Former Pastor Arthur Schirmer is now facing life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of his second wife, Betty Jean Schirmer in 2008. The Allentown Morning Call reported that Schirmer was found guilty in January of first-degree murder of Betty Jean Schirmer. The verdict was handed down in Monroe County Court in Stroudsburg, Pa.
The pastor received the life sentence for allegedly beating his second wife to death in their Poconos home on July 15, 2008. Schirmer later staged an automobile crash on Route 715 near Reeders, Pa., to support his original claim that his wife died when he swerved to avoid a deer on the windy and forested state highway. Schirmer claimed he was taking his wife to a local hospital after she told him she was suffering jaw pain.
In another twist, the "Lebanon Daily News" reported that Schirmer's current fiancée, Cynthia Moyer, told the court prior to his sentencing that she believed "100 percent in his innocence." The central Pennsylvania paper said that Moyer's previous husband, Joseph Musante, committed suicide by gunshot in Schirmer's office in 2008 after hearing of his wife's affair.
Arthur Schirmer now awaits his next trial in Lebanon, Pa. for the alleged 1999 murder of his first wife, Jewel Schirmer. He has since waived his arraignment and entered a not-guilty plea. Pennsylvania still has the death penalty on its books, so it is not yet clear whether this second case could bring additional repercussions.
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