The U.S. Forest Service’s site says “multiple-use Black Hills National Forest has an activity for everyone.” One activity/use that is definitely not approved is dumping dead bodies. In 2013, Richard Schmitz (55) reportedly killed his sweetheart, Meshell Will, and left her body along a road in South Dakota’s Black Hills National Forest for a visitor to find several days later.
A judge sentenced Schmitz to 10 years in jail on Friday.
Schmitz, who had a history of violence towards females, was first detained for the crime in 2021. He took a plea deal in January quickly before his trial date for Meshell Will’s murder.
Meshell Will. Image thanks to CBS News Last week, a judge gave him the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for second-degree murder. He has already served about 900 days of that sentence.
Will, who was 38 at the time of her death, was alive on August 23, 2013, when she and Schmitz checked into a motel in Keystone, S.D. The theory is that Schmitz eliminated her there, then dealt with her body in the national forest. Will was not using shoes or carrying individual belongings.
There were 6 cases of assault and domestic violence against Schmitz given that 1999, reports local news outlet KELO, which the judge said is evidence that he is not safe to be among the general public.
Though Schmitz has actually not confessed to the murder, local law authorities feel there is finally justice in this 11-year-old cold case.
One activity that is definitely not approved in a national forest is disposing dead bodies. Meshell Will’s killer was sentenced to prison.