Roland Schmidt
A 76-year-old man who authorities say fatally shot his daughter-in-law last month outside a Schaumburg hotel entered a not guilty plea Friday in a Rolling Meadows courtroom.
Roland Schmidt, of Stillman Valley, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christine Moyer, 45, of Galena, Ohio.
Prosecutors said Schmidt shot Moyer on July 25 after a family wedding because he was upset that she had served her husband, Schmidt’s son, with divorce papers earlier that month.
Authorities say he planned to kill Moyer and then end his own life.
Schmidt, Moyer and other family members sat together at the reception, according to prosecutors, who say there were no fights, arguments or conversations about the divorce because the victim’s husband had told only his parents.
As family members exited the hotel about 10:12 p.m., Schmidt pulled out a gun and shot Moyer in the head, prosecutors say.
Fearing Schmidt would continue shooting, one of the witnesses attempted to disarm him assisted by her husband, who prosecutors say wrestled the gun away from the defendant. An unrelated person who was outside the hotel at the time, helped the husband take Schmidt to the ground, according to prosecutors.
Another bystander, who identified himself as an off-duty police officer, secured the gun until Schaumburg police officers arrived, authorities said.
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