The murder of a family rocks Cathedral City

The Murder That Rocked Cathedral City

On June 19, 1993 at 9:30 a.m. Molly Schecter made a shocking discovery. Molly was the Principal of Sunny Sands Elementary School. When her Vice Principal and friend Carrie Everhart along with Carrie's 6 year old son Jon Amicarella, failed to show up for school that morning, Molly decided to go to her home and check on them. What she found was Carrie, her husband Mario Amicarella, and their 6 year old son all murdered. It was the first triple homicide in the beautiful upcoming town of Cathedral City. Shortly after police arrived Michael Schecter, Molly's husband came to console her.

The Victims

Carrie Lynn Everhart was 30 years old at the time of her death. Carrie was born on November 26th 1962 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was the daughter of Warren Everhart and Joann Giese.

Carrie graduated from Iowa State University where she met her husband Mario Amicarella. Carrie was the vice principal for Sunny Sands Elementary school. She was recommend for the position by her friend Molly Schecter. It had been about 7 years since she took the position.

Carrie Everhart in a High Scool photo.

Mario Amicarella was also 30 when he was murdered in cold blood. Mario was a born in Venezuela. He was a member of the Venezuela National Swim Team and graduated at Iowa State. At the time of his death he was attending Cal State San Bernadino at College of the Desert, where he had previously worked as a Systems Analyst. He was listed however as being unauthorized to work in this country.

Jon Amicarella was born in sunny Palm Springs California. Jon was only 6 at the time his life was cut very short. He had many friends where he attended school. He went to the same school his mother was Vice Principal of. He was very much missed, and many of his young friends could not understand why he was gone.

The Investigation

When police arrived at the scene they noticed no forced entry. It looked as though the assailant entered through the garage door. It was noted that the garage door was raised a few feet. Mario Amicarella was found both bludgeoned and stabbed 16 times in the chest. Carrie's body was found by the front door of the home with 60 stab wounds. Little Jon was found down the hallway outside his bedroom door with 11 stab wounds, one was done with such force it went though his back and punctured the front of his small body. No murder weapon was found at the scene.

Photo of investigators inspecting a vehicle at the scene.

Neighbors and friends were questioned about the night before, and the morning of the murders. Some neighbors disclosed that on Thursday evening Carrie was upset, she said that earlier that day she and Micheal Schecter had learned that their spouses were involved in a affair. She and Mario had a heated fight and were contemplating divorce. There was even a divorce guidebook lying on the front seat of Mario's car. Neighbors also said that the couples spent much time together going to dinner and movies often.

Police noticed that Michael Schecter had cuts on his right had. He was cooperative when being questioned and had said that while riding a bike he fell and cut his hand on a can. Police began to look at one person, Michael Schecter. First they searched his family home. Then they searched Palm Desert Middle School where Mr. Schecter was an 8th grade English teacher. They were in fact looking for the murder weapons. The only suspicious items that were found were some stained rags from the home, and a typed letter on the computer in Mr. Schecter's classroom. The letter was typed as if by a gang or a mob regarding large amounts of money that Mario owed from gabling debts. Investigators believed it was going to be used to throw off suspicion and point detectives to Mario's gambling as a possible motive for murder by persons other then Schecter.

Photo from my Jr High yearbook

The Suspect

Michael Alan Schecter was born on the ocean near New York on July 27th 1952. It was told by a close student that Mr Schecter's father died of cancer when he was young and he was the subject to abuse by his mother. He was said to have left home around 17 to escape the abuse. I found records that Mr. Schecter went to school and graduated in Los Angeles, California. I found that his wife Molly also graduated 2 years behind him from the same school, leading me to believe perhaps they met while attending Fairfax High School. He and Molly Sirota Married on Aug 10th in 1975, in Los Angeles, CA. He and Molly had two children, Jason who was 7, and Julie who was 3.

16 year old Michael Schecter

Photos from ancestry.com

There were mixed emotions regarding Schecter. He had been a school teacher in the district for 15 years. He was also the girl Volleyball coach. Most of his colleagues would not speak of him when questioned. The ones that did were on the fence. One teacher noticed that he was very passionate about his work. He loved teaching and often times took his students to baseball games. He was the head of the Leadership group which he cared a great deal about. Others said he was quick to anger when a student was out of line. A teacher was even warned by another not to get on his bad side. There was however an out poor of support from parents giving schecter praise for the skills their children learned while in his class. One student even said that if he could choose a Father it would be Mr. Schecter. Other children said he was very mean. Some say that at the beginning of the school year he would disclose if you didn't mind being picked on sit in front otherwise you better go to the back of the class. Some children enjoyed the challenge while some requested a change in class, not able to cope with the teasing and picking that he was known to do.

