Transcript of The Hunt Begins

Last time on this, doesn't happen to people like me.

When you went into the residence further, did you observe an individual inside of that residence? Yes. Tina's husband, Tim Schmidt, arrived home. He found Tina on the floor crying and bleeding, crying that she'd been raped, bleeding from her body. Tim, her her husband, Tina, had a gun because Tina was so terrified that a defendant and his accomplice were going to come back.

She appeared to be emotional to you? Yes, she did. Did she tell you that he was worried they were going to come back? Yes, she did.

Welcome to this doesn't happen to people like me. A new serialized true crime podcast by the makers of Soaring Scale. We hope you enjoy it. If you do, please tell a friend and leave us a review a rating on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can find out more at swornscale. Com. I'm your host, Mike Boudet. This series was written and produced by Michael Stabiel. About 20 miles south of Quincy, Illinois, and just over the state's border into Missouri, there's another city. That city is named Hannibal. On the night of November ninth, 2021, a young man named David Joseph began a work shift in Hannibal at a Phillips 66 gas station. David was the gas station attendant, which meant that he had to run the cash register and oversee the comings and goings of a small convenience store.

Can you tell us your name, please?

David Joseph.

Mr. Joseph, you live in Hannibal, Missouri. Is that correct? Correct. On November ninth, 2021, where were you working?

At the Phillips 66 gas station.

On that particular evening, did two individuals show up to the gas station? Yes.

As a night shift gas station attendant, David had seen all kinds of shady people come and go from his convenience store. But on this night, two individuals stood out.

Specifically, those individuals showed up in a white Toyota Avalon, is that correct? Correct. Also on that particular evening was their video surveillance at the gas station. Yes. Mr. Joseph, we see a white car that's just pulled up to the punks that the white car we were talking about. Yes. Mr. Joseph, as we were watching that, we were seeing individuals get out of that car and go inside the gas station. Is that correct? Yes. As we discussed, there's also a camera that catches that front door. Correct.

Like most gas stations, the Phillips 66 had several surveillance cameras. These cameras captured two individuals as they parked at the gas pump, got gas, and made some purchases inside the convenience store.

Mr. Joseph, you indicated there's also a camera that captures his video machines over here. Is that right? Right. That we're seeing on the screen. We see an individual here that's wearing a black hoodie and gray pants. Tell us who that is. That's me. Part of your job is just to walk around and check on people, right? We see that you're going over here to this individual that's got something strapped over his shoulder. Was that the same individual, male individual that we just saw coming in and out of those five doors? Yes, ma'am. Was that the same male individual that you saw coming in and out of that white car? That's correct.

Stationed in the back area of the convenience store were some gambling machines because, well, why not? While your car fills up with gas, you can grab a slushy and throw away some money on a few hands of video broker.

When you went over to that individual, did you have any conversation with him?

Briefly.

Was that because of something you saw? Yeah, it was a ziploc bag of money. And did I concern you seeing the ziploc bag of money? Yeah, a lot of money. In fact, were you worried about the man that something could happen to him?

Yeah. If he was where I grew up at, Hey, you could have a problem if somebody saw you with that.

Was that a ziploc bag of money that he had on that purse? Yes. Mr. Joseph, that mail that you can see that we were just talking about that you talked to over at that video machine with the big white of cash in the bag. Describe him for you. It's hard to see how he looked. Can you describe him for the jury?

I know he had the hat on. He had a red A red beard. Was he white or black? It was a white guy. David spoke to the man with the red beard and warned him about carrying around a large ziploc bag full of cash. Meanwhile, back in Quincy, Illinois, Tina Lohman's daughter, also was receiving a very troubling phone call from her mother's husband.

I was at my hair salon. Someone had canceled their appointment, and my daughter had called me and asked if I would stop at Wendy's and get her a chicken sandwich. I drove to her house, and And while I was in her house, I had just given her the sandwich down, said hello to my grandchildren. And then my mother's husband called me and told me to get to the house, that my mom was crying for me and that she wanted me to get to the house as soon as possible. And I said, Why is she crying? And he said, Your mother's been raped. And I just ran out of my daughter's house.

The news of what happened to Tina began reaching her children and grandchildren. This included said Tina's granddaughter, Carly.

