In the quiet town of Hillsboro, Oregon, a sense of security was shattered in April of 1991. Margaret Helen Schmidt, a 61-year-old Caucasian woman living alone, became the victim of a brutal crime that would remain a source of fear for some time. On April 19th, a caregiver arriving at her home at 375 Southeast Walnut Street made a grim discovery. Inside, Margaret lay deceased, the victim of a violent encounter.
The initial investigation pointed towards a robbery gone wrong, but the full, terrifying truth of what had happened to her would not come to light immediately. The cause of her death was determined to be strangulation, a detail that painted a chilling picture of her final moments.
For a time, the case of Margaret Schmidt's murder remained unsolved, leaving the community on edge. However, a series of other violent crimes in the Portland and Hillsboro areas between 1991 and 1993 would eventually lead investigators to her killer. A man named Cesar Barone was arrested on February 27, 1993, in connection with the murder of another woman, Martha Bryant. As authorities delved into Barone's history, a pattern of violence and a potential link to other unsolved homicides began to emerge. His name soon became associated with the deaths of several women, including Margaret Schmidt.
The investigation into Barone uncovered a dark and violent past. Detectives were able to connect him to the Schmidt murder through a shoe print left at the crime scene, which matched a pair of Reebok sneakers he owned. In April 1993, he was indicted for her murder. It was revealed that on the night of her death, Barone had broken into Margaret's home, sexually assaulted her, and then strangled her. He also stole some money before leaving. Cesar Barone was ultimately tried and convicted for the murder of Margaret Schmidt, along with the murders of three other women: Chantee Woodman, Betty Lou Williams, and Martha Bryant. He was sentenced to death for his crimes and died of natural causes on death row in 2009.
