A Black Hills man is in custody for an 8-year old cold case murder. 53-year old Richard Schmitz was arrested Friday at his home near Hill City for the death of 38-year old Meshell Will, who was last seen alive Aug 24, 2013.
Schmitz is scheduled to make his first court appearance tomorrow on a 2nd-degree murder charge.
Will had been living in Custer for about 6 months when she disappeared. Her decomposed remains were found about a week later along the side of a road near Mount Rushmore by someone taking pictures.
Pennington County Sheriff’s Captain Tony Harrison says Schmitz had been a person-of-interest in the case for a long time and that enough evidence had finally been gathered for probable cause and an arrest warrant.
Captain Harrison says four agencies – the Pennington and Custer County Sheriff’s Offices, Rapid City Police, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigations worked closely over the years in developing the case against Schmitz.