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Leroy Schmitz, an ex-convict, killed his wife, Mary Ann, discovered dead of asphyxiation during a heated argument on June 17, 1999. When a patrol officer arrived, Schmitz was performing CPR on her, which he continued until paramedics arrived and pronounced her dead.
Schmitz told police that he and his wife had a drunken argument, which escalated in the car. He admitted to hitting her but didn’t remember what happened afterward. Schmitz had previously served 10 years in prison for the murder of Barbara Seed. He was arrested again and charged with 100 years in prison for Mary Ann's murder.
Leroy Schmitz is currently incarcerated at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana. An episode of Netflix's I AM A KILLER season 6 covers his crimes from multiple perspectives, including a personal confrontation with Schmitz, who is awaiting parole.
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The synopsis of the episode titled Time Bomb reads,
"Leroy Schmitz claims he didn't mean to kill his wife during a drunken argument, pleading that an abusive childhood predisposed him to violence."
What is the story of Leroy Schmitz?
Leroy Schmitz grew up in Plentywood, Montana, as the eldest of four Native American children adopted by the Schmitz family. He described himself as a shy child and was aware of his Blackfeet Indian heritage.
He struggled to fit in at school and had a harsh relationship with his father, who began beating him at age five. Schmitz recalled his father using a garden hose to whip the children until they were bloody. This treatment built up anger in Schmitz, which eventually grew uncontrollable.
It was in 1977 when Leroy Schmitz left home at 19. As per the episode, his father provided him with money, from which he traveled all over. Schmitz said he did everything under his capacity to survive, traveling across states, but was mostly homeless. Soon, he fell into drugs and was doing cocaine, heroin, and LSD.
Leroy Schmitz soon fell into drug abuse and spent the next 20 years in a cycle of crimes. During that time, he strangled a woman named Barbara Seed to death and went to prison.
After serving his time for 10 years, he went back to his hometown in Montana, hoping to start a new life, without drugs and crime. It was in November 1998, when Leroy met the 39-year-old Mary Ann Schmitz, at a bar. They immediately got attracted and they spent the night together.
The next day, Mary declared that he wanted to be with Schmitz. By December 1998, they moved in together and married three months later on April 4, 1999, at Columbia Falls in Montana.
However, things slowly started to change after they were officially together. As per Schmitz, their relationship started to deteriorate, mainly because of her alcohol and gambling addiction. She would often get mad at him, for everything.
Things took a grave turn when Schmitz discovered Mary at a bar in Kalispell with another man, on the night of June 17, 1999. They soon came into a heated argument, after which he drove her 18 miles away to a secluded road. In the car, the two continued to argue, after which he stopped the car, and Schmitz embarked on physical violence.
Scott Meehan, Patrol Officer from Whitefish PD in the episode, reported his experience on the night of June 17, 1999. He reported that a motorist was stopped by a male, asking for help because his wife was hurt. By the time Meehan reached the scene, he saw Schmitz terrified completely trying to find his wife's pulse. When the paramedics arrived at the scene, they declared her dead.
Schmitz was arrested by the authorities, however, he kept on sticking to his story that it was unintentional. Gerald Schmitz is the sibling of Leroy who flew to Hawaii in 1995. In the episode, he provided his statement, that Leroy described his story to be completely false. Gerald said their parents were always more concerned about Leroy, and provided more affection to him.
Leroy's father never physically beat him, and the picture portrayed by him is completely untrue. While searching into the past of Leroy Schmitz, they found that he had a history of crimes related to women's assault. He was in and out of juvenile detention centers, throughout his teenage years, mainly related to se*ual violent crimes committed against young women.
The murder of Barbara Seed
It was in October 1986, when Leroy came into a relationship with a 43-year-old nurse named Barbara Seed in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In the episode, an anonymous intel said Leroy Schmitz pretended to love Barabara, and he eventually moved in with her. However, she soon began regretting her decision, when Schmitz turned violent, and began making racial comments towards her.
He soon became violent towards her, and Barbara detested her choice, trying to end the relationship. However, he threatened to kill Barbara recalling he had done the same with someone else. She went on to inform the police about her domestic abuse, however, they dismissed it quickly. It was on October 5, 1986, when Barabara was strangled to death.
He was arrested by the police and charged with the murder, which the culprit defended, terming it to be self-defense. Though he continued to claim his innocence, Schmitz was put before the court the next year in September 1987. He was sentenced to 18 to 20 years in prison for manslaughter, however, he was released 10 years later on parole. Two years after his release, he went on to kill Mary.
The trial for Mary Ann Schmitz's murder case
Nancy Kimball, a reporter in Whitefish, Montana, covered Leroy Schmitz's murder case in 1999. While researching his past, she discovered he had previously stabbed a s*x worker and threatened to kill a police officer while in jail.
Kimball also learned that Mary had reported her violent abuse to the police 18 days before her death. Schmitz was released shortly after, due to Montana's state rules. His trial took place at the Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell, Montana, with Tom Esch serving as the prosecutor.
The autopsy of Mary Ann Schmitz confirmed that she died due to asphyxiation. On May 15, 2000, Leroy Schmitz was found guilty and was sentenced to 100 years in prison, with parole after 25 years. His sentence is due to end in 2025. As per the episode, Leroy wants to become a preacher after he is released from the Montana State Prison.
To know more about Leroy Schmitz's crimes watch the episode Time Bomb on Netflix's I AM A KILLER season 6.
