Bio

Thomas N. Schiro was born on December 22, 1960. He grew up in Indiana. Little information is available about his early childhood or family life. As a teenager, he faced difficulties that may have influenced his later actions. He was known to have legal troubles even before his more serious crimes.

Schiro became an inmate at a halfway house in Evansville, Indiana. This facility housed individuals who were getting ready to be released from prison. At the time, he was serving a three-year suspended sentence for robbery. Living in the halfway house meant he was expected to follow certain rules while transitioning back into society.

Murder Story

On February 5, 1981, Thomas N. Schiro committed a murder in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. He entered the home of 28-year-old Laura Luebbehusen by claiming he had car trouble and needed to use the phone. After being allowed inside, Schiro used the bathroom and exposed himself to Laura. He told her she did not need to be afraid because he was "gay."

During their conversation, Laura shared personal details about her past, including that she had experienced sexual abuse as a child and identified as a lesbian. Over the next few hours, Schiro assaulted Laura multiple times. After drinking, he passed out but woke to find her trying to leave.

When Schiro saw Laura at the door, he pulled her into the bedroom. Believing she was asleep, he first struck her several times with a vodka bottle and then with an iron. Finally, he strangled her to death. After the murder, he moved her body to another room and committed sexual assault on her corpse. Schiro then cleaned up the house before leaving.

Laura's car was found abandoned near the halfway house where Schiro lived. He received help from some employees at the halfway house in creating false documents about his whereabouts. However, he later confessed to a counselor and his girlfriend shortly after the murder.

At his trial, an insanity defense was put forward, but multiple experts concluded that Schiro was not insane at the time of the murder. The jury deliberated for less than an hour and recommended a death sentence. Despite this recommendation, Judge Samuel R. Rosen overruled the jury and sentenced Schiro to death on October 2, 1981. In 1996, his death sentence was commuted to life in prison.