Prosecutor: Victims in McLean stabbing were held in a ‘torture session’ Two Virginia lawyers who are accused of stabbing a managing partner at a prominent Arlington law firm where the woman had worked allegedly held the victims for hours in what a prosecutor called a “torture session.” One of the accused lawyers — Alecia Schmuhl, 30 — appeared Friday in a Fairfax County courtroom and was ordered held without bond. Police said Schmuhl and her husband, Andrew Schmuhl, 31, drove Sunday night to the McLean home of Leo Fisher, a managing partner at Bean Kinney & Korman. According to police: Andrew Schmuhl knocked on the front door of the nearly $1 million rambler on Spencer Road and gained entry by posing as a law enforcement officer. He then used a stun gun on Fisher and put flexible handcuffs on him. When Fisher’s wife, Susan Duncan, came to see what was happening, Schmuhl put flexible handcuffs on her, too, and put her in a bathroom, police said. At some point, Andrew Schmuhl shot at Duncan but did not hit her, they said. Later, Andrew Schmuhl stabbed Fisher and Duncan, police said. Alecia Schmuhl remained outside the home during the incident, according to reports from Friday’s hearing. Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl were charged with two counts each of abduction and malicious wounding in connection with the attack. Andrew Schmuhl did not appear in court Friday. He is being held without bond. His hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. The incident began about 6:30 p.m. Sunday, but police were not called until shortly before 10 p.m. “It can only be described as a torture session,” said Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Raymond F. Morrogh. In Friday’s hearing, Morrogh said that Andrew Schmuhl was later found in his wife’s car wearing nothing but a diaper. Mark Petrovich, an attorney for Alecia Schmuhl, said that she did not know what her husband intended to do inside the home and that Andrew Schmuhl orchestrated the attacks. “She was controlled by her husband,” Petrovich said. In McLean, the incident has shattered the peace of what is normally a quiet and low-crime neighborhood. Prosecutors said that after Duncan was stabbed, she was somehow able to hit the alarm to notify police for help and sent the suspects fleeing, prompting a manhunt involving dozens of officers and a helicopter. Prosecutors said the victims gave a description of the couple and police found the car in the Springfield area about 10:30 p.m. Sunday. Alecia Schmuhl was driving but refused to pull over and led authorities on a four-mile chase. When police finally pulled the car over, they saw Andrew Schmuhl in the car wearing only a diaper, Morrogh said. Bloody clothing, a Taser and a gun were found in the car, authorities said. Detectives and acquaintances are trying to figure out why the Springfield couple, who apparently had so much going for them, would allegedly throw it all away. Andrew Schmuhl was a former judge advocate in the Army at Fort Belvoir. Alecia Schmuhl was a corporate lawyer who worked at the law firm where the male victim was a managing partner but was recently fired. It is not clear when she was fired. Police said investigators have not been able to interview Fisher or Duncan, both 61, who continue to fight for their lives in the hospital. The firm released a statement on Friday afternoon, which read in part: “We are shocked and horrified by the facts of the matter as presented at this morning’s bond hearing for Ms. Schmuhl, and entirely support the decision to deny her bond. Our hearts go out to a wonderful colleague and his beloved wife. We are doing everything possible to support them though this ordeal and pray for their recovery.” Alecia Schmuhl speaks three languages, according to an online profile, and was on the board of the Arlington-Alexandria Coalition for the Homeless. James Watson, a fellow board member, described her as constructive and helpful. He said he was “totally shocked” by her arrest. Both Schmuhls graduated from Indiana’s Valparaiso University Law School in 2009, a spokeswoman said. A LinkedIn page said Andrew Schmuhl oversaw a staff of five paralegals and worked on medical lien cases there until 2012. It also said he was seeking employment in military or health-care law. The profile said he joined the Army as early as 2006. Neither of the Schmuhls has a felony record in Fairfax. Dana Hedgpeth contributed to this report. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local...91e520-6c09-11e4-9fb4-a622dae742a2_story.html
I nearly couldn't finish the article due to the name "Schmuhl." She needs to divorce this man at once.
