Authorities say the killing followed a warning message, a shattered patio door and a contentious divorce case.

SYLVANIA, Ohio — A Sylvania man accused of breaking into his mother-in-law’s home and beating her to death has been indicted on seven charges after investigators tied the killing to an escalating divorce and custody dispute.

Jonathan Schmidt, 35, is charged in the death of Marcia Sue Van Druten, 68, who was pronounced dead at her home on Fox Hollow Court on April 15 at about 9 p.m. The Lucas County Coroner’s Office ruled her death a homicide caused by multiple blunt force trauma. The case now sits in Lucas County Common Pleas Court, where Schmidt has pleaded not guilty to charges that include two counts of aggravated murder.

The case began with fear spreading through a family before police arrived at the quiet Eagle Trace subdivision. Emily Hayman, a friend of Van Druten’s daughter, said one of Schmidt’s friends warned the daughter, Kinsey VanDruten, that Schmidt had sent a message saying he was going to hurt her mother. Hayman said Kinsey tried to call her mother several times and then called her father when the calls went unanswered. Her father was upstairs in the home, heard the phone nearby and went downstairs. “She said he killed my mom. He killed my mom,” Hayman said of Kinsey’s call to her after the discovery. Hayman said she was already on her way to Kinsey when the panic set in.

Police and local reports say Schmidt forced his way into the house by shattering sliding glass doors with a crowbar. Van Druten’s husband was asleep upstairs and did not know what was happening below, according to accounts given by family friends and reported by local media. Authorities said Van Druten was fatally beaten inside the home. A call about an intoxicated driver in the subdivision helped lead police to the Fox Hollow Court address, where they found Van Druten dead. The coroner’s release, issued April 16, gave the medical finding but did not list all evidence gathered by police. Investigators have not publicly described every injury or said how long the attack lasted. The weapon police believe was used has been described in reports as a crowbar.

Schmidt fled Ohio after the killing, authorities said. He was arrested early April 16 in La Salle, Michigan, about 25 miles northeast of Sylvania. Later reporting said Monroe County deputies encountered him at a bar and body-camera video showed the arrest. Police also reported finding items in his vehicle, including a rope, knife and hammer, according to local reports. Prosecutors have not said in open filings how each item fits into the case. Investigators also recovered a noose and a suicide note from Schmidt’s work area after his employer contacted police the next day, according to court testimony reported by The Blade. Those details may become part of the state’s effort to show planning or state of mind, though Schmidt is presumed innocent unless convicted.

The killing unfolded as Schmidt and Kinsey VanDruten were in divorce proceedings. Local reports say Schmidt had filed for divorce and that the case involved custody of their young son, Hayes, who was born premature during the couple’s honeymoon about 15 months before the killing. Court-related disputes also included child and spousal support, and subpoenas had been issued to family members, including Marcia Van Druten. Police records reported by WTOL show officers had responded to domestic incidents involving Schmidt three times in the previous 10 months. WTVG reported that Schmidt had previously made threats against his parents, but no charges were filed in that matter. Hayman said the warning signs were present before the night Van Druten died.

The indictment expanded the case beyond the first charge. A Lucas County grand jury charged Schmidt with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of murder, one count of aggravated burglary and two counts of felonious assault. The aggravated murder counts are alternative legal theories, including that the killing was planned or happened during an aggravated burglary. The murder counts also set out separate theories, including that Van Druten was killed on purpose or died during other felony conduct. Schmidt entered not guilty pleas. Earlier, in Sylvania Municipal Court, Judge Michael Bonfiglio set bond at $2 million with no allowance, meaning the full amount would have to be posted for release.

Investigators have described the case through police records, coroner findings, witness statements and court testimony. A detective later testified about an alleged speakerphone confession connected to the killing. That testimony came during a hearing where the state laid out portions of its evidence and the defense tested details of the investigation. Police also reported video showing Schmidt’s car in the neighborhood. The full case file has not been aired publicly, and prosecutors have not released every witness statement. Unknowns remain about the precise timeline inside the house, whether Van Druten saw her attacker enter and whether the alleged warning message was sent shortly before Schmidt reached the home or earlier in the evening.

The loss also became public through a fundraiser organized by Hayman for Kinsey and Hayes. The page described Marcia as deeply loved by her daughter and grandchildren and said Kinsey now faced funeral costs, living expenses and the sudden loss of her mother’s support. It had raised nearly $50,000 by early May. Hayman told WTVG that Van Druten had survived breast cancer and that her death left her daughter to raise a young child while the child’s father was incarcerated. Her comments shifted the case from court language to the family’s daily reality, with a daughter grieving her mother while also facing a criminal case tied to her estranged husband.

Fox Hollow Court sits in Sylvania, a Toledo-area city known more for residential streets and schools than violent crime. The home became the center of a cross-state investigation that stretched from the broken glass at the back of the house to an arrest in Michigan hours later. Police have not said that anyone else is suspected in the killing. The case has drawn attention because of the way the alleged threat moved from a friend to a daughter to the home, and because Van Druten’s husband was inside the house when the fatal attack occurred. The facts also placed a domestic court dispute beside a homicide prosecution, with family members expected to remain important witnesses.

The next milestones are expected to include continued pretrial hearings, evidence exchanges between prosecutors and the defense, and rulings on what testimony and records may be used at trial. Schmidt remains in custody as the case moves forward in Lucas County.

Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.