FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WOWO):A Fort Wayne man in jail on meth-related charges now faces a murder charge in Paulding County, Ohio, in connection to the death of his girlfriend.
Daniel Zerbe, 42, is accused of shooting 44-year-old Wilma A. Schwartz in her car in March and hiding her body at an abandoned home, according to the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.
A construction worker found Schwartz’s body at an abandoned home in Antwerp, Ohio, on March 14. At the time, investigators said she wasn’t killed there.
Now police say she was shot inside her red Pontiac Sunfire, which was found in a parking lot on March 16.
RELATED: Paulding County Police find car linked to murder investigation
“Schwartz was shot inside her vehicle by Zerbe,” Paulding County Sheriff Jason Landers said. “We learned Schwartz and Zerbe had been in a relationship for several years, and it wasn’t good.”
Zerbe is in custody in Allen County on meth charges and has other outstanding warrants in Wells County.
“My deputies were able to advance this case when Zerbe was arrested on an unrelated warrant, and he was found in possession of the gun used in the murder,” Landers said.
Zerbe will be extradited to Paulding County for arraignment.
