Indiana man indicted in Schwartz murder

PAULDING — A Fort Wayne, Indiana, man has been indicted for the murder of Wilma A. Schwartz, according to Paulding County Sheriff Jason K. Landers.

The sheriff noted that Daniel Zerbe, 42, was indicted on one count of murder by the May 12 session of the Paulding County Grand Jury and a warrant issued for his arrest.

“Through our investigation, we discovered that Schwartz was shot inside her vehicle by Zerbe,” said Sheriff Landers, adding that Schwartz and Zerbe had been in a relationship for several years — a relationship the sheriff said “wasn’t good”.

Zerbe is currently incarcerated in Allen County, Indiana, on methamphetamine related charges, and also has other outstanding warrants in Wells County, Indiana. He will be served a copy of the Paulding County indictment relating to the Schwartz murder, Sheriff Landers noted, and eventually be extradited to Paulding County for arraignment on the charge.

The sheriff said a key element in getting an indictment in the case was finding Zerbe in possession of the gun allegedly used to kill Schwartz .

“My deputies were able to advance the case when Zerbe was arrested on an unrelated warrant and he was found in possession of a gun used in the (Schwartz) murder,” Sheriff Landers explained.

The sheriff gave credit both to his staff and to the other agencies involved in investigating the murder.

“I cannot give my staff enough credit publicly,” Sheriff Landers said. “For our rural community and rather small office, we have been tasked with some very serious crimes the past several months. This group continues to come to work with positive attitudes da after day to protect and serve this community.”

The sheriff also gave credit to other Ohio and Indiana authorities for their quick work in helping resolve the Schwartz murder case.

“There a lot of agencies involved in this investigation; the cooperation has been outstanding,” he said. “If it wasn’t for the swift actions of law enforcement on the Indiana side of the state line, my guys would not have been able to act so quickly following leads and putting this case together.”

Ms. Schwartz’ body was found on a property on the Ohio-Indiana Line on March 14. She was reported missing on March 9. An autopsy showed she died from a gunshot wound to the head.