Feds on ID is examining the crimes of Chad Schipper, who kidnapped Larry and Connie Van Oosten from their home in rural Erie, Whiteside County, Illinois.
In the early hours of February 7, 2017, Schipper broke into the Erie farmhouse of older couple, Larry and Connie, and waited until daylight approached. The kidnapper then awoke the sleeping couple and fired a stun gun at Larry.
Schipper bundled the couple into the trunk of a Chevy Caprice and took them to a rental home he owned in Geneseo, Il., where he locked them up in a safe room.
The kidnapper had been planning the crime for about a year. He had spent months building his makeshift prison, which was covered in surveillance cameras and microphones. He chained his captives to bars in the wall and threatened them with a Walther PPS handgun and the stun gun.
Schipper also threatened to murder the Van Oosten’s children and grandchildren.
Schipper knew Larry and Connie; many years beforehand he had been a pupil at their Sunday school, and in adult life, he had briefly been their financial advisor. However, the cops suspect Schipper was angry after Larry mocked him because he asked for a loan after seeing their financial statements.
Chad Schipper forced Connie Van Oosten to withdraw money from a bank
The kidnapper hid his identity from his victims by wearing a ski mask and disgusting his voice by using a voice-altering device. He told Larry and Connie he was part of a gang operating throughout the Midwest that extorted money from people.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelSchipper demanded $350,000 from the couple and forced Connie to go to a bank in Albany to withdraw money. Luckily, Connie was able to write a note while in the bathroom, which she passed to the bank teller. The note explained that she and her husband were captives.
The bank teller gave her the requested money but notified the police as soon as she left.
The cops staked out at the Van Oosten farmhouse, and when Schipper turned up in the Caprice, he tried to flee, which led to a high-speed chase. The kidnapper was eventually caught, and the Van Oostens were released.
Chad Schipper pleaded guilty to kidnapping the Van Oostens
Schipper eventually agreed to plead guilty and even told the police he was glad they caught him.
The kidnapper had recently been caught by his uncle stealing thousands of dollars from his grandmother, whom he had been ‘financially advising.’ His uncle wanted to sue him, but Schipper said he’d return the money; he had planned to use the money stolen from the Van Oostens.
The authorities in Whiteside County brought the full weight of the law down on Schipper. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison and must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence, meaning he will be 93 before he’s eligible for release.
Feds airs Wednesday at 10/9c on Investigation Discovery.
This sentence was way to severe, a life sentence basically, and there are people out there kidnapping and murdering their victims and got about half that.