Case requested by Mlohr5224 . Thank you for your suggestion and support.
Susan Marie Schmidt was 21 years old when she was murdered on her way home from a shopping trip at the Mall in Glendale.
Susan was an honours student at Arizona State University. She had hoped to be a probation officer when she graduated university.
On 22nd March, 1978, Susan drove to the mall near Northern and 59th Avenue in Glendale. At 8:30pm a jogger spotted her body, slumped over the steering wheel of her father's 1976 Toyota Celica. She had been shot to death near the Valley West Shopping Centre and the car was stopped in the roadway of 55th Avenue. Witnesses reported seeing a man standing at or near Susan's car when she was spotted at the mall.
Susan had been shot with a .22 caliber gun, which wasn't at the scene. All her belongings were still in the car, the only thing missing was her car keys. Detectives gathered some trace evidence from the scene which included hair fibres.
Authorities suspected she may have known her killer as she had allowed this person to come close to her which enabled them to shoot her at point blank range.
In 2003, Susan's family issued a statement wishing for her killer to step forward. Her parents said, "You know who you are, and only you can finish this anguish not only for her family but for yourself."
A lead brought authorities to then 54 year old Edward Meinhold, a resident of Bristol, Virginia. Edward would have been 17 year old at the time of the murder, and was living in Glendale at the time.
Edward had no previous records of committing violent crimes. He had once been convicted of writing bad cheques. Edward was convicted due to linked physical evidence, including fingerprints.
Edward was arrested on suspicion of first degree homicide in 2015 and continued to deny any involvement in Susan's murder. He pleaded not guilty at trial. There is no previous link between Susan and Edward.
Edward has had 8 trials postponed since he was arrested in 2015 in connection with Susan's murder.
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