When Robert Schwartz was found murdered in his home in 2001, investigators had reason to believe the attack was targeted. Soon they were led to his youngest daughter, Clara Schwartz, who seemed to be at the center of it all. Survey Discovery’The Perfect Murder: The Devil Made Me Do It’ focuses on how Clara manipulated three other people into helping in the murder of her father. So, let’s find out what happened to him, shall we?
Who is Clara Schwartz?
Clara was the youngest of Robert’s three children; she had an older brother and sister. At the time of the incident, she was a computer science student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. When authorities learned of Robert’s brutal murder, they spoke to Clara and her friends. One of them, Katherine Inglis, provided detailed information about Clara’s involvement in the murder.
Clara and Katherine had met when the first was in her senior year of high school. Katherine later told police that Clara spoke constantly about Robert allegedly poisoning her food, physically abusing her, and how he pulled her underwater in their pool. According to Katherine, Clara wanted her father dead and talked about the money she would inherit if it became a reality. Then, in August 2001, she began dating Patrick House, who later testified against her at trial.
Patrick said he met Clara in June 2001 at a festival in Leesburg, Virginia. He said Clara created a fantasy role-playing game called Underworld, where he played an assassin and a bard. In the same game, there was also a character named Old Guy which meant Robert. According to Patrick, Clara asked him to kill Old Guy, and he initially thought it was only gambling related. But later it was clear she meant killing his father in real life.
Patrick further testified that Clara showed him her diary entries where she discussed Robert’s alleged abuse and attempts to poison him. Clara had pointed him to a chapter of a book on herbal poisons, wanting to make Robert’s death look natural. Although Patrick never made it, she soon found Kyle Hulbert, a man with a history of mental illness, to help her with the plan.
Where is Clara Schwartz now?
During interrogation, Clara initially claimed that she thought Kyle was joking when he talked about killing Robert. But later she changed her mind, saying, “I want to go straight. Deep inside I knew that [Kyle] went there to kill [my father].” During Clara’s trial in October 2002, the defense claimed that Kyle was not supposed to take Clara’s words at face value because they were part of the game.
Ultimately, a jury found Clara guilty of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and two counts of solicitation to commit murder. Michele, her sister, told the court: ‘It’s just been a nightmare since the first day I found out. It’s hard enough that it’s my father, but on top of that, my sister committed such a horrible crime. In February 2003, then aged 20, Clara was sentenced to 48 years behind bars. She remains incarcerated at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women in Troy, Virginia, and may be released in 2043.
Read more: How did Robert Schwartz die?