When I first heard of the attack, my mom called me, Heidi Young. I was actually just at home. We were getting my son ready for bed, and she called me really hysterical. I couldn't really understand what she was saying. So I told her, I was like, I need you to calm down and walk me through what you're saying. And she just said that my grandmother had been raped at her house and that she was to take her to the hospital.

For most people, it's hard to imagine what your reaction would be when hearing news like this. For Carly, her reaction was mostly disbelief, which made sense. Learning that your mother or grandmother has been violently attacked and raped. It's the thing that just doesn't happen to people like us. Right?

My reaction was at first a shock and almost Are you sure? Are you confused? Because this doesn't sound real, and I don't understand how this could even happen. Because at that point, I didn't know the full story. So I basically said, I said, Well, take her to the hospital and just call me and keep me updated. Like, what's going on? And then my mom got off the phone, and then my aunt was texting me. My aunt is Ilsa Tarroll.

While Carly was trying to make sense of things, Tina's daughter, Ilsa, drove to her mom's home. During this drive, she called Tina's husband to get more information.

I called my mom's husband again to ask him what happened because I had immediately gone into shock, and I don't think I heard him right. And he said that my mother had been raped. I don't really remember driving to their house. It's quite a ways from there. Then when I pulled up to her driveway, there was sheriff trucks all over the place and crime tape around the house.

For Ilsa, when she saw her mom's house surrounded by police tape, any disbelief she might have had was gone. For Carly, the same thing happened when she learned that Ilsa, her mom, and a whole lot of cops were at Tina's house.

That's when it hit me. It was like, Oh, my gosh. They're both there with her. There's police involved. There's a crime scene. And I just started crying, and I didn't didn't sleep that night.

After the police and Tina's two daughters arrived at the home, Tina was taken to the hospital. While she was there, an invasive sexual assault examination was performed.

Only one person could go in with her, so I had to stand outside. I was wondering what was going on. We were looking for the car because he had stolen her car. We were calling people. As far as injuries, I hadn't known until I got into the hospital room later, and I didn't know fully of all of her injuries as she was embarrassed and in pain and in shock herself.

And I didn't know the full story either. I don't think any of us did at that point. So we were all mainly just waiting for answers.

For Tina's family, the priority was making sure that Tina was okay. The details of exactly what happened to her could come later. And indeed, those details did come later. As time went on, the family learned that 77-year-old Tina had suffered and survived one of the most violent, horrific, and brutal assault imaginable. On the night of November ninth, 2021, a man and a woman carjacked, robbed, and kidnapped 77-year-old Tina Lohman while she was parked on the side of the road. After taking control of her car, the man drove Tina to an isolated area and forced her to perform oral sex on him. Tina was convinced the man and his accomplices were going to kill her. So So she convinced them to take her to her house where she could give them more money and jewelry.

They took her to a remote place, and she knew that they were probably going to kill her there.

Because she told them, I have more money in my house, and that's probably what saved her.

She said she couldn't handle it if they had killed her, and we had to, one, go looking for her, and two, find her dead body somewhere.

That's why they were going to, and she felt that they were going to kill her.

She wanted to be at her home, so we didn't have to look for her.

The man took Tina to her home, and when they got there, the man began arguing with his female accomplice. Tina used this opportunity to attempt an escape. She ran into her house and locked the door behind her. She tried to get away from him. She got out of the car and locked the garage door before he entered.

She's trying to lock him out.

Was he able to get back and get inside? Yeah. She said he kicked the door in. Did she also indicate that inside of the residence that she had been sexually assaulted or raped? Yes. Did she say how that had occurred? Yes. How did that occur, according to what she told you?

Well, it started with threats.

He had rumaged.

She said he had rumaged through the drawers and the cabinets in the house and found a knife and threatened her with a knife. She said he was upset about not getting more money at the house. The man and his accomplice forced their way into Tina's home by kicking open the door. Once inside, they continued to rob and assault Tina.

She has a landline in her house, so she was trying to get to the phone, but unfortunately, they had broken down the door and grabbed before she was able to call. At this point, the female starts taunting her, kicking her, beating her, threatening her, while the male continues to rob, rob the Robert.

The man and his accomplice searched the home for money and anything of value. As they did this, they found a unique souvenir. It was a railroad spike that had been forged into a a very sharp knife.

