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Another failed 'restraining order' leads to death
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Charles Schuler threatened to kill his wife three times before he showed up with a hunting rifle at the home they once shared, his sister-in-law said today.
Mr. Schuler arrived at the South Abington townhouse early Sunday and killed his pregnant stepdaughter and himself instead.
Lisa Schuler had an active protection- from-abuse order against her husband, a convicted felon. He was not supposed to have contact with her. But the man called her three times in recent weeks, threatening to kill her and take their two young daughters away, according to Lisa's sister Joanne, who asked that her last name not be used.
Joanne said it was an allegation that he sexually molested one of his young daughters that set Mr. Schuler off. The young girl told her mother about the alleged abuse, according to the PFA papers filed May 3, and Mrs. Schuler in turn reported it to the police.
"He was hunting her and I was petrified," the sister said, adding that she feared retribution from Mr. Schuler's family. "He was there to kill her, to shoot her dead."
But 19-year-old Tara Murphy, Mrs. Schuler's daughter from a previous marriage, got in the way of her stepfather's plan. She ran out of the second-floor room she'd been hiding in with her mother and three small children, hoping to distract Mr. Schuler and protect her family.
It worked.
Calling her late daughter a hero, Mrs. Schuler said the time her husband spent chasing Tara - and fatally shooting her - gave police time to get to the scene.
Tara made it as far as the first floor, where Mr. Schuler shot her in the back. The bullet exited through her face, authorities said. Ms. Murphy died about two hours later at Community Medical Center. Doctors performed emergency surgery, delivering the baby who was three months premature. They were unable to save him.
South Abington Township Police Chief Robert Gerrity said the claim of sexual abuse of a child was investigated, but there was not enough evidence to press charges.
Just prior to the allegations, Mrs. Schuler discovered that her husband of three years was a convicted murderer who killed a co-worker in North Carolina a decade ago. But Mr. Schuler explained the killing away as self-defense, and his family members backed up his story, Mrs. Schuler said.
Mrs. Schuler said her estranged husband had been laid off from a supervisory position at FiNet Technologies in Dunmore in October.
Lisa Nehme of Old Forge worked with Mr. Schuler at FiNet Technologies before the plant closed last year leaving them both unemployed. She said she was shocked to hear about the shooting.
"I didn't know him really well, but still I couldn't believe it. He never seemed particularly mean . . . or particularly nice. He was a little cold though," she said.
Thomas McGrail, 33, of Taylor, worked for Mr. Schuler on the second shift at FiNet. He described his former boss as easygoing.
"He never showed signs of aggression or irritability, never got bent out of shape or anything like that," he said. "This news was a shock and a half."
Mr. McGrail said Mr. Schuler rarely mentioned his family and told co-workers he moved to the area from North Carolina to find work.
"He said things were real slow down there. He didn't mention anything about a murder."
Mrs. Schuler recounted the horrific moments Monday night. Because she remains on medication from the injuries she suffered, she asked her sister to do most of the talking. Still, she managed to express many thoughts.
After shooting Tara, Mr. Schuler returned to the bedroom.
Prior to gunning down his stepdaughter, Mr. Schuler twice shot Ms. Murphy's boyfriend, 20-year-old Frank Rivera of Reading, while the young man tried to fight him off, police said. He managed to escape to a neighbor's home and call for help.
With the gun pointed at her, Mrs. Schuler said, her husband ordered her several times to let loose the girls she was holding closely. She would not.
"I was trying to think of ways to survive in those last seconds," Mrs. Schuler said. "I said (to him): 'Look at your babies.'?"
He told her, "You're going to die and my mother is going to take care of the babies," according to Mrs. Schuler.
At one point, Mr. Schuler took a seat in the rocking chair.
"He kept telling me, 'I have a big surprise for you downstairs' with a big smile on his face. I knew he meant my baby (Tara)," she said.
The glow of police lights soon shined through the children's bedroom window. She said she used the distraction to grab the barrel of the gun and tried to wrestle it from him.
Township police Sgt. Greg Winowich quickly made his way into the home and was making his way up the stairs.
She said her husband beat her with the butt of the gun as she continued to hold on. He gave her one final blow to the head and she fell backward, she said.
At that point, Mr. Schuler raised the gun and fired a bullet into his head, ending his life. Mrs. Schuler said she and the children were covered with his blood.
Mrs. Schuler credited Sgt. Winowich's bravery for entering the home alone.
Chief Gerrity said the department had a nationwide lookout posted for Mr. Schuler. Police had been trying to track him since he tried to purchase a gun in Philadelphia on May 30.
A mandatory records check revealed that Mr. Schuler was prohibited from owning a firearm because of the 1992 murder conviction. He was paroled in 1997. The records system also noted that a judge had issued an abuse-protection order prohibiting Mr. Schuler from contacting his wife or owning weapons.
Chief Gerrity said Mr. Schuler fled from the gun store.
