A young boy faces a lifetime of trauma after his entire family was slain overnight while sleeping in a tent.
9-year-old Arlo Schmidt is the sole survivor of the massacre that his family was put through when they were camping at Maquoketa Caves State Park in Iowa on July 22.
According to the reports, the boy’s parents, 42-year-old Tyler and Sarah Schmidt, and younger sister, 6-year-old Lula, were all shot dead while they were sleeping.
After finding his family dead, little Arlo ran away and screamed for help until he came across Cecelia Sherwin who was camping with her family nearby.
According to the police, they believe Cecelia’s son, 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin of Nebraska, killed the family with a gun his family had legally been traveling with.
Following the triple-murder, Anthony allegedly shot himself near the family’s tent – a claim that Cecelia denied. According to the grieving mother, she believes the person who killed Arlo’s family also killed her son and made it look like a murder-suicide.
While the investigators believe the two families previously had no contact, the police admitted having no idea what the suspect’s motives for the killings could be.
Meanwhile, Arlo’s aunt Jana Morehouse launched a fundraiser for the young boy and revealed he faces a “lifetime of trauma” and uncertainties because of what happened to his family.
“Today, my life has been shattered. My beautiful, smart, funny, curly haired sister, her husband, and their 6-year-old daughter were victims of a random act of violence while camping as a family in Iowa,” Jana wrote in her online post.
“Their 9-year-old son was able to survive and has a lifetime of trauma ahead. He has two sides of the family that love him very much.
“Sarah, Tyler, and Lula were not political pawns. They were a family, on vacation, and had everything ahead of them.”
The distraught aunt continued: “I cannot fathom that she will no longer be on the other side of the phone. I cannot fathom that I don’t get to see Lula grow up.
“I want people to know that Sarah, and Tyler, and Lula meant everything to our family, and we don’t know how we are going to continue.”
Our thoughts are with Arlo and his family as they continue to grieve.
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