fractures, significant internal bleeding, and was in a serious condition, while Arthur escaped with just minor injuries.
Betty was rushed to the hospital but was later declared brain dead. The day after that, her husband decided to pull the plug. Arthur made the quick decision to have her remains cremated less than 24 hours after the coroner declared that her death accidental and that there was no cause for suspicion regarding the manner of death.
Schirmer provided a statement to the coroner at the hospital at the time of the incident, claiming that he was traveling at a speed of roughly 55 mph. Local police inspected the area at the time of the collision. But four months after Betty's passing, people began to inquire about the pastor and the circumstances surrounding her tragic demise.
A thorough investigation revealed that the car accident that eventually killed Betty Schirmer was staged
Further examination revealed that the vehicle itself was not seriously damaged and that the airbags had not been deployed, along with other evidence that suggested that the car crash was staged. They also noted that the passenger side of the car was covered in a lot of blood. It was alleged that Betty Schirmer was brutally assaulted and placed in the car while she was bleeding and unconscious.
Not long after, news of his affair with another woman surfaced. Authorities also found blood evidence, belonging to Betty, in the garage of the house she shared with the pastor. Authorities found multiple inconsistencies with his version of the story from the crash and also found similarities between Betty's death and the death of his first wife, which occurred in 1999.
In 2013, Arthur Schirmer was tried for the murder of his second wife, Betty Schirmer, and found guilty of first-degree murder and evidence tampering. He was sentenced to life in prison and was eventually tried for the murder of his first wife, Jewel Schirmer, as well.
Jewel died from a head injury in 1999. Arthur claimed that he had come home from jogging to find his first wife at the bottom of their basement steps, with a vacuum cord wrapped around her leg. An autopsy concluded that the cause of death was "undetermined." The report stated that Jewel suffered multiple skull fractures that were consistent with a fall or blunt trauma from an object.
Betty Schirmer's 2008 murder case will be revisited on Dateline: Unforgettable this Tuesday, November 29, at 8 pm ET.
