A Greenfield man who worked professionally as a clown was sentenced to 30 years in prison for killing his infant daughter more than 30 years ago.
Circuit Court Judge David Swanson handed down the prison sentence for Ronald Schroeder on Monday, but because of the age of the case, he may be eligible for parole and mandatory release after serving two-thirds of that time.
Schroeder, 55, was charged three years ago with first-degree reckless homicide and physical abuse of a child in the Aug. 25, 1991, death of his infant daughter.
Catherine Schroeder was only seven weeks old when she died.
Prosecutors during Schroeder’s seven-day trial promoted the theory that Catherine, known to her family and loved ones as “Katie,” was violently shocked just before her death.
Suspicion almost immediately fell on Schroeder, who worked professionally as Silly the Clown and performed for years in southeastern Wisconsin, and he was investigated. He was also investigated, but never charged, for allegedly abusing a friend’s son in 1998 and another daughter in 2005.
A jury convicted Schroeder of Katie’s death in October, despite the failure to locate CT scans and other medical evidence once available in the 1990s. Several key witnesses and investigators involved in the case have died.
What is Wisconsin’s Truth-in-Sentencing law and how does it play into this case?
Schroeder received twenty years in prison for the murder and ten years for child abuse. The sentences must be executed consecutively.
When the crime occurred played a role in why Schroeder might one day be eligible for parole.
Currently, judges in Wisconsin operate under a system known as “truth in sentencing.” That’s where a judge specifies exactly how many years someone will spend in prison, also called initial incarceration, and how many years someone will be monitored in the community. , also called extended supervision.
It requires all inmates to serve every day of a sentence imposed by a judge.
The Truth Penalty Law was passed in 1998 and has been in force since 2000.
Ronald Schroeder takes no responsibility for his daughter’s death
At his sentencing, Schroeder maintained his innocence and tried to draw parallels between his case and that of Jakob Ivy, who faced up to 60 years in prison for the death of his 2-year-old son. In that case, prosecutors dismissed Ivy’s case without prejudice after admitting they could not meet their burden of proof.
“I don’t know what happened to our beloved Katie. But I did not cause her death,” Schroeder said.
Swanson, who was also the judge in the Ivy case, said the cases were not comparable.
The National Center for Shaken Baby Syndrome estimates that between 1,200 and 1,400 children in the United States are injured or killed each year from head injuries.
Schroeder has 1,188 days of pretrial credit to apply to his sentence. He can appeal the verdict within twenty days.
Schroeder also has an open case in Waukesha County. There he is charged with three crimes of child abuse, recklessly causing great harm.
A hearing there is scheduled for December 2.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘Silly the Clown’ goes to prison for killing daughter in 1991
