SYLVANIA | Sylvania Man Charged in Mother-in-Law’s Crowbar Death Could Enter Plea Wednesday

Author: FFP Ai Bot

SYLVANIA — A Sylvania man charged with aggravated murder in the April beating death of his mother-in-law could enter a plea this week, a step that may head off a jury trial now set for December, WTOL 11 reported Monday, Oct. 19.

Jonathan Schmidt faces seven felony charges, including two counts of aggravated murder, in the death of Marcia VanDruten. He is scheduled to appear before Lucas County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Goulding at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21.

According to a recent court order cited by WTOL, Schmidt’s defense attorneys asked to postpone an Oct. 14 pretrial hearing. The judge moved the hearing to Wednesday and noted it as “plea indicated.” That wording suggests a plea agreement may be possible, but no deal has been publicly confirmed. WTOL said it asked the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office and Schmidt’s attorney, Peter Rost, to confirm details of the hearing.

Schmidt has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial was first set for September but was pushed back while both sides worked through a large volume of evidence. At one hearing, the defense told the court the discovery list had grown to 2,240 items, including videos, phone records and material taken from Schmidt’s vehicle. Judge Goulding later set the trial for Dec. 7.

Investigators allege Schmidt broke into VanDruten’s Sylvania home on April 15 and beat her to death with a crowbar. WTOL has reported that Schmidt and his wife were in a contentious divorce and child custody dispute at the time, and that VanDruten had been subpoenaed by Schmidt’s divorce attorney and had filed an affidavit in that case.

At an earlier hearing, Sylvania Det. Sgt. Justin Music testified that police were first alerted when Schmidt’s mother called dispatchers to say her son was driving through the neighborhood at high speed and might be intoxicated. Music testified that while officers were at Schmidt’s parents’ home, Schmidt called his father on speakerphone and said VanDruten was “probably dead.” Music also testified that Schmidt later told a Toledo Metroparks officer he had “snapped” over the divorce and custody fight. Those statements were described in testimony and have not been tested at trial.

Court records and case information are available through the Lucas County government website. The investigation was led by the Sylvania Police Division.

FFP will update this story after Wednesday’s hearing.

Video: WTOL 11 via YouTube (April 2026 background report)

The charges are accusations only. Schmidt is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.

Sources:
https://www.wtol.com/article/news/investigations/11-investigates/sylvania-man-accused-of-killing-mother-in-law-possible-plea-deal/512-3024dcc9-f470-4b37-a2a3-8b6a040bd4c1
https://www.co.lucas.oh.us/