A man who camped with his parents in an Iowa park before ruthlessly murdering two parents and their daughter is said to have shot, stabbed and strangled his victims on the morning of July 22, according to autopsies.
Anthony Sherwin, 23, of LaVista, Nebraska, murdered couple Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, and their daughter Lula, 6, at Maquoketa Caves State Park, but the couple’s infant son, 9-year-old Arlo, escaped unharmed from the horrific incident.
Autopsies revealed that Tyler was killed by a gunshot wound and “multiple sharp force injuries,” while his wife Sarah was killed solely by sharp force injuries. Their daughter, Lula, died from a gunshot wound and strangulation.
Sherwin’s mother Cecilia said she was woken up by gunfire and a young boy – Schmidt’s 9-year-old son Arlo – telling her a man dressed in black had just killed his family.
Couple Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, both 42, and their daughter Lula, 6, were shot, stabbed and strangled by Anthony Sherwin, 23, while they were camping in Maquoketa Caves State Park
Sherwin was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in a wooded area of the park. Police confirmed they believe Sherwin was the killer
Pictured: An undated photo of Tyler playing with his daughter Lula. The family members were distraught because they knew they would not see the child grow up
A relative of the Schmidt family reads a statement from the Schmidt family during the Celebration of Life event for Tyler, Sarah and Lula Schmidt in Cedar Falls, Iowa
The shooter’s mother said her son wore green not black and refused to believe he was behind the horrific triple suicide. It’s unclear if he used the family weapon to kill his victims and himself.
Cecilia told the Omaha World-Herald, “We believe that (Anthony) sensed trouble and took up arms for safety. We refuse to believe the news. We are deeply saddened as he had so much to live and gave us no indication anything was wrong.
It’s unclear if Arlo was in the same place as his sister and parents when they were murdered, and further information on how he was spared has not surfaced.
Sherwin was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound west of the campground in a wooded area.
The Iowa Department of Public Safety confirmed that Sherwin was the killer, but department officials have yet to publicly disclose a motivation for the attack.
Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green speaks during the celebration of life for the family. Green said, “Please offer a little more mercy to the many friends, neighbors and associates of the Schmidts as we try to process this terrible tragedy.”
No motive for the murders has emerged. Sherwin was visiting Iowa from Nebraska. His blank Facebook profile is pictured above
“Without going into the fine details, with everything we’ve learned, we’re confident that everything we’ve reported is as it happened and that he is responsible,” deputy director of the Department of Criminal Investigations of the Department of Public Safety, Mitch Mortvedt said.
Mortvedt added, “The investigation has revealed no early interaction between the Schmidt family and him.”
The La Vista Police Department in Nebraska released records showing Sherwin had no prior arrests, and Cecilia called her son “kind, sensitive, an exceptional student and an aspiring businessman.”
His Facebook page is completely blank save for a black square that he used as his profile picture.
Sarah’s sister, Jana Morehouse, mourned the loss of her sibling and called the attack “an indiscriminate act of violence”.
Pictured: Sarah and Tyler Schmit. The couple was a neighbor of Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, who called on the community to support their son Arlo, who survived the ordeal
Officials are unsure if Sherwin had any connection to the victims as no evidence has been found that the 23-year-old ever interacted with the family
“Today my life was destroyed,” Morehouse wrote. “My beautiful, smart, funny, curly haired sister, her husband, and their 6-year-old daughter were victims of a random act of violence while camping as a family in Iowa.
“Your 9-year-old son survived and has a life of trauma ahead of him.”
The victims’ family set up a GoFundMe page to support Arlo and set up an education fund for his future.
She added that life without her sister or young niece is unthinkable.
I can not comprehend that [Sarah] won’t be on the other end of the phone anymore,” Morehouse said. “I can’t believe I can’t watch Lula grow up.”
Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green, a neighbor of the Schmidts, also mourned the family’s tragic death on Friday and urged residents to support Arlo.
Green, who knew Sarah when she worked at the Cedar Falls Public Library, wrote, “Please offer some extra clemency to the many friends, neighbors and associates of the Schmidts as we try to process this terrible tragedy.”
As of Thursday afternoon, GoFundMe had raised more than $276,000 for Arlo, with a Meal Train fundraising page also raising $850 for the 9-year-old’s meal budget.