By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Two people were convicted this week of first-degree intentional homicide in the slaying of a woman found dead in the bedroom of her rural Iowa County home. Police say her son and grandson plotted to kill her in an effort to stop the sale of a family farm.
The Wisconsin Dept. of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation on Thursday announced the jury’s finding that 51-year-old Aric L. Way, of Glendale, and 28-year-old Philip G. Schmidt-Way, of Loveland, Colo., were guilty of the crime, which carries a mandatory life sentence.
The name of the victim is not listed in court documents.
Police say her body was discovered in June 2021 by a man who came to her home to buy a collection of books. When an EMS crew arrived at the scene, a carbon monoxide monitor sounded, forcing an evacuation of the home and prompting an investigation into the source of high CO levels in the home.
With no natural gas service in the home, and all appliances and mechanical systems operating on electricity, investigators soon became suspicious.
An autopsy showed the victim had carbon monoxide poisoning along with recent trauma to parts of her body. And a trail camera captured two images of a suspicious truck during the early morning hours of July 19, 2021, just before the victim was found dead. See the full complaint embedded below by clicking this link.
Prosecutors tied the truck, which had distinct features, to both defendants. Later, evidence pointed to Aric Wray procuring the necessary chemicals to create a chemical reaction that releases carbon monoxide gas. Those chemicals were used in the slaying, officials said.
Police say Schmidt-Wray was set to inherit the family farm upon the victim’s death, but that inheritance was at risk when the victim decided to sell the farm to a married couple. A residential offer to purchase the farmstead was signed just weeks before her death with a July 30, 2021 closing date.
In a news release, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul thanked investigators and prosecutors for their work on what he called a complex homicide case.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Iowa County Sheriff’s Office and DCI with assistance from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Dodgeville EMS, Dodgeville Fire, Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office – Colorado, UW Hospital, Glendale Police Department, Eastern District of Wisconsin U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin State Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Victim services were provided by the Iowa County District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Nathaniel Adamson and Edward Minser.
