Man Kills Daughter-in-Law Over Son’s Divorce

What was meant to be a joyful evening ended in tragedy when a wedding in Illinois turned into a crime scene. Police say a 76-year-old man fatally shot his daughter-in-law in the head outside a wedding reception because she was planning to divorce his son.

The incident happened Friday night, July 26, at the Marriott hotel on North Martingale Road in Schaumburg, a suburb just outside Chicago. According to local police, officers responded to reports of a shooting around 10:15 p.m. and found a woman in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the head.

The victim, 45-year-old Christine Moyer of Ohio, was rushed to a hospital but later died from her injuries.

Authorities say the alleged shooter, Roland Schmidt of Stillman Valley, had attended the wedding alongside Moyer. As she left the event, Schmidt reportedly followed her outside and shot her. Investigators believe Schmidt was angry over divorce papers Moyer had filed against his son.

Police say a bystander at the scene managed to subdue Schmidt and disarm him before officers arrived. He was taken into custody and is now facing a charge of first-degree murder. He was booked into the Cook County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Witnesses described the chaos in the aftermath of the shooting. Flory Sommers, who had just entered the hotel with friends, told WFLD Fox 32: “I was inside by the ATM and I heard some people calling ‘gunshot!’ Then the manager said he was calling the ambulance, and I just saw people moving quickly to the elevator and the lobby.”