Police believe a man who tried to hang himself in Arkansas killed his wife in her Denver home and then discarded her body in a Dumpster.
Authorities issued warrants for the arrest of Frank Schilt, 53, now in custody in the Yell County Jail in Danville, Ark., for first-degree murder in the disappearance of his wife, Teresa Schilt, 51.
He also is under investigation for an alleged attempt to kill his 15-year-old daughter, Melody Schilt, said David Fisher, division chief for investigation for Denver police.
Denver police spokeswoman Virginia Quiñones said police will try to extradite Frank Schilt from Arkansas.
Fisher said investigative leads by Denver detectives in Arkansas indicate Frank Schilt killed his wife in his home at 9550 W. Chenango Ave. on Feb. 25.
“This is a terrible tragedy for everyone involved,” he said.
Several days later, Frank Schilt allegedly put his wife’s body in a Dumpster, Fisher said.
Finding the body could take several weeks because police must first determine which Dumpster the body was left in and which landfill it would have gone to, he said.
“This is a prolonged process,” Fisher said. “We’re not sure exactly where the body was dumped.”
Teresa Schilt has been missing for a month. Fisher did not explain the circumstances behind the attempted murder charge involving Melody Schilt.
Since Teresa’s disappearance, Frank Schilt told his daughter that her mother was traveling from Cleveland to Chicago and Dallas for various reasons, including that her great-aunt had a stroke and then died.
“There’s a great deal of intrigue surrounding this whole case,” Fisher said.
Melody Schilt is staying with her sister in San Diego, Fisher said.
According to media reports in Arkansas, Teresa Schilt was angry at her husband after discovering he had taken money she had received in an inheritance.
Denver authorities contacted Arkansas officials after Frank Schilt told his family he was going to Little Rock for a job interview.
Carly, a tracking dog for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, found Frank Schilt in a remote area of the Ouachita National Forest, as he was jumping off a log with a noose around his neck in a suicide attempt.
He was arrested and Denver detectives interviewed him Thursday.
Fisher said detectives found key evidence Thursday that led them to believe Teresa Schilt was murdered, but he did not elaborate.
When asked whether Frank Schilt confessed, he said he could not say what was discussed in the interview.
Teresa Schilt was raised in Lyndhurst, Ohio, where she attended Catholic schools, said her cousin, Lynn Nycz of Cleveland.
“She was a very pleasant and quiet person willing to help others whenever needed. Very fun loving, easy going and reserved person,” Nycz said. “She was a hard worker and loved her children very much.”
She had for many years sold Mary Kay products, she said.
Nycz said Frank Schilt was boisterous and had been unemployed more than three years.
“When the news broke that she was missing … I had a gut feeling that she was dead,” Nycz said.
Staff writer Kirk Mitchell can be reached at 303-820-1206 or kmitchell@denverpost.com.
