True Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Part VII

Gerard John Schaefer, Jr. Part II

Martin County

The April 6 search of Schaefer's Martin County residence yielded less physical evidence, although investigators did recover two human teeth stowed in a plastic capsule inside the master bedroom, several knives and firearms inside a utility shed, and an extensively bloodstained white pillowcase which had been washed. Jessup's distinctive suede purse was discovered to have been in the possession of Schaefer's wife; she later informed police her husband had given her the item as a gift in "about November" of the previous year, but had attempted to persuade both her and his brother-in-law, Henry Dean, to discard the item upon learning of the April 1 discoveries in Oak Hammock Park with the explanation the police may use the item to "make up some kind of evidence" against him. Despite Schaefer's efforts, his brother-in-law had given the item to police.

Formal murder charges

"There has been evidence of considerable paranoid feelings, hostility, and anger, which erupts with little stress. It is noted that past examiners have [also] seen this patient as representing a character disorder ... In addition, there appears to be a very active fantasy life. He is considered to be a very dangerous person, both to himself and to others."--Section of Dr. Benjamin R. Ogburn's pretrial evaluation of Schaefer. June 20, 1973.

By May 12, investigators had gathered enough physical and circumstantial evidence to link Schaefer to nine murders and unsolved disappearances dating between 1969 and 1973. The same month, a periodical published a list of twenty-eight murdered or missing individuals believed to be linked to Schaefer. The majority of these individuals hailed from Florida, although two victims each hailed from Iowa and West Virginia. At a press conference held on May 14, Chief Investigator Lem Brumley Jr. informed the media that, "in terms of scope and bizarreness", the case was the biggest he had encountered in his career to date.

On May 18, Schaefer was formally charged with first-degree murder for the killings of Place and Jessup; he was held without bond pending trial and transferred to Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee to undergo thirty days of psychiatric examinations before being returned to St. Lucie County jail on June 20. The results of these examinations revealed Schaefer to be an individual suffering from paranoia, psychosis and acute sexual deviation who viewed himself as "an eliminator of women he deemed immoral", but nonetheless mentally competent to stand trial.

At a circuit court hearing on June 21, District Attorney Robert Stone successfully argued before Judge Cyrus Pfeiffer Trowbridge that Schaefer was sane, and thus competent to stand trial. Schaefer vehemently protested his innocence, claiming the accusations against him were "a mistake" and informing one reporter he remained confident he would be exonerated.

Murder trial

Schaefer was brought to trial on September 17, 1973. He was tried in St. Lucie County before Judge Trowbridge. The prosecution team consisted of Stone and Philip Shailer, assisted by Richard Purdy and Anthony Young. Schaefer was defended by Schwartz and Bruce Colton, assisted by James Brecker.

As the murders of Place and Jessup had been committed at a time when the Supreme Court of Florida had declared capital punishment unconstitutional in the state, prosecutors sought life imprisonment for Schaefer. The defendant pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and frequently conveyed a distant and aloof demeanor throughout the official proceedings; often staring coldly at prosecution witnesses as they testified, or turning to smile at members of the press when a witness testified for his counsel.

Initial proceedings

Although Schaefer did testify at the pretrial hearing (in which he denied any culpability in the murders of Place and Jessup and claimed to be unable to recall his whereabouts on the date of their abduction and murder), upon the advice of his defense counsel he did not testify at the trial itself, which formally began on September 19.