For the past three years, Christopher Schmidt has been held without bond in the Virginia Beach city jail on charges accusing him of hiring a hitman to kill his ex-wife.
But late Tuesday afternoon, the 49-year-old was set free. Prosecutors had asked a judge to withdraw all charges against him earlier that day.
The reason? Richard Stoner, the man charged with being the hitman, is refusing to cooperate. Without his testimony, prosecutors don’t believe they have enough evidence to win a conviction against Schmidt.
“At this point, the commonwealth sees no other option,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle told substitute Circuit Judge Patricia West during a brief hearing Tuesday.
Prosecutors, however, hope to convince Stoner to work with them, said Macie Allen, a spokeswoman for the office. If they do, they’ll bring back the charges against Schmidt, Allen said.
The murder-for-hire case was thrown into disarray last week when Virginia Beach Circuit Judge Steven Frucci allowed Stoner to withdraw his guilty pleas.
In 2019, Stoner entered pleas to various murder charges and agreed to testify against Schmidt after prosecutors promised not to seek the death penalty against him.
But when capital punishment was abolished in Virginia this summer, Stoner asked to withdraw his pleas.
Defense attorney Matthew Morris argued during a hearing last week the change in law invalidated the deal. Frucci agreed and allowed Stoner to withdraw his pleas.
Since then, Stoner has said he plans to invoke his Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination if called to testify at Schmidt’s trial, which was scheduled to start Sept. 27.
Last week, prosecutors asked Circuit Judge James Lewis to instead allow them to introduce transcripts of Stoner’s previous testimony at Schmidt’s trial.
Stoner testified for hours at a 2019 preliminary hearing for Schmidt. He told the judge Schmidt hired him only to kill his ex-wife, Lois Schmidt, but he ended up killing her 7-year-old son, too, and seriously injuring her brother. Two family dogs also were shot, with one surviving.
Lewis, however, said the case law was clear that any decision on whether to allow transcripts into evidence couldn’t be made until Stoner was called to testify during the trial and then refused.
Prosecutors argued they needed a decision in advance because without Stoner’s cooperation — or the transcripts of his previous testimony — they would have to end their case in the middle of trial. The double jeopardy rule that prevents them from trying a defendant twice on the same charges would keep them from trying it again later.
The shootings happened in 2004 at a Virginia Beach home Lois Schmidt shared with her parents. The house was set on fire afterward.
Lois Schmidt and her son from a previous marriage had moved to Virginia Beach to live with her parents after she and Christopher Schmidt separated. Lois Schmidt also had an infant daughter with Christopher Schmidt and was battling him for custody when the shootings occurred. The girl was with Schmidt at the time.
The case remained cold until 2018, when investigators said they’d obtained a confession from Stoner.
While Schmidt’s charges have been withdrawn, Stoner still faces trial in the case. No date has been set, Allen said.
The confession Stoner is alleged to have given police can be presented at his trial, but it couldn’t be admitted at Schmidt’s because it would be considered hearsay evidence, Allen said.
Jane Harper, 757-222-5097, jane.harper@pilotonline.com