She told him where the jewelry was. It was in a chest of drawers there in the bedroom. You mentioned that she shared with you that there was a male and a female in the house. Yes. Did she talk to you about the female and specifically that knife that we saw? Yeah, she talked about the female and how the female had threatened to kill her with that knife.

The female accomplice brandished the knife at Tina. She pressed it against Tina's throat and threatened to kill her if Tina didn't do exactly what they told her to do.

While they're robbing her in the kitchen, they find this railroad spike. They held it up to her and raped her. They threatened her and the male raped her. She was elderly, so she had to wear an adult diaper, and he took that off and raped her.

Then the defendant bent Tina over a chair in her living room. He shoved his penis into her vagina. He shoved his penis into her mouth. He told her to act like she liked it.

Tina's life was threatened, and she was violently raped in her home. But this brutal and horrific assault didn't stop there. Somehow, things only got worse for Tina.

While the defendant was doing all of these things, robbing her, assaulting her, his accomplice, the woman that was with him, was holding a knife and threatening Tina's life. And then, when the defendant was finished using Tina for his sick, his twisted purposes, he sprayed her mouth and body with carpet cleaner.

They took this can of carpet cleaner and they sprayed the inside of her mouth and in her genitals to try to hide evidence, DNA evidence. And then they took the carpet cleaner can and they sodomized her because she's a 77-year-old woman. It's just disgusting to me that two individuals could do that to someone in that state.

Two monsters brutalized a 77-year-old grandmother. They beat her. They raped her. They sodomized her. They sprayed her body, her genitals, and the inside of her mouth with carpet cleaner. This was a truly brutal and horrific assault.

At this point, my grandma is really thinking that they're going to kill her because at this point, not only have they robbed her and kidnapped her, they have now assaulted her. In her head, she doesn't think that they're going to keep her alive.

Tina knew if she was going to survive this, she would have to do something to get these two monsters out of her house. So Tina came up with a plan, and it was a plan that actually worked. It was a plan that, in all likelihood, saved her life. On the night of November ninth, 2021, two criminals broke into Tina Lohman's home. 77-year-old Tina was brutalized and tortured. She was robbed. Her life was threatened. She was beaten, raped, and sodomized. In an effort to hide evidence, the male criminal sprayed carpet cleaner on and in Tina. He sprayed her body, her genitals, and the inside of her mouth.

What happened to her that night was something that doesn't happen in Adams County. It doesn't happen in the H-Cuducial circuit. That's not who we are. That's not what Quincy is. That's not what Adams County is. We are a community where if you get stopped on the side of the road and you need help, somebody's going to show up to help. That's what we all expect. We don't expect to be carjacked, to be sexually assaulted, to have our house door kicked in, to be followed into the house, sprayed with carpet cleaner. That's a movie, your Honor. That's something you watch on Halloween to scare you. That's not real life, but it was real life for Tina Lohman on November ninth, 2021.

As Tina was being assaulted, she feared for her life. She was certain that these two attackers were going to kill her. She knew that if she was going to survive this attack, she would have to try something, anything, to get these monsters out of her house. Earlier, Tina had convinced them to take her home with the promise of more money and jewelry. So Tina used the same tactic again.

She's so smart. I just comment her on this next part because I would have never thought to say this, but she has a safe in her basement, almost like a walk-in safe. And she told them that that's where most her money is. I don't remember the amount that she told them that was in there. So she gave them the combination.

To clarify, Tina gave her attackers a combination. It wasn't the correct combination because Tina didn't know what the correct combination was. The safe belonged to her husband, and he was the only one who knew the code to open it. Nonetheless, Tina led her attackers to a safe in her basement. Along the way, just for added measure, the male attacker threw Tina down the basement steps.

Then she told him about a safe in the basement, and she said that the man threw her down the stairs, and when he got down there to try to unlock the safe, he didn't have any luck.

Once they were in the basement, the male attacker attempted to open the safe, but of course, the combination that Tina provided didn't work.

What did Tina say happened with the safe in the basement? They went to the safe to the basement, and there's a board that covers the face of it, and that was moved out of the way. Tina didn't know the combination to it. The male went to... Train He tried to open the safe. Try to open up with the knob on the safe. And when he tried to open it up with the knob on the safe and he wasn't able to get into it, what did Tina say to him? She said that the safe was wired to the police Department, and now the police are going to be coming.

That got them in a panic to where they were now in a hurry to get out of there because they thought that the cops were on their way. At that point, they just finish up robbing her.

