These are the first pictures of the Jenny Jones guest who murdered his gay ‘secret admirer’ enjoying his freedom after spending 23 years in prison.
Jonathan Schmitz was photographed exclusively by DailyMail.com enjoying his second full day of liberty by a pet store and visiting a car insurance agent in his hometown of Lapeer, Michigan, 60 miles north of Detroit.
The convicted murderer is back living with his mom and dad in their three-bedroom home off a dirt road outside Lapeer.
Schmitz, 47, was released on parole on Tuesday from the Parnall Correctional Institution in Jackson, Michigan.
Freedom: Convicted murderer Jonathan Schmitz, 47, was seen enjoying his first few days of liberty in his hometown of Lapeer, Michigan after spending 23 years behind bars
Schmitz was spotted running errands while wearing a red Detriot Redwings t-shirt, a white cap, and blue jeans. He did not speak to DailyMail.com when approached
The murderer is back living with his mom and dad in their three-bedroom home, 60 miles from Detroit. He appeared to be getting his life back in order, visiting a state office building, and a Progressive Insurance office (Pictured with an unknown woman)
He seemed to be enjoying his freedom walking around his parent’s property wearing a white baseball cap, a red Detroit Red Wings t-shirt, blue jeans, and black tennis shoes.
He spent the day running errands which will let him get back on the road, visiting a state office building in Lapeer and a Progressive Insurance office.
Scott Amedure, an unemployed gay man, was revealed to be Schmitz’s admirer, telling the television audience about a fantasy that involved Schmitz, some whipped cream, strawberries and champagne
But he was less keen to speak about his new life outside prison.
When DailyMail.com approached him outside a pet store, he did not speak, but family members with him shouted expletives.
Schmitz is under strict parole conditions which include not being allowed to leave Michigan or change his residence without the permission of his probation officers.
Schmitz was 24 when his acquaintance Scott Amedure, 32, revealed he was romantically interested in him during taping of The Jenny Jones Show, then one of the highest rating daytime talk shows.
He agreed to appear on a ‘secret admirers’ segment of the show in 1995 and arrived at its studios in Chicago expecting his admirer to be a woman, not his gay neighbor.
When Schmitz found Scott Amedure, an unemployed gay man, telling a television audience about a fantasy that involved Schmitz, some whipped cream, strawberries, and champagne, he became embarrassed and, his lawyers said, enraged.
On the unaired segment, Jenny Jones brought Schmitz – who later said had no idea what was going to happen and that he believed his secret admirer would be a woman – on stage and said: Well, guess what, it’s Scott that has the crush on you.’ The audience hooted. Schmitz laughed and said that he is ‘completely heterosexual.’
Three days after the taping, on March 9, 1995, Schmitz received an anonymous, sexually suggestive note on his doorstep and assumed it came from Amedure.
On the 1995 unaired segment, Schmitz assumed his admirer was a woman. He laughed it off when it was revealed to be his gay neighbor, and said that he is ‘completely heterosexual’
Three days after the taping, on March 9, 1995, Schmitz received an anonymous, sexually suggestive note on his doorstep and assumed it came from Amedure. The episode never aired but clips were shown on news shows and during his trial
Hit show: Jenny Jones’s syndicated talk show was at the peak of its powers in 1995 but was canceled in 2003 after suffering from plunging ratings
Schmitz confessed to the fatal shooting, admitting he bought a 12-gauge shotgun after a day of heavy drinking, went to Amedure’s mobile home, and fired two shots to his chest
Schmitz had been drinking heavily when he purchased a 12-gauge shotgun, went to Amedure’s mobile home, and fired two shots at close range into Amedure’s chest. A few minutes later, Schmitz dialed 911 from a pay phone at a gas station near his sister’s house. He said: ‘I just walked in the room and killed him.’
He later turned himself in to police saying he shot Amedure because he had embarrassed him on national television.
Schmitz had been sentenced to 25 to 50 years in 1996 for second degree murder, and although that was overturned, a 1999 retrial returned the same verdict and sentence.
The felon was granted parole after a March hearing and will be on supervised parole until August 22, 2019.
Among his other conditions are being subject to drug and alcohol testing, a ban on owning or possessing a firearm, and on associating with other felons.
The victim’s older brother, Frank Amedure Jr., said he was troubled by the parole decision and that he is unsure Schmitz ‘learned what he should have’ in prison.
‘I wanted assurance that the (parole board’s) decision was not based on just good behavior in prison,’ he told the Chicago Tribune.
‘I’d like to know that he learned something, that he’s a changed man, is no longer homophobic and has gotten psychological care.’
Geoffrey Fieger, who served as an attorney for the Amedure family at the time, said that everybody involved in the Jenny Jones Show also deserved imprisonment.
‘That show set him (Schmitz) up and certainly took Scott Amedure’s life for no reason,’ Fieger said.
The episode never aired but clips were shown on news shows and during his trial.
The Jenny Jones Show was canceled in 2003 after recording the lowest ratings of any daytime talk show.