Last days of Mindy Schloss

Excerpts follow:

In July, 2007, Mindy Schloss was 52 years-old. She had professional, stable employment as a nurse psychologist. Her modest home was situated in a secure and quiet residential neighborhood. She had a covey of good friends and was socially active. Mindy Schloss also had plans for the future. In the days before her death, Schloss leased office space in Midtown Anchorage with the purpose of establishing a local nurse psychologist practice, thus avoiding the week-on/weekoff work routine in Fairbanks that had consumed a significant portion of her professional life. She was also anticipating having her kitchen remodeled, and prior to her murder entertained several remodeling bids.

Aside from her professional life, Mindy Schloss was an independent adult who lived life on her own terms. She was a seasoned traveler, both in the Alaska Bush and across the globe. Conscientious with friends, on time to a fault, she was a quiet and friendly member of her neighborhood. She quilted, and was re-discovering her spiritual and religious roots. During the last week of her life, she performed her yearly ritual of picking blueberries and reducing them to jam for distribution throughout the year to friends and coworkers. In short, Mindy Schloss was simply going about living her life, day by day, and week to week. She was a friend to many. A soul mate to some. And an enemy of no one.

2. Joshua Wade Wade has been in trouble with the law since the age of 12. By the age of 16 he was caught carrying a stolen 9mm pistol. Wade was a felon by age 19, having been convicted of Misconduct with a Weapon in the Third Degree. (See PSR pages 16-23). At age 20, and as he now admits, he violently and intentionally murdered Della Brown.

In late June 2007, while Mindy Schloss was planning for her new practice, Wade was released from state probation. About one month after release from state supervision, and sometime around July 22, 2007, Wade moved into 6902 Cutty Sark, the house next door to Mindy Schloss. Wade's bedroom was directly opposite Schloss' home, and his window permitted observation into Schloss' kitchen. Schloss, who was working in Fairbanks the week Wade moved in, did not arrive home until Friday, July 25th. She spent the last week of her life at home, entertaining bids on her remodeling project, purchasing materials for her new business and running ordinary errands.

During the week Mindy Schloss was getting her new business together Joshua Wade's life was falling apart. He was broke, displeased with his living arrangements and unhappy at work. Despite these uncertainties, and irrespective of being a twice-convicted felon, Wade obtained a Glock .45 on or about July 29th. Wade brought the pistol home and displayed it to his housemates. While in his bedroom Wade took cell phone pictures holding the gun while activating the grip mounted red-laser sight.

Come July 30th, life grew more unsettled for Wade. He remained dysphoric at work and was reportedly argumentative with his supervisors. On Wednesday, August 1st, he left work early, claiming illness. He failed to show at all the next day and neglected to call in. On Friday, August 3rd, Wade showed up for work but was sent home early due to "attitude."

Early that evening Wade's roommates hosted a party that lasted beyond midnight. Whether Schloss was aware of the party is unknown. She was last seen alive at her home by a contractor earlier that evening. By late Friday night Schloss already had much of her Saturday lined up, doing errands, meeting a friend for lunch at a local restaurant and the like. Apparently, she stayed up late that evening, emailing friends and working the internet from her laptop. Sometime around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, August 4, 2007, Mindy Schloss manually logged off the internet and powered down her laptop. Presumably, she turned in for the night.

At some point during the early morning hours of August 4th, Wade invaded her home. Once inside, Wade bound Schloss, rendering her immobile. Wade left the residence, and returned, armed with the loaded .45 Glock and his collection of restraint and gagging devices. Wade zip tied her hands, gagged her mouth with the shop rag and secured the gag with painter's tape wrapped around her head. The government's investigation revealed that Wade admitted to others that he forced the PIN number out of Schloss in order to use her ATM debit card.

After restraining Schloss, Wade forced Schloss from her home and into her own car with the intent of taking her life. Wade drove Schloss, secured against her will in the back of her car, over an hour north of Anchorage toward Wasilla. During the ride out of town, Schloss lay in the back seat of her own vehicle, clothed in only a bath robe, with her arms and legs bound by zip ties. Wade ultimately drove Schloss to a wooded, undeveloped cul-de-sac approximately one quarter mile off of Knik-Goose Bay Road. Wade parked the car in the cul-de-sac and walked Schloss, still bound, off the cul-de-sac into the woods. There, Wade shot Schloss, execution style, with a single pistol shot to the back of her head from the Glock .45.

After executing Schloss, Wade drove her Acura Integra back to Schloss' residence. He parked the car in the garage and re-entered her home. While inside Wade vacuumed the home, and made Schloss' bed in order to make it appear nothing was amiss. He saw Schloss' gold Seiko watch and stole it. He swept his footprints off the front porch. Wade then drove Schloss' car out of her garage and parked it several miles away at an airline inflight food caterer.

The next day, Sunday, August 5, at approximately 5:00 a.m., Wade used Schloss' debit card at the Wells Fargo ATM, located at Jewel Lake and Raspberry. Wade conducted a balance inquiry of Schloss' account and then made a $500 withdrawal (the maximum allowable) from the account.

On Monday, August 6, at around 4 a.m., Wade made a second ATM withdrawal of $500 on Schloss' account. For this withdrawal, Wade went to Credit Union One, located on Eide Street, approximately four miles from Schloss' residence. Video surveillance of the transaction showed Wade wearing an identical disguise to that worn at Wells Fargo the day before.

On August 9, 2007, Schloss' vehicle was found in the airline caterer's parking lot. Scientific analysis of DNA swabs confirmed the presence of Wade's DNA on the steering wheel of Schloss's vehicle.

Wade left the Cutty Sark house for good on August 18, coming back only to collect his gun, backpack and a few other belongings mere hours before APD arrived with a search warrant. In his haste, Wade left behind Schloss' gold Seiko watch and the two-tone quilted jacket he wore during the two ATM withdrawals. Found in one of the jacket's pockets was the receipt for the $500 withdrawal from Schloss' account taken by Wade at Credit Union 1 on August 6.

As the court is aware from the PSR, Wade confessed to several people that he murdered Schloss (and Della Brown). The human scent detection canines, Bloodhounds Lucy and Tinkerbelle, corroborated a substantial amount of the investigation's findings and further buttressed the evidence linking Wade to Schloss. Mitochondrial DNA analysis of a head hair found in the residence matched a Wade known sample. An ATM photo captured Wade wearing a distinctive shirt found in his closet as well as a gold crucifix worn around his neck. The gold crucifix was seized from Wade's person during the course of the investigation. Finally, ballistics confirmed that Schloss was murdered by a .45 caliber bullet. The bullet's casing, found at the scene, was examined and determined to have a Glock firing pin imprint on the casing's primer.

In conclusion, and with respect to guilt, the weight of the government's evidence against Joshua Wade was overwhelming. Here, and in the PSR, the court is viewing but a small section of the overall trial presentation. Trial would have consisted of evidence in the form of physical, forensic, photographic and testimonial evidence, the majority of which was interconnected and strongly corroborated. Motive, intent and act were not issues, nor was proof.