The mugshots of Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl. Photos courtesy of The Washington Post.
Summary: Once prominent attorney Andrew Schmuhl was found guilty of terrorizing a law firm partner and his wife after invading their home.
When partner Leo Fisher terminated Alecia Schmuhl from his Arlington law firm, he never would have predicted that Alecia would have her husband Andrew invade his home two weeks later and slash his and his wife’s throats. But that’s what allegedly happened in 2014, and Fisher and his wife have finally received some justice.
- Related article: Fired Lawyer by Stabbing and Torturing Law Firm Partner
On Tuesday, Andrew Schmuhl was found guilty of abduction, aggravated malicious wounding, burglary, and using a firearm during a felony. The Fairfax County jury deliberated for over seven hours, and on Thursday, they will decide on a sentence. The Washington Post said that Andrew may receive life in prison, and his wife’s trial will occur in September.
Fisher and his wife of forty years, Susan Duncan, testified about the terrifying November 9, 2014 attack. Andrew broke into their upscale home before binding Fisher’s hands and legs. He then tasered Fisher before binding Duncan. While wearing a jacket and fedora, Andrew terrorized the couple before he slashed their throats. They said they only survived because Duncan managed to punch a panic button using her bloody hand. Prosecutors said that Alecia was outside of the house, communicating with her husband via cell phone. The entire ordeal lasted almost three hours.
Police stated that Alecia and Andrew had escaped when they arrived, and the couple was found 30 minutes away. An inebriated Andrew was wearing a diaper.
Prosecutors said Alecia plotted revenge after her firing from Fisher’s law firm Bean, Kinney & Korman. Her husband Andrew, a once prominent military lawyer, found out around the same time that he would owe thousands of dollars, so he hoped to steal from Fisher. Prosecutor Casey Lingan said that this was a plot fueled by “hate and greed.”
“How more cruel could you get?” Lingan said during the trial. “Taking this couple who had been married for 40 years and making sure you know their lives are being held in your hands and then carving them up like a piece of meat.”
The defense attorneys did not deny that Andrew had assaulted Fisher and Duncan, but they argued that Andrew was intoxicated when he invaded their home. His lawyers tried to blame Alecia, saying she had purposely drugged her husband in order to manipulate him. They stated that he had developed an addiction to painkillers after he had left the military in 2012 and suffered an injury that left him unable to work.
However, prosecutors said that this plan was carefully thought out by both of them. They pointed to the fact that the Schmuhls had an “abduction kit,” which included a Taser and untraceable cellphones.
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Source: The Washington Post