"Based on his history, we were looking for him pretty aggressively. We'd been in touch with police in Virginia, where he'd been spotted," Chief Gerrity said. "And Bucks County police had his car under surveillance this weekend."
But while police in Bensalem waited for him outside a motel where his vehicle was spotted, Mr. Schuler had a rental car and was already on his way to Lackawanna County, Chief Gerrity said.
In a telephone interview Monday night, Mrs. Schuler said she was staying with her sister, Joanne on Long Island in New York.
Joanne said her sister had been tracking Mr. Schuler's location through two credit cards he was carrying.
About a week ago, Joanne said, her sister tracked Mr. Schuler's credit card to Bedford, Va., near where his father lives. She said police contacted the father, but he denied that he had seen his son.
Mr. Schuler's mother, Karen Graney, resides in Dalton. A man who answered the phone at Ms. Graney's house Monday said the family had no comment.
Police are still trying to determine where Mr. Schuler got the murder weapon.
Mr. Rivera's father, Carmen I. Maldonado, said Tara had been living with him and his son in Reading for the last two months. The couple were visiting her daughter and mother, who was caring for the child, when the shooting happened.
Mr. Rivera, who lost fingers on his right hand in the shooting, was discharged from Penn State Geisinger Hershey Medical Center on Monday.
cScranton Times Tribune 2002
Reader Opinions
Post your opinion and share your thoughts with other readers!
Name: Kelley
Date: Jun, 26 2002
My name is Kelley and I live in New York where Tara used to live until a little over three years ago. Tara was a beautiful young girl with so much to offer this world. All she wanted was someone to love her. Since childhood I have felt this way. Tara and I were friends since her first day of school in fourth grade. This tragedy disgusts me. I have never felt so heartbroken in my entire life. After receiving the news I broke down and called all of Tara's other close friends here in NY. We gathered together in shock and disbelief. How could someone so terrible hurt someone so innocent??? WHY?? We will never know. I read this article and I was pleased with how the situation was presented, but a little disappointed in the fact that nothing of Tara's life in New York was mentioned, including her poor father and brother. I am angry and hurt and heartbroken. But all we can do now is pray for Tara's little girl and hope that she will always know what a wonderful mommy she had.
Name: Lori Ann Panunzio
Date: Jun, 25 2002
Hello my name is Lori Panunzio, I am Tara Murphy's best friend. Tara and I attended Red Rock Job Corps Center together. I just wanted to let the scranton times know that they are doing a wonderful job on this story. Tara was a wonderful, outgoing person and will be missed by all. Thank you again.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4553146&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Mr. Schuler arrived at the South Abington townhouse early Sunday and killed his pregnant stepdaughter and himself instead.
Lisa Schuler had an active protection- from-abuse order against her husband, a convicted felon. He was not supposed to have contact with her. But the man called her three times in recent weeks, threatening to kill her and take their two young daughters away, according to Lisa's sister Joanne, who asked that her last name not be used.
Joanne said it was an allegation that he sexually molested one of his young daughters that set Mr. Schuler off. The young girl told her mother about the alleged abuse, according to the PFA papers filed May 3, and Mrs. Schuler in turn reported it to the police.
"He was hunting her and I was petrified," the sister said, adding that she feared retribution from Mr. Schuler's family. "He was there to kill her, to shoot her dead."
But 19-year-old Tara Murphy, Mrs. Schuler's daughter from a previous marriage, got in the way of her stepfather's plan. She ran out of the second-floor room she'd been hiding in with her mother and three small children, hoping to distract Mr. Schuler and protect her family.
It worked.
Calling her late daughter a hero, Mrs. Schuler said the time her husband spent chasing Tara - and fatally shooting her - gave police time to get to the scene.
Tara made it as far as the first floor, where Mr. Schuler shot her in the back. The bullet exited through her face, authorities said. Ms. Murphy died about two hours later at Community Medical Center. Doctors performed emergency surgery, delivering the baby who was three months premature. They were unable to save him.
South Abington Township Police Chief Robert Gerrity said the claim of sexual abuse of a child was investigated, but there was not enough evidence to press charges.
Just prior to the allegations, Mrs. Schuler discovered that her husband of three years was a convicted murderer who killed a co-worker in North Carolina a decade ago. But Mr. Schuler explained the killing away as self-defense, and his family members backed up his story, Mrs. Schuler said.
Mrs. Schuler said her estranged husband had been laid off from a supervisory position at FiNet Technologies in Dunmore in October.
Lisa Nehme of Old Forge worked with Mr. Schuler at FiNet Technologies before the plant closed last year leaving them both unemployed. She said she was shocked to hear about the shooting.
"I didn't know him really well, but still I couldn't believe it. He never seemed particularly mean . . . or particularly nice. He was a little cold though," she said.
Thomas McGrail, 33, of Taylor, worked for Mr. Schuler on the second shift at FiNet. He described his former boss as easygoing.
"He never showed signs of aggression or irritability, never got bent out of shape or anything like that," he said. "This news was a shock and a half."
