A retired Pennsylvania pastor is accused of killing his wife and staging a car accident to try and cover up the murder. 62 year old Arthur “A.B” Schirmer allegedly claims he was in a car accident that killed his wife, but police say evidence suggests Schirmer actually staged the crash and have charged him with criminal homicide and evidence tampering.

Arthur Schirmer

The investigation into the death of Schirmer’s wife, Betty Jean Schirmer, has gone on for over 2 years, and now a judge has ruled there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.

The accident
On July 15, 2008, a passerby observed Schirmer and wife Betty inside their PT Cruiser on the shoulder of Route 715 in Reeders, PA. The vehicle’s front was pressed into a guardrail, but there was minimal damage to the vehicle and the airbag had not deployed. The person who stopped to help noticed Betty’s side of the car was saturated in blood. Betty was bleeding from the head, unconscious, and having difficulty breathing. She also had a large laceration and bruising on the right side of her head, fractures to her face and skull, a possible fracture to the cervical spine. Schirmer? Not only was he uninjured, but despite having a working cell phone with him, he did not call 911…it was the passerby who called for paramedics. Betty was transferred to a nearby hospital where she died of brain injury just after midnight. At the time, Betty’s death was determined to be an accident.

Grand jury report reveals torrid affair
Police did not further investigate Betty Schirmer’s death until after the suicide of Joseph Musante, whose wife was allegedly having an affair with Pastor Arthur Schirmer.

Betty Schirmer / Jewel Schirmer

Musante’s body was found in Schirmer’s church office behind the pastor’s desk on October 29, 2008. Musante died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. An investigation into the death revealed an alleged affair between Musante’s wife Cynthia and Pastor Schirmer, including various intimate emails between them. At the time of the alleged affair Cynthia Musante was employed as Schirmer’s personal assistant at Reeders United Methodist Church. After Musante’s death, police began receiving several complaints about the deaths of both Schirmer’s late wife Betty and his first wife Jewel Schirmer.

Was the crash staged?
During the Betty Schirmer investigation, police discovered Schirmer’s description of the accident did not appear to be consistent with the actual damage to the vehicle or Betty’s injuries. Schirmer told the coroner and law enforcement that he was traveling 55 mph when a deer entered his lane and he swerved the vehicle to avoid the deer and lost control, striking the guardrail. Schirmer estimated he was going about 45 mph, and was specific as to how his wife suffered her injuries in the car accident. A paramedic who responded to the accident scene testified in court that she couldn’t figure out why Betty had head and body injuries despite there being little damage to the car or Schirmer himself. Police say after a careful review of the scene and evidence, they believe the damage to the car was not consistent with a crash at 45 mph and was likely less then half that speed, 20 mph or less. In addition, police had a difficult time determining how Betty’s seatbelt became undone. Police say Schirmer gave several contradicting stories concerning the absence of Betty’s seatbelt, including allegedly telling the coroner Betty was suffering from jaw pain and she had removed her seatbelt to reposition herself, and telling another person her seatbelt just became undone.

Search Warrant: Blood in Church
After a careful examination of the photos of the car, investigators believed Betty was actually bleeding prior to the crash, and blood evidence on the passenger seat indicates she was bleeding prior to getting into the car. Police executed a search warrant on Schirmer’s church, where he also lived, and discovered numerous dried blood drops located on the floor of the garage near the top of the stairway. There was also a large blood stain area on the concrete floor that appeared consistent with the area of the passenger front door, based on tire impressions and observations concerning where the car would be parked. DNA testing on Betty’s relatives revealed that blood found in Schirmer’s home was 20 trillion times more likely to be Betty’s blood than an unrelated person. When police confronted Schirmer with the blood they found in the garage, Schirmer allegedly told them that within a month prior to Betty’s death, he and Betty were removing firewood and a wood pile fell on both of them, causing them both to bleed. Schirmer claims he was cut on the wrist and Betty was cut on both arms causing her to bleed on the garage floor. Schirmer says he cleaned the blood with a beige cloth and threw the cloth away, but never sought medical care.

