A former military lawyer was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison for a brutal revenge plot that involved taking a law firm partner and his wife hostage inside their McLean, Virginia, home, slashing their throats and leaving them for dead.
A Fairfax County judge on Friday sentenced Andrew Schmuhl, 33, to two life terms plus 98 years for his role in the attack on Leo Fisher and Susan Duncan in November 2014.
Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows could have chosen to lighten the sentence handed up by a jury after Schmuhl’s conviction in June but chose not to, calling the crime “brutal” and “callous.”
Prosecutors and defense attorneys called no witnesses during the brief sentencing Friday, which stood in contrast to the exhaustive five-week trial that led to Schmuhl’s conviction. Schmuhl also elected not to address the court.
“We are satisfied with the jury’s verdict and felt that it was appropriate in this case,” said Casey Lingan, Fairfax County chief deputy commonwealth’s attorney.
Prosecutors said Schmuhl began to plot revenge after his wife, Alecia Schmuhl, was fired by Fisher’s Arlington firm, Bean, Kinney & Korman, in late 2014. Alecia Schmuhl is scheduled to stand trial on charges related to the case in September.
Prosecutors said the Schmuhls assembled an abduction kit and bought stun guns and hard-to-trace cellphones before driving to the couple’s home on a Sunday evening. Posing as a law enforcement officer, Andrew Schmuhl knocked on the couple’s door and forced his way in, prosecutors said. He used the stun gun on Fisher, restrained him and took Duncan hostage, as well.
Over the next three hours, Schmuhl asked questions and searched Fisher’s email. Eventually, Schmuhl put a pillow over Fisher’s head and slashed his neck, prosecutors said.
Schmuhl fired a gun at Duncan, and the bullet grazed her head, prosecutors said. He then slashed her throat and ran after she activated an alarm.
Defense attorneys conceded that Schmuhl carried out the attacks but argued that he was so intoxicated by painkillers he took for a bad back that he could not judge right from wrong.
Fisher said during the trial that his wife often awakens at night screaming and that he contends with bouts of rage.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Justin Jouvenal
