The 74-year-old Libby man accused of shooting and killing another man in his living room and then not reporting the incident for 18 hours was due to stand trial starting Sept. 28, but prosecutors now say they need more time to prepare their case.
Lincoln County Attorney Bernard Cassidy filed a motion to continue the trial of Henry Carl Schroeder in early September and now it has been rescheduled for January. Schroeder has been charged with deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence in the Jan. 31 shooting death of Thomas Lawrence Veloz.
According to court documents, Kimberlee Ann Patterson and Veloz were dating but the couple had a falling out in late January. On the evening of Jan. 31, Patterson was at Schroeder’s house and said her relationship with Veloz was over. She asked if it was OK if she stayed there because her ex-boyfriend was on a “warpath.”
At about 8 p.m., Veloz allegedly barged into Schroeder’s house and told him, “I’m going to kill you for messing around with my girlfriend.” Veloz then grabbed Patterson by the arm and told her to get in the car. Patterson pulled away and Schroeder ran into his bedroom to get a .380-caliber pistol. Schroeder then shot Veloz from about six feet away, according to court records. After Veloz went down, Schroeder walked over to him and shot him a few more times, emptying the clip after firing a total of five bullets.
After the shooting, Schroeder and Patterson picked up some of the shells and covered Veloz’s body, but neither of them reported the shooting to authorities. Both of them were arrested the following day after another person saw the body and called the police. Patterson has been charged with tampering with witnesses and tampering with evidence.
Schroeder was initially charged with negligent homicide but that was later amended to deliberate homicide. He pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and tampering with evidence on March 2. If convicted of deliberate homicide, Schroeder could face up to 100 years in prison.