The Killer Beside Me is in Reisterstown, Maryland, to investigate the horrific murder of Melinda Maltese Schaefer, who was viciously stabbed to death at her workplace by employee Rashaan Williams.
On June 14, 2013, the police located the body of property manager Melinda on the first floor of the leasing office where she worked at a housing complex in Reisterstown.
They were shocked to find the 29-year-old lying face down in a pool of her own blood, having been stabbed multiple times in the head and chest. One report stated she had been stabbed a horrific 69 times.
The office itself was a chaotic scene and showed signs of a violent struggle. There were upturned chairs, and a desk pushed to the other side of the room. Most disturbing was the large quantity of blood, which had soaked the walls and the vertical blinds.
Cops suspect Melinda Schaefer fired Rashaan Williams
The investigation quickly focused on Rashaan Williams, a maintenance worker, who was employed at the complex at the time of the murder. The police concluded that Williams had resorted to such vicious violence because Melinda was about to terminate his employment.
The cops found documents detailing Williams’s poor work performance and a termination form on Melinda’s desk. They believe Williams snapped after being told he was fired.
The investigators came across surveillance footage of Williams in two stores on the day of the murder. When asked, the killer could not explain why he was wearing different outfits before and after Schaefer’s death.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelThe murder weapon was never discovered, and Williams never explained why he committed this terrible crime.
Williams was arrested a couple of months after the stabbing and was charged with first-degree murder. In July 2015, he was convicted of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
More from The Killer Beside Me
Follow the links to read about more murders profiled on The Killer Beside Me.
Caroline Nosal rejected the sexual advances of her coworker Christopher O’Kroley and reported his unacceptable behavior to the management. He responded by waiting for her to finish her shift, and he shot her dead.
Kay Harrelson and Peggy Merimon were two school secretaries from Lubbock, Texas, who were last seen alive on their lunch break getting into a car with an unknown man. It took years of investigative work to finally arrest colleague Mickey Patterson for the murder.
The Killer Beside Me airs at 11/10c on Investigation Discovery.