Lawyer Who Allegedly Stabbed Managing Partner Might Have Had Plans To Attack Other Attorneys From Same Firm

Lawyer Who Allegedly Stabbed Managing Partner Might Have Had Plans To Attack Other Attorneys From Same Firm By Staci Zaretsky

Alecia and Andrew Schmuhl

As days go by, more and more details have come to light about the attack on Northern Virginia law firm Bean Kinney & Korman’s managing partner, Leo Fisher. Alecia and Andrew Schmuhl, married lawyers, stand accused of planning the assault in the wake of Alecia’s firing from the firm. The attack left both Fisher and his wife, Susan Duncan, grievously wounded.
In our last report on the Schmuhls, we discovered that Alecia claimed she was afraid of her husband — a man who she described as being “manipulative and controlling” — and that she had no idea about what sorts of dastardly deeds he’d allegedly carried out on the night of the attack at her former boss’s home. Nevertheless, Alecia was denied bond, despite her attempts to play the pity card in court.
Andrew Schmuhl’s bond hearing was held yesterday, and we were able to gather quite a bit of new information about the attack he was allegedly in charge of, as well why Andrew, who was arrested wearing only a bloody diaper, was using a walker while in court…

According to defense attorney Pierre Priale, Andrew suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury in 2012, and it continues to affect his mobility to this day. In fact, last week, Andrew “appeared stiff and used a walker” while in court during his arraignment. Priale requested that his client be granted bond so that his parents could take care of him, since his wife will be behind bars for the immediate future. Perhaps Andrew planned to use his injury as a defense. After all, how could he have possibly engaged in an hours-long “torture session” if he can’t move freely without a walker? Prosecutors immediately put a dent in Andrew’s plans during his bond hearing yesterday. Here’s more information from the Washington Post:

[A] prosecutor displayed a photo of Schmuhl, 31, playing in a kickball tournament in August. In reference to the night of the attack, Fairfax County Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney Casey Lingan said, “He had no trouble making his way around that night.”

Prosecutors also revealed the fact that Andrew and Alecia Schmuhl may have had plans to commit violent attacks on other lawyers from Alecia’s former place of employment. It seems that while Fisher and Duncan were restrained with flexible handcuffs, Andrew allegedly forced Fisher to log onto his computer to access information, including personal details, about other associates and partners at Bean Kinney & Korman. That’s pretty scary, but it provided Duncan an avenue of escape. The WaPo has the details:

While Fisher was on the computer, Duncan was able to move from a bathroom where she was being held. Andrew Schmuhl fired at her, authorities said, and Duncan thought she had been shot in the head. Prosecutors would not confirm after the hearing whether she was.
Duncan played dead, prosecutors said, and then hit a fire alarm. The alarm scared Schmuhl, and he and his wife fled in a car, authorities said.

Partners from Fisher’s firm once again lined the courtroom benches during Andrew Schmuhl’s hearing, and per WUSA9, released this statement at its conclusion after the alleged perpetrator was denied bond:

The recounting at Andrew Schmuhl’s bond hearing this morning of the brutal and incomprehensible assault on Leo Fisher, Bean, Kinney & Korman’s managing shareholder, and his wife has only added to the shock and revulsion all of us have experienced over the past week. As with Alecia Schmuhl, we fully support the Court’s decision to deny Mr. Schmuhl bond. The firm commends the efforts of the Commonwealth’s Attorney and appreciates the support and courtesies extended by his office to us.
The firm is also enormously grateful to all of our friends, clients, colleagues and fellow professionals for the outpouring of well-wishes and encouragement during an unimaginably difficult time. There has been universal concern for the welfare of Leo and Sue, and we are thankful to be able to assure everyone that they are recovering steadily.

No one is quite sure how Fisher and Duncan are doing, save for the fact that they are “recovering steadily.” They both sustained very serious injuries before they were left for dead, including stab wounds to the head, neck, shoulders, and torso. We share Bean Kinney’s thoughts, and extend our well wishes to Leo Fisher in the hope that he’ll live to litigate another day.
What could allegedly have driven this couple to these extremes? Perhaps there’s something deeper here to examine beyond Alecia’s firing from the firm. If you have any ideas, you know where to reach us.
Andrew Schmuhl denied bond for McLean home invasion, stabbing [WUSA9]
Andrew Schmuhl denied bond in torture, stabbings of McLean couple [Washington Post]
Earlier: Lawyer Who Allegedly Stabbed Law Firm’s Managing Partner Was Arrested Wearing Only A Diaper
Husband And Wife Attorney Duo Accused Of Stabbing Law Firm’s Managing Partner

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Topics

Alecia Schmuhl, Andrew Schmuhl, Attorney Misconduct, Bad Ideas, Bean Kinney & Korman, Crime, David Schell, Leo S. Fisher, Pierre Priale, Raymond F. Morrogh, Susan Duncan, Violence, Virginia