California man accused of fatally stabbing 16-year-old in field 3 years ago

APPLE VALLEY, Calif. (TCN) -- Authorities recently arrested a 26-year-old man on suspicion of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old victim whose body was found in a field nearly three years ago.

According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, deputies and Apple Valley Police responded to the 13500 block of Navajo Road, where they found Robert Schmidt Jr. deceased in a dirt field with stab wounds. Despite investigators' efforts, no arrests were made at the time.

Shortly after the discovery, Schmidt Jr.'s mother, Elizabeth Schmidt, told KTLA-TV that she dropped her son off at a skatepark with a friend on the evening of Oct. 17, 2022, and then worked a night shift. She reportedly learned the next morning that her son never returned home.

According to KTLA, the victim's mother searched for her son and filed a police report, telling KTLA, "When we were driving by, we had seen the fire department pulling up on scene and them taping it off. In that moment, I knew that that was my son. I started putting everything together."

Investigators suspect there was a struggle or altercation that led to Schmidt Jr.'s death.

In a recent update, the sheriff's department announced that officials identified Antonio Rodriguez as the primary suspect. He was arrested on April 28 and booked into the High Desert Detention Center on a charge of murder. He remains held without bail.

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