I myself went to Palm Desert Middle School. In June of 1993 I was still in 7th grade. It was a few days before summer let out and before the murders. I was walking in the halls, and a friend of mine was goofing around bouncing down the hallway. Mr Schecter came up behind him, grabbed him by his collar and picked him up in the air. He began to yell in his face. I thought to myself man this guy is going to snap.

The Arrest

On the evening of June 19, 1993 the same day of the discovery of the horrific murders. Michael Alan Schecter was arrested and booked on charge of 3 murders with special circumstances. The Circumstance in this case was multiple murders which could lead to the death penalty. His bail was set for 250,000.00. On his first arraignment Schecter plead not guilty. The defense motioned to not allow bail, however with no criminal history his bail was then set at 500,000.00. His wife Molly had began liquidating assets to cover lawyer costs and was then trying to raise money for his bail.

Photo from The Desert Sun

Discovery

Soon many factors regarding the affair that Molly Schecter and Mario Amicarella were having began to come out. It turns out that the affair had been going on for about 8 months. The day Molly found the bodies of her lover and his family, she had first stated she was concerned that Carrie had not shown up for a facility meeting. In reality she and Mario were planning a picnic breakfast at a local park. When he failed to answer her pages on his pager, and then failed to show for the secret meeting she began to worry and went to see why he had not shown.

A cellmate of Schecter's stated that Schecter confided in him, and confessed to the murders. He said that he was told that he caught his wife and Mario in bed about a week before the murders having sex. He remembered hitting Mario over the head and recalled only a confutation with Carrie. He did not remember killing either Carrie or Jon. Soon the news broke out.

Molly kept pretty quite only giving one interview to A current Affair. In the Desert Sun on May 18, 1996 Molly then apologized for the affair. She said she felt remorse for the actions beyond her control that led to the deaths of 3 people she cared deeply for. Had she known of her husbands psychotic personality she would have acted differently and not gotten involved with Mario.


The Plea and Sentencing

On March 1, 1996 Michael Alan Schecter pleaded guilty to the 3 murders, and on May 10th he was sentenced to 3 life sentences without the possibility of parole. In his plea he avoided the death penalty. Many locals, friends and family were very upset at the sentence. The defense stated the plea was to avoid a lengthy and costly trial. There had already been 35 court dates for the case. Some even say that this was a racial matter. They believed if he was any other color then white and uneducated he would have received the death penalty. Some believe that if the victims were more important, things would have come out different. This trial was on the wake of the OJ Simpson trial and Menendez trial.

Photo from The Desert Sun

The Aftermath

Carrie Lynn Everhart and Jon Amicarella were buried together in her hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa where her family still lived. I was unable to find a burial place for Mario Amicarella. Perhaps his body was sent back to his parents who were still living in Venezuela.

Carrie, Maro, and Jon's Obituary

Photo courtesy of Gail Whenhardt on findagrave.com

Michael Alan Schecter is spending his remaining days behind bars. He is housed at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, CA.

Molly Schecter was placed on administrative leave from Sunny Sands Elementary School. She later began working with troubled boys at Desert Learning Academy. She has since retired. Molly divorced Schecter and in 1995 she married Jay Thorpe. In 1996 Molly request a restraining order from Schecter stating she was fearful, that he continued to make threats. The court issued a restraining order keeping Schecter from contacting his children until they were 13 years old and able to decide what kind of relationship they wanted to have with their father. While Molly still had to send reports of the children's grades, and photos he was no longer permitted to speak with his children. In 2002 Molly also petitioned and was granted her children's names to be changed. Since the trial I found that Molly is an avid runner. She lead groups and participates in many marathons per year.

I also found some disturbing information about Molly's new husband Jay. Jay Roderick Thorpe is on the sex offenders website, stating that he was convicted of rape and attempted sodomy by use of force or fear in 1995. This is the very year that he and Molly were married.

My prayers are with the families of the victims.

Sources
Newspapers.com The Desert Sun, dates: may 20, 1987; jun 21. 1993; jun 23, 1993; jun 30, 1993; nov 30, 1993; nov 18, 1993;  dec 7,1993; dec 8, 1993; april 23, 1994; jul 8, 1993; oct 3, 1993; jul 10, 1994; may 10, 1995; feb 24, 1996; march 2, 1996; jun 29, 1996; may 18, 1996; may 30, 1996;


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