5 chilling details about Suzanne Lucy Schoff’s crime

Suzanne Lucy Schoff was at the center of a Pennsylvania case that ended with the shooting death of her ex-husband, Frank L. Schoff III, at his auto shop in York County. The case involved a custody fight, a rented getaway car, and a gunman who later admitted to the killing.

The Snapped episode on this case first aired in 2016. Oxygen ran a recent re-air on Monday, September 22, bringing the case back to TV for viewers who follow the series.

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Case background on Suzanne Lucy Schoff

Investigators said a long-running custody dispute preceded the attack. Before the homicide, child-abuse complaints lodged against the victim were reviewed by social services in Baltimore and found unsubstantiated. The friction over custody did not ease, and planning moved from talk to action.

Witnesses reported a quick escape in a gold-colored car (Image via Unsplash)

Prosecutors later outlined how a shooter drove from Maryland to the victim’s Fawn Township workplace. In the afternoon hours, the masked gunman approached as the victim worked on a car and opened fire. Witness accounts described a quick escape in a gold-colored vehicle. The victim died at the scene.

Phone activity and contacts, both before and after the shooting, reportedly helped build the timeline. A rented car tied the travel to and from Pennsylvania. Interviews then led to arrests in Baltimore, the same day the shooter returned to the city.

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5 key details about the Suzanne Lucy Schoff case

1) Suzanne Lucy Schoff allegedly sought help more than once

Testimony described repeated attempts to recruit others before the final plan took shape. Different men were approached with stories about alleged abuse and requests for help. Offers ranged from favors to cash, according to trial evidence.

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2) How Suzanne Lucy Schoff set up the trip and the weapon

Evidence showed the shooter used a .32-caliber semiautomatic and arrived in a rented gold car so his own vehicle would not be recognized. Ammunition was supplied, and a pre-visit drive to the shop helped map the route for the day of the crime.

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3) What tied Suzanne Lucy Schoff to the plan after the shooting

Cell records helped map calls around the time of the shooting (Image via Pexels)

Witnesses heard gunfire and saw a masked figure flee to the gold car. Cell records then showed calls between the shooter and contacts before and after the attack, with tower data showing movement across state lines. Those records helped narrow the time window investigators needed to confirm the sequence.

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4) The shooter’s plea and sentence linked to Suzanne Lucy Schoff

The gunman, Terry A. Wingler, admitted to the killing in court and pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, receiving a 20 to 40-year term. The York Daily Record reported the sentence in a roundup of county homicide cases. According to the York Daily Record, Wingler pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in state prison.

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5) The verdict for Suzanne Lucy Schoff and what the court entered

A jury found Suzanne Lucy Schoff guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy. The judge imposed life without parole. The appellate opinion later affirmed the judgment and described the custody backdrop, the earlier unsubstantiated abuse reports, the travel, and the calls that framed the case. According to Commonwealth v. Schoff (2006), the record supported the convictions and the life sentence.

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Snapped key art (Image via Oxygen)

The Snapped episode titled Suzanne Schoff is available on Peacock Premium and Premium Plus, fuboTV, NBC, Oxygen, YouTube TV, and Hulu. It is also available for purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Video, and Fandango at Home, and select episodes stream free on Spectrum On Demand.

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