Mr. McGrail said Mr. Schuler rarely mentioned his family and told co-workers he moved to the area from North Carolina to find work.
"He said things were real slow down there. He didn't mention anything about a murder."
Mrs. Schuler recounted the horrific moments Monday night. Because she remains on medication from the injuries she suffered, she asked her sister to do most of the talking. Still, she managed to express many thoughts.
After shooting Tara, Mr. Schuler returned to the bedroom.
Prior to gunning down his stepdaughter, Mr. Schuler twice shot Ms. Murphy's boyfriend, 20-year-old Frank Rivera of Reading, while the young man tried to fight him off, police said. He managed to escape to a neighbor's home and call for help.
With the gun pointed at her, Mrs. Schuler said, her husband ordered her several times to let loose the girls she was holding closely. She would not.
"I was trying to think of ways to survive in those last seconds," Mrs. Schuler said. "I said (to him): 'Look at your babies.'?"
He told her, "You're going to die and my mother is going to take care of the babies," according to Mrs. Schuler.
At one point, Mr. Schuler took a seat in the rocking chair.
"He kept telling me, 'I have a big surprise for you downstairs' with a big smile on his face. I knew he meant my baby (Tara)," she said.
The glow of police lights soon shined through the children's bedroom window. She said she used the distraction to grab the barrel of the gun and tried to wrestle it from him.
Township police Sgt. Greg Winowich quickly made his way into the home and was making his way up the stairs.
She said her husband beat her with the butt of the gun as she continued to hold on. He gave her one final blow to the head and she fell backward, she said.
At that point, Mr. Schuler raised the gun and fired a bullet into his head, ending his life. Mrs. Schuler said she and the children were covered with his blood.
Mrs. Schuler credited Sgt. Winowich's bravery for entering the home alone.
Chief Gerrity said the department had a nationwide lookout posted for Mr. Schuler. Police had been trying to track him since he tried to purchase a gun in Philadelphia on May 30.
A mandatory records check revealed that Mr. Schuler was prohibited from owning a firearm because of the 1992 murder conviction. He was paroled in 1997. The records system also noted that a judge had issued an abuse-protection order prohibiting Mr. Schuler from contacting his wife or owning weapons.
Chief Gerrity said Mr. Schuler fled from the gun store.
"Based on his history, we were looking for him pretty aggressively. We'd been in touch with police in Virginia, where he'd been spotted," Chief Gerrity said. "And Bucks County police had his car under surveillance this weekend."
But while police in Bensalem waited for him outside a motel where his vehicle was spotted, Mr. Schuler had a rental car and was already on his way to Lackawanna County, Chief Gerrity said.
In a telephone interview Monday night, Mrs. Schuler said she was staying with her sister, Joanne on Long Island in New York.
Joanne said her sister had been tracking Mr. Schuler's location through two credit cards he was carrying.
About a week ago, Joanne said, her sister tracked Mr. Schuler's credit card to Bedford, Va., near where his father lives. She said police contacted the father, but he denied that he had seen his son.
Mr. Schuler's mother, Karen Graney, resides in Dalton. A man who answered the phone at Ms. Graney's house Monday said the family had no comment.
Police are still trying to determine where Mr. Schuler got the murder weapon.
Mr. Rivera's father, Carmen I. Maldonado, said Tara had been living with him and his son in Reading for the last two months. The couple were visiting her daughter and mother, who was caring for the child, when the shooting happened.
Mr. Rivera, who lost fingers on his right hand in the shooting, was discharged from Penn State Geisinger Hershey Medical Center on Monday.
cScranton Times Tribune 2002
Reader Opinions
Post your opinion and share your thoughts with other readers!
Name: Kelley
Date: Jun, 26 2002
My name is Kelley and I live in New York where Tara used to live until a little over three years ago. Tara was a beautiful young girl with so much to offer this world. All she wanted was someone to love her. Since childhood I have felt this way. Tara and I were friends since her first day of school in fourth grade. This tragedy disgusts me. I have never felt so heartbroken in my entire life. After receiving the news I broke down and called all of Tara's other close friends here in NY. We gathered together in shock and disbelief. How could someone so terrible hurt someone so innocent??? WHY?? We will never know. I read this article and I was pleased with how the situation was presented, but a little disappointed in the fact that nothing of Tara's life in New York was mentioned, including her poor father and brother. I am angry and hurt and heartbroken. But all we can do now is pray for Tara's little girl and hope that she will always know what a wonderful mommy she had.
Name: Lori Ann Panunzio
Date: Jun, 25 2002
Hello my name is Lori Panunzio, I am Tara Murphy's best friend. Tara and I attended Red Rock Job Corps Center together. I just wanted to let the scranton times know that they are doing a wonderful job on this story. Tara was a wonderful, outgoing person and will be missed by all. Thank you again.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=4553146&BRD=2185&PAG=461&dept_id=415898&rfi=6
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878