Investigators say Jonathan Schmidt fled after Marcia Van Druten was found dead in her Ohio home.
LA SALLE, Mich. — A homicide investigation that began inside a Sylvania home crossed into Michigan within hours, ending with the arrest of a 35-year-old man accused of killing his mother-in-law.
Jonathan Schmidt was taken into custody early April 16 in La Salle, Michigan, after police said Marcia Sue Van Druten, 68, was found dead the night before at her home on Fox Hollow Court in Sylvania. The Lucas County Coroner’s Office said Van Druten was pronounced dead at about 9 p.m. April 15 and later ruled her death a homicide caused by multiple blunt force trauma. Schmidt has since been indicted in Lucas County on seven charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The arrest became an important second scene in the case. Local reporting said Monroe County deputies found Schmidt at a bar and body-camera footage captured his arrest. Police also found a rope, knife and hammer in his vehicle, according to WTOL. Those items have been reported as part of the investigation, but authorities have not publicly said which, if any, were used in the killing. The Blade later reported that investigators recovered a noose and suicide note from Schmidt’s work area after an employer contacted police. Together, the Ohio home, the Michigan arrest and the work-area search give prosecutors a broader timeline than the fatal attack alone.
The first scene remained the Van Druten home. Authorities and family friends said Schmidt used a crowbar to shatter sliding glass doors and enter the house. Van Druten’s husband was asleep upstairs and did not know the attack was happening below, according to reports. Police later found Van Druten dead. The coroner’s short public release did not describe the interior of the home, but it confirmed the core medical finding: Van Druten died from repeated blunt force injuries and her death was a homicide. Investigators are expected to use forensic testing, scene photos, phone records and witness statements to fill in the missing minutes.
Before police got to the house, the alarm had already moved through the family. Emily Hayman, a friend of Van Druten’s daughter, said one of Schmidt’s friends contacted Kinsey VanDruten after receiving a message from Schmidt saying he was going to hurt Kinsey’s mother. Hayman said Kinsey tried to call her mother several times, then called her father when the calls went unanswered. Her father heard the phone nearby, went downstairs and found Van Druten. “She said he killed my mom. He killed my mom,” Hayman said of Kinsey’s call after the discovery. That account makes the phone calls a central part of the timeline.
The criminal case is tied to a family case that was already underway. Schmidt and Kinsey VanDruten were in divorce proceedings, and reports say Schmidt had filed for divorce. They shared a young son, Hayes, who was born premature during their honeymoon about 15 months before the killing. The divorce involved custody questions and disputes over child and spousal support. Family members had been subpoenaed, including Marcia Van Druten. Those facts may help prosecutors explain why Van Druten was allegedly targeted. They may also lead to pretrial fights over which parts of the divorce record can be shown to jurors.
Police history may also become part of those fights. WTOL reported that officers had responded to domestic incidents involving Schmidt three times in the previous 10 months. WTVG reported that Schmidt had made threats against his parents in an earlier report, though he was not charged. Hayman said Kinsey had been afraid during earlier arguments, including one in a car when Schmidt allegedly drove fast and said frightening things. Prior reports can be powerful in a courtroom, but they also can be challenged. A judge may have to decide whether they show motive, intent or pattern, or whether they risk unfairly influencing jurors.
After the arrest, prosecutors broadened the allegations through a grand jury. Schmidt was indicted on two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, one count of aggravated burglary and two counts of felonious assault. The aggravated murder charges include different theories, such as prior calculation or a killing during an aggravated burglary. The burglary charge is tied to the alleged forced entry into an occupied home. The assault charges reflect the severe violence described by the coroner’s finding. Schmidt’s not guilty plea means the indictment remains an accusation unless prosecutors prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case has already produced courtroom testimony. The Blade reported that a detective detailed an alleged speakerphone confession during a hearing and that another Sylvania detective also testified. A report said video showed a car in the neighborhood. Those pieces could support the state’s timeline if admitted at trial. The defense is expected to scrutinize how the alleged confession was heard, whether it was recorded, who was present and whether witnesses remembered it accurately. Defense lawyers also may examine the arrest in Michigan, the search of Schmidt’s vehicle and the later recovery of items from the work area.
For Van Druten’s family, the public legal steps have unfolded alongside private loss. A fundraiser organized by Hayman for Kinsey and Hayes described Marcia as a mother and grandmother whose death left the family with sudden grief and financial strain. By early May, it had raised nearly $50,000. Hayman told WTVG that Van Druten had survived breast cancer and that Kinsey now faced raising Hayes without her mother’s support while Schmidt was incarcerated. The statement placed a personal frame around a case that otherwise appears in court records as counts, dates and legal theories.
Sylvania police have not announced any additional suspects. The known timeline runs from the alleged warning message to missed calls, the discovery at the Fox Hollow Court home, the flight into Michigan and the arrest in La Salle. Still unknown are the full contents of the warning message, the exact time Schmidt allegedly entered the home and the final forensic conclusions that prosecutors may present. Those details could become clearer as discovery continues and witnesses testify under oath.
Jonathan Schmidt remains jailed while the Lucas County case proceeds through pretrial stages. Future hearings are expected to address evidence, witness testimony, possible motions and the trial calendar.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.