Second person sentenced for murdering grandmother who agreed to sell Wisconsin family farm
(WFRV) – A 29-year-old Colorado man was sentenced to life with the opportunity of parole for the murder of his grandmother after she agreed to sell the family farm in Wisconsin.
According to the Wisconsin Department of Justice, Philip G. Schmidt-Way, 29, from Loveland, Colorado, was sentenced to life on Wednesday with the ability to petition for extended supervision after 20 years.
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Last month, co-defendant Aric Way, father to Schmidt-Way, was sentenced to life in prison without the opportunity for parole for his role in the homicide.
“With this sentencing, we now know that both of the defendants involved in this extensively planned and despicable homicide will be behind bars for a long time,” said Attorney General Josh Kaul. “Thank you to everyone who helped ensure that the exhaustive and thorough work of investigators in this case led to the conviction and sentencing of the defendants.”
Court records show that on July 19, 2021, the victim was found dead in her Dodgeville, Wisconsin home. An autopsy report showed she died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The grandmother had recently agreed to sell the family farm, which Schmidt-Way would have inherited upon the victim’s death.
The evidence at the trial showed there was no obvious source of the elevated levels of carbon monoxide in the home. Way purchased products that are known to react together to create carbon monoxide.
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Schmidt-Way’s phone record data placed his phone in the same area as Way’s Google data during the purchase of a product on July 17, 2021. Additionally, Schmidt-Way’s phone showed he arrived in Wisconsin on July 16, 2021, after leaving Colorado on July 15, 2021.
Schmidt-Way’s vehicle was also seen on camera at the victim’s home on the night of her death.
