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The double murder of the Schrolls in Kansas City led to the arrest of Olin Pete Coones in 2008. Despite the speedy arrest, a large number of questions regarding his arrest remained mostly revolving around the doubt shrouding if he committed the crime.
Kathleen and Carl Schroll were found shot to death in their home and moments before the murders, she had called her mother to inform her that Pete had been in their house to kill the couple. However, Pete was exonerated in 2020 after having served 12 years in prison. He passed away 108 days after he was declared a free man.
The Dateline NBC episode 42 of season 29, titled The Phone Call, showcases Kathleen and Carl Schroll's murder as it airs on August 28, 2024, at 8 pm EST on Oxygen. The official synopsis reads:
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"When Kathleen Schroll makes a phone call that names her killer right before her death, it leads to the arrest of a father for murder, but after two trials and 12 years, authorities begin to wonder if he was the victim."
Why was Olin Pete Coones arrested? Details explored
On April 7, 2008, Kathleen and Carl Schroll were found shot to death in their Kansas City home in the middle of the night. A call from the household went out to Kathleen's mother, Elizabeth Horton, around 2:28 am local time wherein Kathleen reportedly mentioned:
“Pete is here in the house and he said he stole the lawnmower out of the garage. He said he is going to kill Carl and he is going to kill me and he said he has got his tracks covered where no one will find out.”
The crime scene showcased no signs of forced entry or struggle, and thus, the officers had assumed the incident to be a murder-suicide before Elizabeth mentioned Pete's name. The Kansas City officers found an ongoing legal battle between the alleged perpetrator, Olin Pete Coones, and Kathleen Schroll.
This led to them suspecting Pete and they pulled him over at 7 am local time while he had been driving his children to school. The officers searched his car and home for incriminating evidence but found nothing that could link him to the murder.
The officers checked for DNA or fingerprints at the crime scene but found none. Additionally, Kathleen's daughter, Blair Hadley, claimed that she had witnessed Olin Pete Coones threaten her mother two days before the murder. Based on this piece of information, the officers searched the surveillance footage of the gas station where the incident was alleged to have happened but found no signs of Pete or Kathleen.
Despite the lack of evidence, Pete was charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder on April 9, 2008, according to The National Registry of Exonerations. While the prosecution argued that Pete had the motive of getting rid of Kathleen to shorten the legal battle, the defense mentioned that Elizabeth had never mentioned hearing gunshots that could potentially tie Pete to the murders.
Kathleen Schroll, a caregiver to Pete's father, had been forging his signature to embezzle money, which led to the court battle. Per court documents, Olin Pete Coones was convicted of Kathleen’s first-degree murder but he was granted a retrial based on an appeal.
A tip from a prison informant landed Olin Pete Coones in prison yet again but the conviction was overturned in 2020, and the double murders were categorized as murder-suicide.
Catch all the details of Kathleen Schroll's murder as the Dateline episode airs on Oxygen on Wednesday.
