In a bizarre, gruesome and senseless crime, a Nebraska man, Anthony Sherwin, 23, allegedly murdered a married couple, Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, and their daughter Lula, 6, at the Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa.
Sherwin was camping out at the park with his parents. He shot, stabbed and strangled members of the family on July 22, leaving their 9-year-old son Arlo the sole survivor of the family, having escaped unharmed.
Autopsy reports showed that Tyler was killed by gunshot and stab wounds, his wife Sarah was stabbed, and little Lula died from a gunshot wound and strangulation.
Sherwin’s mother Cecilia said that she was awoken by gunshots and the 9-year-old, Arlo, who told her that a man had just killed his family.
Finding it hard to believe that her son had committed the horrible crime, she told reporters, “We think (Anthony) might have sensed trouble and grabbed the gun for safety. We refuse to believe the news. We are deeply saddened as he had so much to live for and gave us no indication that anything was wrong.”
Sherwin’s mother’s comments were disputed by Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, who said, ”Without getting into the fine details of it, with everything that we have learned, we are confident that everything we have reported is how it played out and that he is responsible.”
The young man had no previous arrests, and his mother described him as “kind, sensitive, an exceptional student and an aspiring businessman.”
Sherwin was found dead in a wooded area near the camping grounds, with a gunshot wound, allegedly self-inflicted.
Investigators say they are not aware of any previous interaction between the alleged killer and the Schmidt family. They have found little to establish a motive.
New details emerged that the shooter used a homemade weapon known as a ghost gun, an untraceable weapon that can be made with parts bought at a store or online.
The Cedar Falls Mayor, Rob Green, urged area residents to help support survivor Arlo. A GoFundMe page raised more than $275,000.