DeMom, Son Murdered In Their Home

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Police say a man posing as a former classmate entered an unlocked backdoor and killed Lois Marie Schmidt.

In the early morning hours of June 28, 2004, the Bloise family home was bustling with activity; with dad Joseph already off to work, his wife, Nancy, and daughter, Lois Schmidt, prepared for the day ahead.

Jonathan, Lois' son, lounged on the couch watching television while the family's three dogs, Tasha, Darby and Molly milled around the house. Lois' brother, Morgan, was sleeping peacefully in his room down the hall.

According to Nancy, around 6:00 a.m. the dogs started barking. She believes that's when Lois, responding to a knock at the door, came face to face with an unknown man. Nancy says the man presented himself as "Keith Schmidt" -- supposedly a former classmate of her daughter's. But Nancy says Lois told her she did not recognize the man and closed the door in his face.

Cops believe that shortly after Nancy Bloise left for work, around 7:00 a.m., the man snuck into the house through an unlocked garage door. Cops say the man wasted no time: he zeroed in on Lois and shot her in the head. Jonathan was killed seconds later.

Authorities say Lois' brother, Morgan -- awakened by Jonathan's yelling -- made his way toward the commotion. Suddenly, he was face to face with the shooter and was himself shot. As Morgan ran away, the man followed -- shooting him in the back. But cops say the killer wasn't finished. He shot Morgan again in the roof of the mouth, leaving him for dead.

Cops say the killer also shot two of the three dogs in the home at the time, killing one and wounding the other.

According to police, the killer exited the house the same way he entered, but on his way out, he set a fire. Police believe the killer was trying to burn the bodies and any evidence left at the scene.

Nancy says, though severely wounded, Morgan made his way through the house. He stumbled past his sister's dead body in the foyer and that of his nephew, who lay murdered on the couch.

Nancy calls her son's survival a miracle, and is thankful Morgan made it to their neighbor, who was a registered nurse. She administered first aid to Morgan and telephoned the police.

Investigators say a witness reported seeing a man sitting in a raspberry-colored pick-up truck parked on the wrong side of the street on the morning of the murders. According to the witness, the truck was facing the Bloise home.

Police say although the witness did not get a license plate number, they described the man as possibly being a white or Hispanic male. Police say neither the truck nor the man has been seen in the neighborhood since.

Murder-For-Hire In Virginia Beach?

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Jonathan Vetrano was killed along with his mother on June 28, 2004.

Friends describe Lois as a kind and loving person who adored her children. They say if Lois had any flaws, they were naivety and bad taste in men.

According to relatives, Lois had been married and divorced twice. Cops say at the time of her death, Lois was beginning to move on with her life. She moved back to Virginia Beach, where she stayed with her parents while she got back on her feet financially and emotionally.

Cops say Lois started dating a new man and appeared to have moved beyond the pain of her divorces, but police also say she remained mired in a messy custody dispute with her second ex-husband.

Lois' parents are tortured by the idea that Lois kept the pain and the weight of her fears a secret from them, and from even her closest friends. According to Nancy, it was only after Lois' death they learned Lois feared something bad was going to happen to her.

Police are quite certain Lois' death was not a random act. Cops tells AMW Lois was targeted -- possibly in a murder-for-hire plot.

Friends find it hard to believe that anyone would want to kill Lois, who they say was the kindest person in the world.

Worried the investigation might stall, the family has launched a campaign to keep the case in the public eye -- hoping the increased publicity will lead the police to the killer.

Police continue to search for both the unidentified truck and its driver for questioning. The man is described as a white male, or possibly Hispanic. He stands between 6'0" - 6'1" tall and weighed approximately 160 - 165 lbs. Police say the suspect was wearing black clothing and a mask.

                                       -- Denni Michael Wagner, AMW Staff