DODGEVILLE — One of the two men arrested for the death of a 74-year-old Dodgeville woman made his first Iowa County Circuit Court appearance via video Dec. 6.
Bond of $500,000 cash was set for Philip G. Schmidt-Way, 28, Loveland, Colo., with the condition he have no contact with the residence of the alleged victim.
Schmidt-Way and Aric Way, 51, Glendale, are being charged with party to first-degree intentional homicide in connection with the death of Way’s mother and Schmidt-Way’s grandmother outside Dodgeville in July 2021.
Schmidt-Way’s preliminary hearing will be held Dec. 20.
Way was bound over for trial Nov. 18. He will be arraigned Jan. 3.
Bail was set at $250,000 for Way at his initial Iowa County Circuit Court appearance Nov. 8 with the requirements he have no contact with Schmidt-Way or a Town of Dodgeville address.
Both face life in prison if convicted.
The case is being heard by Grant County Circuit Judge Robert VanDeHey and being prosecuted by state assistant attorneys general Nathaniel Adamson and Edward Minser, according to court records.
A search warrant executed after Schmidt-Day’s arrest revealed more than 150 pounds of dried marijuana, more than 50 live marijuana plants, and several thousand dollars in cash, according to KMGH-TV in Denver.
Diana K Way, 74, Way’s mother and Schmidt-Way’s grandmother, was found dead in her Town of Dodgeville home July 19, 2021.
Carbon monoxide poisoning was a contributing cause of death, according to a Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation news release. The criminal complaint said there were no obvious sources to explain elevated levels of carbon monoxide in her home.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim had recently agreed to sell the family farm, which Schmidt-Way was set to inherit upon the victim’s death, to family friends.
A search warrant obtained Facebook messages Way sent to a friend in which Way said he was going to get “legal guardianship of [Way’s] mother before she sells the family farm for a handful of beans.”
Way filed a petition for permanent guardianship due to incompetency June 2, 2021, according to the criminal complaint. The petition was denied June 16, 2021.
After that, the victim changed her will, which originally had Aric Way inheriting a life estate in the farmstead upon her death, with the remaining interest going to Schmidt-Way. According to the criminal complaint, the new will removed Way as her personal representative while “intentionally not leaving any gift or distribution to Way,” leaving Schmidt-Way as her sole heir.
The victim was found unresponsive in her bedroom by a man who had arranged to purchase books from her. A Dodgeville EMS crew responded but during trying to care for her one of the EMT’s carbon monoxide detector went off, according to the criminal complaint.
The DOJ news release said Way purchased products known to react together to create carbon monoxide. Way’s Google search history revealed searches for a beekeeping supply store to get formic acid and for drain cleaner with a high percentage of sulfuric acid. Owners of a beekeeping supply business told authorities that a new customer purchased a large supply of formic acid, according to the criminal complaint.
A pickup truck registered to Schmidt-Way was seen on a trail camera at the victim’s home entering the property at 2:57 a.m. and leaving at 5:24 a.m. the night of her death, according to the criminal complaint. The same truck dropped off Way at the Sheriff’s Office the day after the victim’s death.
The Iowa County Sheriff’s Office and DCI investigated the case with assistance from the Wisconsin State Crime Lab, Dodgeville EMS, Dodgeville Fire, the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force, Larimer County, Colo., Sheriff’s Office, UW Hospital, Glendale Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin State Patrol and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.