Tina tricked her attackers and convinced them that the safe was wired to the local police station. The two criminals now believe that the cops would be showing up any minute. So they panicked, grabbed any valuables they could, and fled the house. When they left, they also stole Tina's car. Tina was left in the home. She was bleeding and traumatized, but miraculously, Tina survived this encounter. Soon after the criminals fled, Tina's husband, Tim Schmidt, arrived home. He found Tina, asked what happened, and then began making phone calls. He called 911 and Tina's two daughters. Soon after, police officers and Tina's daughters arrived at the home.

As the law enforcement officer started to arrive, also family members were showing up at the home. There was quite a bit of chaos around the home because at first people were looking around the home to see if they could find the people or person who had committed these acts. Eventually, some of the family members took Tina to a local hospital.

Tina was taken to the hospital where a sexual assault examination was performed. While there, Tina was questioned by detectives about what happened. She was also re-interviewed by detectives the following day.

I was there when my grandma was being interviewed by the detective. So it was the very next day, they were taking DNA swaps of everyone that was at the scene just to roll their DNA out. But she was basically Basically, I would say interviewing her, just having her go through everything again, asking if she had remembered anything new.

When Tina was interviewed by detectives, she was asked to describe her attackers. In true Tina fashion, the description she gave for her male attacker was quite unique.

My grandma described her attackers. She said the male looked like a small leprechaun. He had red hair and this scraggly beard, and he was short and scrawny and tiny. She said he didn't sound very intelligent. Sounded like a country bumpkin leprechaun. Leprechaun.

So according to Tina, the police should be on the lookout for a dirty country bumpkin leprechaun. As it turns out, this description was pretty accurate. After describing the male attacker, Tina went on to describe his female accomplice.

And as far as the female, my grandma described her as a heavier, set, black girl. She could tell that she was on something. She could tell that they were both on something. So they were very neurotic and sporadic, and she described their behavior as hot and cold. One minute, they would be nice to her and tell her that she's going to be okay, and the next minute, they're kicking her, then the next minute, they're consoling her, then the next minute, they're raping her. She was very thrown off by their behavior.

Tina gave detectives a description of both attackers and Later, detectives returned to Tina with some photographs. Not only could Tina perfectly describe her perpetrators, but she could easily point them out in a photo lineup.

Kind of like they do on the TV shows, they had him in a lineup, a picture lineup, and she was able to point them both out. She was 100% certain. She had gotten a good look at both of their faces, and she was able to identify them.

After speaking with Tina, the local police and the US Marshal Service began searching, and it didn't take long for them to find the two monsters who committed this horrific attack.

Actually, it was that day, November 10th. The detective did inform us that they were able to identify who had done it. They had the two perpetrators on camera in a town called Hannibal, Missouri, which is about 20 minutes, 20, 25 minutes away from Quincy. In her car, so they were able to track them pretty quickly.

The man and the woman that attacked, raped, and brutalized Tina were captured by surveillance cameras at the Phillips 66 gas station in Hannibal, Missouri, about 20 miles south of Tina's home. They were seen driving Tina's stolen car, a white Toyota Avalon.

On that cold, dark November night, one of the reasons Tina was so terrified is she had no idea who the person was that attacked her. She didn't know his name. She didn't know where he had come from, and she didn't know where he went. But she did know. She knew he had red hair. She knew he had a red beard, and she knew he had her purse, jewelry. And the day after November ninth, 2021, on November 10th, 2021, the day after she had been brutally and violently robbed and sexually assaulted, the US marshals found the defendant in Springfield, Missouri.

Tina's attackers were taken into custody, but the nightmare for Tina and her family was far from over. The wheels of justice began to grind, and along the way, several things happened that nearly derailed the prosecution's case. Eventually, the wheels of justice came to a screaching halt. For Tina's family. It appeared that the justice system might not hold these criminals accountable. It seemed that delivering some justice to Tina Lohman was a lost cause. Next time on This Doesn't Happen to People Like Me.

Just in the time she was 77, she was born and raised in a time where you just don't talk about that stuff.

He forced her into the passenger seat as they were driving, the man began to force Tina to perform sexual acts on him.

Tina was told repeatedly they would kill her if she did not comply with their demands.

When I first found out their names, it made it more real. It was like, Okay, this actually happened.