Texas Man Guilty of Killing East Dundee Grandma to Collect Inheritance

A Texas man who grew up in East Dundee, Illinois, has been convicted of murdering his grandmother in her home.

A jury on Tuesday found Rich A. Schmelzer, 44, guilty of first-degree murder in the July 2014 stabbing death of his grandmother, Mildred “Dodie” Darrington, 85, of East Dundee.

Kane County prosecutors presented evidence during the 11-day trial that Schmelzer fell deeply in debt as a result of a lavish lifestyle involving female escorts and other extravagances that were well beyond his means, according to a Kane County State’s Attorney Office press release.

The lifestyle left him unable to pay his family’s bills, and their home was in foreclosure. Schmelzer at the time was married with four daughters. He failed to make a mortgage payment for more than four years, according to the news release.

Deeply in debt, he had asked family members for loans but was rebuffed. Schmelzer, who was co-executor of Darrington's estate and a beneficiary of her trust, began to transfer money from her credit cards. Schmelzer, who stood to inherit half of her $800,000 estate, plotted in mid-July 2014 to drive from Texas to the Chicago area to murder her, according to prosecutors.

He had a cousin rent a car in the cousin’s name, he used a prepaid gift card to cover his expenses on the trip and he purchased a cell phone for use on the trip. Meanwhile, Schmelzer told his wife that he would be attending a conference in the Dallas area. He later obtained from a restaurant he frequented near his home a receipt that was marked with a date and time corresponding to his trip to Illinois, although he was not at the restaurant during the noted time and date.

He also convinced an acquaintance to send him an email implying they had eaten lunch together at a time when Schmelzer was actually driving back to Texas. On July 17, 2014, Schmelzer began the 14-hour, 924-mile drive from Frisco to East Dundee. Early on the morning of July 18 he arrived at Darrington's East Dundee home, let himself in, then stabbed her in the neck as she was in her bed, killing her.

Later that day when Darrington failed to show up for her regular hair appointment, her hairdresser went to her home to check on her and found her unresponsive in her bed. The hairdresser immediately called 911.
When East Dundee police arrived at the home, they found her dead, according to the news release.

Schmelzer was arrested and charged with first-degree murder a month later.

Schmelzer is next expected in court on Jan. 25 for motions and to set a sentencing date. Schmelzer faces between 20 and 60 years in prison. He remains in custody at the Kane County jail, where he has been held since September 2014 in lieu of $5 million bail. Bond was revoked upon conviction.

“This is a significant guilty verdict that reflects the hard work of many, many people over the last 2½ years,” Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said. “As we gathered the evidence of Mildred’s murder, it became clear how Mr. Schmelzer went to great lengths to attempt to cover up his crime, from having a friend rent a car on his behalf to lying to his family about where he’d be when he actually drove to Illinois to commit murder, and even attempting to fabricate an alibi. His deceit is astonishing, and it was done because he was so overcome with greed. Quite frankly, it’s still hard to fathom – this man killed his own grandmother to further a lifestyle of gluttony that he couldn’t otherwise pay for. He had 14 hours and 900 miles to rethink his plan, but he carried it out, anyway, a calculated, cold-blooded murder.”