Did Jewel Schirmer’s death slip through the cracks?
After arresting Schirmer for criminal homicide in Betty’s death, the district attorney now says they will open a “brand new” investigation into the death of Schirmer’s first wife Jewel, who allegedly fell down a flight of stairs. Jewel Schirmer died on April 24, 1999 from blunt force head trauma. Pastor Schirmer allegedly claimed he had arrived home from jogging to find Jewel bleeding from her head lying in a pool of blood at the foot of the basement stairs…an electrical cord from a shop vac was wrapped around her leg and her shoes were off. When the grand jury convened recently to review the death of Betty Schirmer, the forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy on Jewel was asked to testify. Dr. Wayne Ross told the grand jury he believed Jewel’s injuries were not consistent with a passive fall down a flight of stairs. Dr. Ross noted that Jewel’s skull fracture would have required at least 750 pounds of pressure or force to cause it, and the lacerations to her head were highly suspicious and could have been caused by an object striking her head. Dr. Ross testified that Jewel had 14 separate impact injuries to her head and face, numerous abrasions and contusions throughout her upper body and arms, as well as pervasive trauma, including dilation, abrasions and bruising to the anal area. Dr. Ross firmly believed Jewel’s injuries were not from a passive fall and told the grand jury he believed the investigation should be treated as a homicide. Police reportedly investigated Jewel’s death at the time or her alleged fall and filed no charges because of insufficient evidence. Soon after Jewel’s death, Dr. Ross reportedly told the detective working the case that Jewel died from a massive heart attack and the detective then relayed that to the family…but another report claims police simply never referred the case to the DA’s office. After the investigation into Betty’s death was re-opened, that was when the testimony from Dr. Ross revealed suspicions about the nature of Jewel’s death. While Ross now believes Jewel’s death should be treated as homicide, Jewel’s brother reportedly says that’s different from what he told the family in 1999. It is unclear who may have dropped the ball in Betty’s case, but all sides remain silent. As of now Jewel’s death is considered an accident, and Pastor Schirmer is not a suspect.

Report: Pastor still with Church Secretary
Schirmer was taken into custody last week and is being held on no bail. At the time of his arrest, Schirmer was reportedly engaged to be married to Cynthia Musante, the then-married church secretary with whom he was allegedly having an affair. Schirmer resigned as pastor of Reeders United Methodist Church in November 2008 following Musante’s suicide and complaints about Schirmer’s behavior, and reportedly moved in with Cynthia Musante soon after. After resigning from the ministry, Schirmer reportedly joined Beroean, a touring, 3-person evangelical singing group. From the beginning, Schirmer has repeatedly denied any involvement in the deaths of either of his wives.

Texas girl, 12, disappeared in 1989

(CNN) - Of all the experiences they shared in their 12 years together, Janice Norwood still recalls a special moment when her daughter Kimberly confided in her while they were going into town one day.

"She was having a little problem with some math and she said, 'I just can't get fractions,"' Norwood recalled. Kimberly, a good student, would enter junior high school during the next school year.

Kimberly Norwood / Photo Credit: NCMEC

Kimberly never made it to her junior high school. She disappeared on May 20, 1989, a Saturday. She had spent the night at a friend's house in her hometown of Hallsville, Texas.

She came home around lunchtime, had a bite to eat and cleaned her aquarium, Norwood says. Afterward, she went out again to play with friends.

Close to 5 p.m., Kimberly called her mother from a friend's house, asking if the girl could sleep over at the Norwood home.

Norwood said no, because she "really didn't care for that little girl." Kimberly pleaded, "But we won't bother nobody," Norwood says.

Mother and daughter hung up the phone, both in a bit of a huff. That was the last time they spoke.

About an hour later, Kimberly was reportedly walking with three friends when they went their separate ways less than a mile from Norwood's house. It was the last time anyone saw her.

Click here to read full story

Ronald Cummings, the father of missing FL girl Haleigh Cummings, will serve 15 years in prison and was fined $250,000 for selling prescription drugs. His lawyer has been negotiating a plea deal with the state since his client’s arrest back in January.

Ronald Cummings

The 26 year old Cummings agreed to testify in any criminal case in the future in connection to the disappearance of his daughter. What he actually has to offer about the night his daughter went missing remains to be seen. The impression has always been that it’s Misty Croslin who is allegedly withholding information about Haleigh’s disappearance, not Ronald. Regardless, in exchange for his testimony, the state dropped two of the five charges against Cummings and sentenced him to two 15 year sentences and another 7 year sentence, to be served concurrently. Under FL law, Cummings is expected to serve 85 percent of his sentence. Either way, Cummings is going to be in jail for the rest of his twenties and majority of his thirties. Ronald’s lawyer –Terry Shoemaker–said the judge put a lien against Cummings…a hefty fine that he will never be able to pay in this lifetime.