Summary: Being fired from the victim’s law firm, Bean, Kinney & Korman appears to have sent a couple into a plot of revenge.
Married couple Leo Fisher and Susan Duncan were held hostage in their home by a man claiming to be a law enforcement officer for the Virginia SEC. They were bound and subjected to a strange interrogation for over three hours back in November.
The intruder, Andrew Schmuhl, had lead the couple into their bedroom, where he closed the blinds because he said he feared that a sniper outside might shoot him in the back. He asked Fisher a series of questions about who would succeed him at his law firm, whether they kept large amounts of cash in the home, and the Knights Templar, before forcing Fisher to log into his work email, where Schmuhl appeared angry when he couldn’t find what he was looking for in the inbox.
The tragic event ended with a final round of questions for Fisher before having a pillow put over his head and his throat slit. This sent Duncan running into the room from where she had been placed in the bathroom. Schmuhl then attempted to shoot her but only grazed her scalp. He then repeatedly stabbed her upper body until she played dead. She later was able to crawl across the room to hit an alarm button on the wall, sending Schmuhl running.
After leaving the house, Schmuhl got into a car driven by his wife Alecia Schmuhl. Alecia had been fired from Fisher’s law firm, Bean, Kinney & Korman just weeks before for bad performance. Police picked them up after a short pursuit. Andrew was wearing an adult diaper and nothing else.
The local community was stunned by the events. Alecia served on the board of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless and speaks three languages. Andrew is a former Army judge advocate. The two have been charged with two counts of malicious wounding and abduction by force. Alecia has also been charged with felony eluding and obstruction of justice.
The case will now head to a grand jury.
Photo: coloradonewsday.com