APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Those who deal with the fallout of domestic incidents discuss the impact of one that investigators say claimed two lives.
Police say Robert and Sarah Schmidt died in Tuesday night’s incident in Calumet County.
Deputies arrived at a home in Harrison and heard gunshots.
A deputy then confronted Robert Schmidt, but he ran into the backyard.
Officials cornered Schmidt who eventually died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Sara Schmidt was found dead in a vehicle.
Court records show she filed for divorce last Friday, and Robert Schmidt faced sexual assault and kidnapping charges.
Court documents also show the couple left behind three children.
Those who work with domestic violence survivors day in and day out say it’s more common locally than you may think.
“It’s not uncommon for us to average 38 crisis calls a day,” said Wendy Gehl who is the program services director for Harbor House in Appleton, which serves Outagamie and Calumet Counties.
Gehl tells FOX 11 News domestic abuse-related homicide is becoming more common in the area, with two in the last four months. She said the most dangerous time for a victim is when they try to leave their abuser.
“That is when a perpetrator of violence and abuse realizes that they have lost that control…Could turn out to be a horrible, physical violence incident, it could be a horrible, sexual violence incident, it could be a homicide,” Gehl explained.
According to Gehl domestic abuse between parents can have an extremely negative impact on children as well.
“So we have to understand that they too have gone through trauma.”
We know from court documents that Sara Schmidt filed for divorce from Robert Schmidt only days before Tuesday’s murder-suicide. The couple left behind three children.
Psychologist Frank Cummings has not treated the children in this case, but says overall, this can be an extremely traumatic time.
“Lots of spoken and unspoken un-truths that lead kids to believe that somehow they are the cause of this,” he told FOX 11.
Cummings told us the children will need to learn the truth through something called trauma-informed care from trained counselors.
“Help them put this in an age-appropriate context and it’s gonna unfold and change as they get older,” he explained.
Cummings added that having a strong support system is also important.
“Really predicts the outcome and lowers the mental health consequences for the child,” he said.
Gehl told us providing support through the trauma is why it’s so important Harbor House has an extensive youth program.
“The good part is kids can be very resilient,” she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with domestic abuse you can visit the Harbor House website here.
