Woman who killed boyfriend during sex game released on parole after 18 years
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Anastazia Schmid was a free woman Tuesday – more than 18 years after she stabbed her boyfriend 39 times.
Schmid, 45, is not the same person she was on March 4, 2001, when she killed Tony Heathcote, according to those who advocated for Schmid.
Heathcote was defenseless against the attack because he was blindfolded and restrained as part of a consensual sex game the couple was playing, according to a case history included in a U.S. District Court's May 15 ruling that overturned Schmid's murder conviction.
During this sex game, Schmid went into a psychotic break from reality, according to a U.S. District Court. During the attack, Schmid heard a voice telling her that Heathcote was evil and needed to be eliminated.
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She will be on parole for two years
On Monday, Schmid pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
She received an 44-year, 299-day sentence. With credit for good behavior and other time-cut credits, the new sentence amounted to time served.
Schmid was released Tuesday morning, Tippecanoe County Prosecutor Patrick Harrington said.
She will be on parole for two years, according to the court's sentencing order. If she violates parole, she can be sent back to prison to serve the 18 years she received off her sentence for good behavior.
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Even if the U.S. District Court had not ordered the murder conviction vacated, Schmid only had two years remaining on a 50-year sentence she received in November 2002 (accounting for good behavior and other time-cut credits).
The U.S. District Court found that Schmid was mentally unfit for trial and unable to understand what was happening in the courtroom because of ineffective counsel.
That U.S. District Court ruling sent the case back to Tippecanoe County to decide how to proceed.
Ironically, Harrington offered Schmid the same plea agreement for voluntary manslaughter that she was offered in 2002 by then Prosecutor Jerry Bean.
In 2002, Schmid and prosecutors accepted that plea, but then Schmid's newly hired attorney rejected the agreement, and the case went to trial.
During Monday's hearing, Schmid took responsibility for the killing and expressed remorse, Harrington said.
"She apologized to the victim's family," Harrington said, noting that Heathcote's father and stepmother were in the courtroom.
Now that she's out of prison, Schmid will live in the Indianapolis area, Harrington said.
She's taken advantage of prison programs to earn an associate and bachelor's degrees, and she's enrolled in a master's degree program at IUPUI, Harrington said, noting Schmid has a full scholarship to IUPUI.
Whereas most offenders stand before a judge and pledge to make the most of prison programs to change their lives, Schmid proved it, Harrington said, summarizing Tippecanoe County Judge Steve Meyer's assessment of Schmid during the sentencing phase of Monday's hearing.
Schmid's supporters touted how she got her education in prison, participated in programs for mental health, and when there were no programs available, she started programs inside prison to help other prisoners struggling with mental health, Harrington said.
Follow Ron Wilkins on Twitter: @RonWilkins2
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Woman who killed boyfriend during sex game released on parole
