Nicholas J. Howell has been found guilty in the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Bobbie Lou Schoeffling.
Howell, 29, was found guilty Thursday of first-degree intentional homicide in her death, along with six other counts including stalking and felony intimidation of a victim.
The case was the focus of a Journal Sentinel investigation that raised questions about opportunities that police officers, prosecutors and probation agents missed to help Schoeffling over the final 10 months of her life amid an escalating pattern of domestic violence incidents.
Schoeffling repeatedly said that she feared Howell would kill her in the days, weeks and months leading up to her murder. She was found shot multiple times in her Milwaukee home on July 26, 2022 at age 31.
Throughout the months leading up to Schoeffling’s death, Howell was wanted on warrants unrelated to domestic violence, but law enforcement failed to arrest him until after the homicide, the investigation showed.
Schoeffling’s son talked in detail about one of those missed chances during his videotaped interview with a Milwaukee Police Department detective, which was played in court as part of the four-day trial. The Journal Sentinel is not naming the son because of his young age and for privacy and safety reasons.