DNA analysis helps St. Pete police solve 25-year-old murder case
Michael Scheumeister next to Patricia Morris. Photos are courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The St. Petersburg Police Department says it now knows who robbed and killed a man in 1997 near the Mirror Lake Library.
Police say new DNA analysis links Patricia Morris to the murder of Michael Scheumeister.
According to police, Scheumeister was found dead from blunt force trauma to the head and neck outside the library on August 14, 1997.
Police say he was lying on his back with his pant pockets turned inside out. According to police, he had cashed his paycheck earlier that day and his money and wallet were missing, which led investigators to believe robbery was the motive for his murder.
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According to investigators, before he was killed, Scheumeister was out at a bar having drinks with Morris. Investigators said Morris told them that after the pair had drinks, the two left the bar together in a taxi, but went their separate ways after being dropped off.
Michael Scheumeister was found dead outside the Mirror Lake Library on August 14, 1997. Photo is courtesy of the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Nearly 20 years later, on May 18, 2016, a criminal history report of Morris showed she had an extensive history of prostitution, battery on law enforcement officers and narcotic offenses. It also showed that Morris died on September 19, 2010, in Hillsborough County.
On March 23, 2022, detectives retrieved Mr. Scheumeister's pants from Property and Evidence and submitted them to the Pinellas County Forensics Lab for DNA re-evaluation.
DNA analysis linked Patricia Morris to Michael Scheumeister's death, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. Photo is courtesy of the St. Pete Police Department.
On November 2, 2022, detectives got notice that the DNA found on the inside of the front and rear pant pockets belonged to Patricia Morris.
Based on the recent DNA evidence and earlier investigations, SPPD notified Scheumeister’s brother of the DNA analysis and closed the case because Morris is deceased.